Pakpong Chirarattananon

Roboticist. Associate Professor, City University of Hong Kong. Alumnus of @hseas Harvard and @Cambridge_Uni.

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

Excited to share our latest drone, the Hopcopter, which synergizes hopping and flying for unmatched agility and efficiency! 🤖🚀🦿

Read the full paper in @SciRobotics: https://t.co/bB9icDuKYr

#robotics #hybrid #locomotion #quadcopter #hopping #drone

[Science Robotics @SciRobotics]

Introducing the #Hopcopter, a #microrobot that combines hopping and flying for maximum agility. @CityUHongKong @hkust

Learn more in Science #Robotics: https://t.co/zFCoRtqCwi

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

Many thanks to my colleagues and students at City University of Hong Kong for the past decade. It’s been an incredible journey 🙏.

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

🌟 A late but exciting update: I’ve joined the University of Toronto, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, this fall!

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

After ten wonderful years in Hong Kong 🇭🇰, I’m thrilled to start this new adventure 🍁 and continue exploring bioinspired robotics and locomotion 🤖🦎.

[Ho Lab @lab_ho]

(please share)
📢 Only 3 weeks left until the RoboSoft 2026 submission deadline (October 15th)!
Don’t miss the chance to present in historic Kanazawa, Japan. Join us 👉 https://t.co/GfuXZasYO3

[Moju Zhao (U-Tokyo; DRAGON LAB PI); 趙漠居(東大講師) @MojuZhao]

🚁【参加者募集】
東京大学 Dragon Lab.主催「Advanced Aerial Robotics Workshop」公式サイトに、基調講演者（Keynote Speakers）情報を追加しました！

詳細はこちら▶︎ https://t.co/MZuDsE01Gi

🧑‍🔬 若手研究者・学生の現地参加 大歓迎！
📌 今ならポスター発表枠にまだ余裕あり！
🖨️ ポスターはこちらで無料印刷（※印刷後はご自身でお持ち帰りをお願いします）

飛行ロボットや空中マニピュレーションに興味のある方、ぜひご参加を！

#飛行ロボット #ロボティクス #東京大学 #研究者募集 #学生歓迎

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

@loiannog @Berkeley_EECS Congrats

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

@MojuZhao Actually after IROS likely works better for me too!

[Science Advances @ScienceAdvances]

A “hopping,” insect-scale robot demonstrates locomotion efficiency by crossing difficult terrains, overcoming obstacles, and even performing somersaults using its flapping wings and single leg. @HsiaoNemo @pakpongc https://t.co/uqJqr8muDj

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

@robot_in_space2 Thank you! Unfortunately the next ones may not be so small… 😅

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

@lab_ho @HsiaoNemo You visited Boston? The lab is amazing, hope you saw some demos. I suppose you met Nemo, he was my student at CityU.

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

🚀 We’ve created a subgram hopper that combines flight and jumping! 🦗✈️
🔋 64% less power consumption
🏋️ 10× payload capacity
⛰️ traversing complex terrain
Collab with the amazing team, @HsiaoNemo and Kevin Chen
📄 https://t.co/bONkfvFPNJ
🎥 https://t.co/VqK33UEWgI

[Circuit @circuitrobotics]

Meet the Wheeled Legged Drone!

Researchers at City University of Hong Kong have unveiled a hybrid aerial-ground robot that moves seamlessly between flight and wheeled mobility.

Equipped with a reconfigurable single-wheeled leg, it maintains stability in stance mode and achieves high-speed cruising with much higher endurance than a typical quadcopter.

The robot has promising applications in surveying and search and rescue. Where else could it be used?

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

@markkkkky03 You should have said hi.

[Circuit @circuitrobotics]

Insect drones 💡

MIT researchers developed a new generation of insect-sized drones with impressive agility and resilience, inspired by the acrobatic flight of insects.

These tiny drones use innovative soft actuators, enabling them to navigate cramped spaces and withstand collisions, making them ideal for tasks like crop pollination, machinery inspection, and search-and-rescue missions.

While currently tethered to a power source due to high voltage requirements, future advancements could lead to untethered flight, potentially revolutionizing various industries with these ultra-small, durable drones.

Are we likely to see more of these insect-drones take off?

[Circuit @circuitrobotics]

This drone is designed to split in two mid-flight

Researchers from City University of Hong Kong have developed a transformable quadcopter made up of two bicopters, each with just two propellers.

Despite differences in flight modes, both the bicopter and quadcopter configurations are controlled using a unified framework.

In experiments, an undocking mechanism with preloaded elastic energy helps the "SplitFlyer Air" disassemble in mid-air. This catapult-like mechanism allows the bicopters to stabilize and hover without losing altitude.

The successful mid-air disassembly shows potential for search and rescue missions or drone swarming, with potential to increase the number of drones in a single formation 💡

[John A Rogers @ProfJohnARogers]

Congratulations to Dr. Siyi Xu, a postdoc in the group, on accepting a faculty position in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering @UofIllinois at Urbana/Champaign (UIUC).  Siyi was an undergraduate researcher with us back at UIUC.  She left to complete a PhD with Prof. Rob Wood at @Harvard University, and then returned to our group last year, to work on projects in bioelectronics.  I look forward to continued collaborative work with her and her group as she quickly builds a set of exciting, independent set of research efforts at UIUC!!  Thank you Siyi for all of your contributions to our programs!

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

@lucacarlone1 Congratulations!!!!🥂

[Pakpong Chirarattananon @pakpongc]

Boosting speed + power in soft/micro robots promises unprecedented versatility. Join us at the #ICRA2024 impulsive motion workshop on May 13, where innovation meets agility! 🚀 #MicroRobotics #SoftRobotics #Yokohama @dtrbchlr @MKovacRobotics
🔗 https://t.co/z7vRvA1ICe

[Yu_Song @Yu_Song17]

Excited to share that I will join the Department of Biomedical Engineering @CityUHongKong as a tenure-track #Presidential Assistant Professor in July 2024! 🇭🇰 Sincerely appreciate all the strong support from @WeiGaoLab @Caltech, Alice Zhang @PKU1898, professors and friends! 🎉