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Soft Robotics Lab is dedicated to pioneering research in soft robotics. We develop robots that mimic the flexibility, adaptability, and resilience found in natural organisms — focusing on tactile sensing devices and bio-inspired systems that interact safely with their environment.
Dr. Son Tien Bui
Founder of Soft Robotics Lab. Researcher, lecturer, and bio-inspired robotics enthusiast.
Son Tien Bui (Member, IEEE) received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Vietnam, in 2009 and 2012 respectively. He completed his Ph.D. in Robotics at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), Japan, in 2023, under the Soft Haptics Lab. His doctoral work, supported by the prestigious MEXT scholarship, earned recognition as an outstanding finalist.
From 2010 to 2018, Dr. Bui served as a lecturer at Đại học Công nghiệp Hà Nội (HaUI), where he established and has been managing Fablab HaUI — an open laboratory for student research — since 2016. In 2019, he was awarded a JASSO scholarship to work as a Research Assistant at the National Institute of Technology, Tsuruoka College, Japan.
Since April 2023, he has been a lecturer at the Department of Science and Technology, HaUI. In parallel, he leads Soft Robotics Lab as a personal research initiative focused on bio-inspired robotics, soft sensing and human-centered assistive systems.
Things we build
Bio-inspired robots, tactile sensors, and inspection systems — each project answers a question with hardware and code.
ROSE: Rotation-based Squeezing Robotic Gripper
A novel soft gripper that embraces an object and squeezes it by buckling a funnel-liked thin-walled soft membrane around the object — through simple rotation of the base. Took the hint from the blooming states of a rose.
Tombo Propeller
Bio-inspired deformable propeller for drones — modeled after dragonfly wings.
Agile Bicycle-like Robot
A compact bicycle-like robot with independently steered magnetic wheels and a reciprocating mechanism — enabling multi-directional mobility and reliable inspection of complex ferromagnetic structures.
Multi-directional Bicycle Robot
An evolved inspection robot for complex steel structures — equipped with ultrasonic sensing and adaptive shape change to traverse welds, edges, and corners.
AquaBand
An ongoing student-led venture incubated at the lab. First pitching trial completed with BLOCK71 NUS.
Peer-reviewed work
Papers by Dr. Bui, consolidated from Google Scholar and cross-indexed publication pages.
S. T. Bui · D. T. Hoang · L. T. H. Lan — International Conference on Engineering Research and Applications, 35–44 → 2026 IJAMT AI-Driven Inverse Design of 3D-Printed Continuous Fiber Composites Using Multiscale Homogenization and Dual Neural Networks
T. D. Hoang · C. V. Nhat · N. T. Dang · T. S. Bui · N. B. Thuan · T. Q. Nguyen — The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 144, 515–539 → 2026 JSTT Design and Inverse Kinematics of Continuum Robots
D. V. Lac · C. V. Long · N. M. Hung · V. Q. Van · B. T. Son — Journal of Science and Transport Technology, 6(1), 101–111 → 2025 JME DigitEye: A Transparent Soft Tactile Sensor for Robust Multi-Modal Perception
S. T. Bui · D. N. Le · T. A. Nguyen · S. H. Nguyen · S. A. Tran · L. P. Tran · T. H. Pham — Journal of Machine Engineering, 2025 → 2025 ICISN From Gestures to Actions: Leveraging YOLO for Real-Time Hand Gesture Recognition in Human-Robot Interaction
S. T. Bui — Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Networks, 207–215 → 2025 ICISN Modular and Scalable IoT Solution for Classroom Air Quality Monitoring
S. D. Nguyen · L. H. Ha · C. V. Pham · L. D. T. Nguyen · S. T. Bui — Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Networks, 736–745 → 2025 Springer Toward an Open-Source Universal Controller System for Industrial Robots in Industry 4.0
S. T. Bui · L. V. Duong — Proceedings in Technology Transfer, 619–628 → 2025 ICISN A Comparative Study On Sliding Mode Control for Quadrotor with Various Reaching Laws
T. L. Tong · T. A. Hoang · K. L. Dao · M. K. Tran · T. S. Bui · M. D. Duong — The International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Networks, 300–309 → 2024 APSIPA An Isolated Vietnamese Sign Language Recognition Method Using a Fusion of Heatmap and Depth Information Based on Convolutional Neural Networks
X. P. Nguyen · T. H. Nguyen · D. T. Tran · T. S. Bui · V. T. Nguyen — 2024 Asia Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association Annual Summit and Conference, 1–6 → 2024 UR Collision Dynamics of Motorized Deformable Propellers for Drones
H. T. Pham · D. Q. Nguyen · S. T. Bui · G. Loianno · V. A. Ho — 2024 21st International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots, 176–183 → 2024 APSIPA A Solution for Anomaly Detection of Red Beans in a Product Processing Line
D. H. Nguyen · T. H. Do · H. L. P. Nguyen · Q. K. Nguyen · D. T. Tran · T. S. Bui · V. T. Nguyen — 2024 Asia Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association Annual Summit and Conference, 1–5 → 2024 IoT Towards Interworking of Matter and oneM2M: Design and Implementation of a Matter-oneM2M Interworking Proxy Entity
D. L. Nguyen Thi · X. T. Kieu · T. S. Bui · T. L. Le · V. C. Pham — Internet of Things, 27, 101313 →
N. V. Dao · L. V. Duong · S. T. Bui — The First National Conference on Energy, Electronics, and Automation — EEA 2024
L. Q. Do · M. D. Bui · B. Q. Bui · P. V. Vu · L. V. Duong · S. T. Bui — The First National Conference on Energy, Electronics, and Automation — EEA 2024
L. V. Duong · A. Q. Nguyen · D. V. Luu · S. T. Vu · S. T. Bui — Đại học Công nghiệp Hà Nội Journal of Science and Technology, 60(9), 134–140 → 2024 HaUI J. Development of a Gripper with Force Feedback Control for Robots
N. D. Le · L. V. Duong · S. T. Bui — Đại học Công nghiệp Hà Nội Journal of Science and Technology, 60(9), 47–52 →
S. T. Bui · H. T. Pham · V. A. Ho — VN Patent 49,382
S. T. Bui · S. Kawano · V. A. Ho — Robotics: Science and Systems XIX (RSS 2023) → 2022 ICRA An Agile Bicycle-like Robot for Complex Steel Structure Inspection
S. T. Nguyen · H. Nguyen · S. T. Bui · V. A. Ho · T. D. Ngo · H. M. La — IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 157–163 → 2022 T-RO Tombo Propeller: Bio-Inspired Deformable Structure toward Collision-Accommodated Control for Drones
S. T. Bui · Q. K. Luu · D. Q. Nguyen · N. D. M. Le · G. Loianno · V. A. Ho — IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 39(1), 521–538 → 2021 arXiv Multi-directional Bicycle Robot for Steel Structure Inspection
S. T. Nguyen · H. Nguyen · S. T. Bui · V. A. Ho · H. M. La — arXiv preprint arXiv:2103.11522 → 2019 JSAP Improvement of BaTa2O6 Thin Films for TFT Gate Insulator Applications
S. T. Bui · K. Narisawa · C. D. Pham · K. Uchiyama — The 66th JSAP Spring Meeting → 2018 VCME Studying, Designing and Manufacturing a Laboratory Equipment to Determine Coefficient of Friction and Wear Intensity for Different Materials
T. V. Nguyen · D. V. Pham · S. T. Bui — The 5th National Scientific Conference on Mechanical Engineering → 2018 VCME Effects of Working Pressure on Structure and Composition of TiAlN Coating Fabricated by Co-Sputtering Deposition Technique
S. T. Bui · D. Q. Nguyen · K. Uchiyama · H. V. Pham · C. D. Pham — The 5th National Scientific Conference on Mechanical Engineering →
D. Q. Nguyen · D. V. Pham · S. T. Bui · C. D. Pham — Journal of Science and Technology
C. D. Pham · D. Q. Nguyen · S. T. Bui · E. Yoon — The 15th International Symposium on Eco-Materials Processing and Design →
H. N. Tran · N. H. Nguyen · D. T. Hoang · C. X. Nguyen · T. T. T. Pham — The 3rd National Scientific Conference on Mechanical Engineering
C. D. Pham · C. X. Nguyen · S. T. Bui · E. Yoon — Journal of Science and Technology
S. T. Bui · B. V. Pham · H. V. Nguyen · D. V. Tran · G. V. Hoang — Vietnam Journal of Mechanical Engineering
About lab members
A small group of researchers, engineers, and students working together on soft robotics and assistive technologies.
Le Quang Phuc — from Hanoi. Currently a fourth-year student majoring in Mechanical Engineering Technology.
Doan Phuc Hung — from Phu Tho. Currently a fourth-year student majoring in Mechanical Engineering Technology.
Nguyen Van Tinh — a member of the Soft Robotics Lab, passionate about soft robotics research and new technology applications.
Tran Manh Hieu — from Phu Tho. Currently a K18 student majoring in Control Engineering and Automation.
Nguyen Dinh Son — Master of Electronic Engineering. Passionate about science and creativity, seeking research applicable in real life.
Nguyen Duy Minh — from Bac Ninh. Graduate student majoring in Mechanical Engineering at HaUI.
Nguyen Xuan Hieu — from Bac Ninh. Graduate student majoring in Mechanical Engineering at HaUI.
Pham The Duyet — from Hung Yen. Graduate student majoring in Mechanical Engineering at HaUI.
Hoang Van Tu — from Bac Ninh. K18 student majoring in Control Engineering and Automation.
Tran Thi Giang Tuyet — fourth-year student in Human Resource Management. Passionate about Finance & Startups.
Collaborators list — populate with names from research partners, mentors and industry supporters.
Graduated students list — populate with alumni.
Latest from the lab
Pitching trials, publications, talks, and other lab milestones.
Recognition & contributions
Awards received, and service to the academic community as reviewer and chair.
Honors
- 01 Winner of Open Category in Soft Robotics Research at the Soft Robotics Toolkit Competition 2023
- 02 Finalist for the Best System Paper Award at Robotics: Science and Systems 2023
- 03 Outstanding Finalist, School of Materials Science, JAIST, 2023
- 04 MEXT Scholarship recipient, Government of Japan (Ph.D. funding)
- 05 JASSO Scholarship, Research Assistant at NIT Tsuruoka College, 2019
Professional Service
Journal Reviewer
IEEE T-RO · IEEE RA-L · Advanced Robotics
Conference Reviewer
ICRA · IROS · RSS · SII
Keynote
RICE 2023 · RICE 2024
Session Chair
ICISN · SETSM