Robot metamorphosis: Prof. DAI Jiansheng of King’s College London delivers PAIR Distinguished Lecture

Metamorphosis is an innate natural attribute in the evolution and survival of species.  The development of shape-shifting robots is a core area within the field of intelligent structures.  By integrating computational intelligence, there is hope for achieving true embodied intelligence in today’s rapidly advancing world of artificial intelligence.

Prof. DAI Jiansheng, Chair Professor at King’s College London, United Kingdom, Dean of Institute of Robotics, South University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), China and Chair Professor at SUSTech–KCL Joint School, shared the latest developments in robotics at the PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “Embedded Intelligence in Robotics” on 15 September 2025.  The lecture attracted over 140 in-person participants and an online audience of more than 14,900 via various social media platforms.

At the beginning of his presentation, Prof. Dai introduced how his team has eliminated the need for adding components or dismantling structures, instead directly incorporating metamorphosis into robot design.  This has led to a disruptive transformation in robotic structures, fundamentally altering traditional design approaches.  Drawing inspiration from biological metamorphosis in nature and the art of origami, and combining geometry, mechanics, mathematics and kinematics, he explained how the design of shape-shifting robots is evolving towards multi-modal, multi-structural, multi-topological, and multi-degree-of-freedom structures.  This is to keep pace with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and to enhance robots’ adaptability to their operating environments and challenging tasks.

Prof. Dai pointed out that metamorphosis has expanded the possibilities for robotic structural design, leading to innovative metamorphic outcomes such as novel legged robots, dexterous hands, solar arrays, metamaterials and flexible electronics.  He further noted that today’s robots combine both rigid and flexible characteristics, offering compliance and safety, and are distinguished by elastic mechanism dynamics, novel variable-stiffness mechanisms and highly integrated perception-driven systems.  In the future, robots will focus on morphological innovation and intrinsic safety, incorporating new materials, soft or continuum structures, metamorphic and biomimetic features.  This signals that, over the next decade, robotics will move into a new technological era characterised by bio-integration, living entities, high-performance living systems and hybrid life systems.  In summary, the key to the future development of robotics lies in continuous transformation and innovation.

Following the presentation was a lively question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. ZHANG Dan, Chair Professor of Intelligent Robotics and Automation in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.  The audience engaged in a productive discussion with Prof. Dai.