From November 24 to 26, 2023, the 8th Soft Robotics Conference 2023, themed Fundamental Theories and Key Technologies and the Soft Robotics Innovation Design competition, co-hosted by the Robotics Institute of Southern University of Science and Technology and the Shenzhen Artificial Intelligence Industry Association, was successfully held in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Professors Zhong Yong and Zhang Yuanfang from our institute were invited to the conference and gave keynote speeches, with Professor Zhong Yong serving as a judge for the Soft Robotics Innovation Design competition.

The seminar on Fundamental Theories and Key Technologies of Soft Robotics was initiated by Zhejiang University in 2015 and has been successfully held at Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Beihang University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Hohai University, Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai), and Southern University of Science and Technology. It is an important platform for academic exchange among scholars in the field of soft robotics research in China.

Professor Zhong Yong's report, titled Research on Efficient Swimming of Bionic Robotic Fish, mainly introduced the team's recent research progress in improving the swimming efficiency of bionic robotic fish. This includes studies on the mechanism of efficient swimming in robotic fish, theories of efficient bionic fish design, and multi-gait efficient control of robotic fish. He also shared his thoughts on potential future developments in this field.

Professor Zhang Yuanfang's report, titled Digital Design and Manufacturing of Electro-Thermal Responsive Smart Structures, primarily shared research progress on applying smart materials to soft robotics for variable stiffness and 4D printing technologies. He introduced modeling analysis methods for electro-thermal-mechanical multi-field coupling problems and corresponding digital composite manufacturing processes, and looked forward to future research directions aimed at improving the performance of electro-thermal responsive smart structures. (Photos by the 8th Soft Robotics Conference, Article by the SHIEN-MING WU School of Intelligent Engineering)