Research Interests
- Computational Design for Robotic Hands
- Physics-Based Simulation and Optimization
- Design and Control of Robotic Grippers
- Manipulator Path Planning
- Teleoperated Systems
- Tendon-driven Mechanisms
- Soft Robotics
- Under-Actuated Systems
Experience
| Preiod | Experience |
|---|---|
| Sep. 2025 - Present |
Postdoctoral Research Associate CREATE Lab, EPFL Advisor: Prof. Josie Hughes |
| Mar. 2025 - Aug. 2025 |
Postdoctoral Research Associate Soft Robotics Research Center (SRRC), Biorobotics Lab, Seoul National University Advisor: Prof. Kyu-Jin Cho |
Education
| Preiod | Education |
|---|---|
| Sep. 2017 - Feb. 2025 |
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea • Dissertation: Multi-Object Grasping Using Finger-to-Palm Translation for Pick-and-Place Tasks • Advisor: Prof. Kyu-Jin Cho • Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award |
| Mar. 2013 - Aug. 2017 |
B.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea • Summa Cum Laude |
Research experience
| Preiod | Research experience |
|---|---|
| 2026 - Present |
Computational Design Optimization of a Robotic Hand for Tool Use • Optimized manufacturing-constrained hand parameters for robust tool use via Bayesian Optimization. • Employed MuJoCo for efficient design space exploration and hardware feasibility validation. |
| 2025 - Present |
LLM-Guided Task Planning for Heterogeneous Bimanual Manipulation • Leveraged LLMs for high-level task reasoning and distribution between asymmetric end-effectors. • Validate cognitive reasoning and action chunking for complex tasks via teleoperation. |
| 2025 - Present |
Integrated Hand System Development through Industry Collaboration • Integrated state-of-the-art sensors and motors into a robot hand via industry collaboration. • Troubleshooting engineering issues during the integration phase. |
| 2024 - 2025 |
Manipulator path planning for multi-object grasping in declutter problem • Efficiently solved the decluttering problem by grasping and transporting multiple objects at once. • Proposed an algorithm to find the minimum path for decluttering all given objects. |
| 2024 - 2025 |
Robotic Hand Design for Multi-Object Grasping • Designed a robotic hand that sequentially grasps and stores multiple objects, and transports them all at once. • Analyzed finger links’ length and joint stiffness for target motion through analytic model and simulation. • Designed the experiments and demonstrations. |
| 2019 - 2024 |
Multi-object grasping using finger-to-palm translation for pick-and-place tasks • Proposed finger-to-palm translation as a key manipulation skill for multi-object grasping in pick-and-place tasks. • Presented a finger design enabling finger-to-palm translation. • Introduced a soft conveyor palm design capable of storing multiple objects simultaneously. • Designed the experiment, conducted experimental work, and performed demonstrations. • Conducted analytic modeling and ABAQUS simulation. |
| 2020 - 2022 |
Compliant suction gripper with seamless deployment and retraction • Supervised a UROP student and submitted a paper to IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. • Designed a deployable body of a suction cup. • Proposed a pneumatic circuit design for seamless deployment, picking, and retraction. • Designed the experiments and demonstrations. |
| 2020 - 2022 |
Development of a collaborative assistive robot arm utilizing foldable soft robot technology Funded by Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy • Integrated the developed foldable gripper and the developed robotic arm |
| 2020 - 2021 |
Dual-Origami Design that Enables the Quasisequential Deployment and Bending Motion • Designed the experiments and demonstrations. |
| 2018 - 2020 |
Development of modular gripper for small quantity production process Funded by Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials • Principal investigator of research project • Controlled the developed soft gripper using ROS communication • Developed a customized soft gripper with task specific designs |
| 2017 - 2020 |
Development of fundamental soft robotics technology for advanced soft grippers Funded by Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy • Principal investigator of research project • Developed pneumatically actuated soft gripper for various objects, especially e-commerce • Controlled the developed soft gripper using ROS communication • Benchmarked the Amazon Picking Challenge to analyze feasibility of gripper |
| 2018 - 2019 |
A hybrid gripper with pinching and suction grasp modes using a soft reconfigurable structure • Designed a soft reconfigurable structure that functions as a gripper with fingers and transforms into a suction cup upon everting. • Designed a tendon routing for adaptive grasping. |
| 2017 - 2018 |
Soft LEGO: Bottom-up design platform for soft robotics • Proposed modular soft pneumatic actuator design compatible with LEGO. • Utilized the ABAQUS simulation to predict the behavior of a soft pneumatic module. • Designed the demonstrations. |
Technical Skills
| Categories | Technical Skills |
|---|---|
| Mechanism design and prototyping |
• Robotic hand • MOGrip • Chameleon gripper • Experimental setups |
| Actuator system design and control |
• Tendon-driven actuators for the under-actuated gripper • Pneumatic circuit design • Manipulator path planning |
| Analysis and Simulation | • MuJoCo • ABAQUS • MATLAB |
| CAD design | • SOLIDWORKS • Autodesk Fusion |
| Manufacturing | • Elastomer Molding for Soft Robot Fabrication • Laser cutter • 3D printing • Heat press |
| Circuit design | • Eagle CAD |
Scholarship
| Preiod | Scholarship |
|---|---|
| Mar. 2015 - Dec. 2016 | National Science & Technology Scholarship Funded by Korea Student Aid Foundation |
| Mar. 2013 - Dec. 2014 | National Scholarship Funded by Korea Student Aid Foundation |
Honor and Awards
International
| Preiod | Awards |
|---|---|
| May. 2026 | Reviewer of the Year (2025) npj Robotics |
| Apr. 2021 | 1st prize winner, RoboSoft 2021 Manipulation Challenge IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics • Team leader |
| Apr. 2019 | 3rd prize winner, RoboSoft 2019 Manipulation Challenge IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics • Team leader |
Domestic
| Preiod | Awards |
|---|---|
| Feb. 2025 | Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award Department of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University |
| Nov. 2023 | Honorable Mention, 8th KSME-SEMES Open Innovation Challenge (Young Engineers Group) The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers & SEMES Co., Ltd. • Team leader |
| Nov. 2023 | Honorable Mention, 8th KSME-SEMES Open Innovation Challenge (Young Engineers Group) The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers & SEMES Co., Ltd. • Team leader |
| Nov. 2020 | Silver prize, 5th KSME-SEMES Open Innovation Challenge (Young Engineers Group) The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers & SEMES Co., Ltd. • Team member |
| Dec. 2019 | Silver prize, 5th KSME-SEMES Open Innovation Challenge (Young Engineers Group) The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers & SEMES Co., Ltd. • Team leader |
| Feb. 2019 | Bronze prize, 25th SAMSUNG Humantech Paper Award SAMSUNG • Team member |
Teaching Experience
| Preiod | Teaching Experience |
|---|---|
| Sep. 2019 - Dec. 2019 | Teaching Assistant Dynamics (M2794.001200) Supervisor : Prof. Kyu-Jin Cho Seoul National University |
| Mar. 2018 - Jun. 2018 | Teaching Assistant Management in Mechanical Engineering 1 (M2794.004500) Supervisor : Prof. Young-sang Yoo Seoul National University |
| Jan. 2025 - Present Feb. 2023 - Dec. 2024 Dec. 2020 - Dec. 2022 Sep. 2018 - Aug. 2019 |
B.S Thesis/UROP Tutoring Led the B.S. Thesis of one undergraduate student (Prof. Kyu-Jin Cho) Led six students for the Undergraduate Research Opportunities (Prof. Kyu-Jin Cho) Seoul National University |
Professional Service
Served as a reviewer in Science Robotics, npj Robotics, RA-L, ROBOSOFT.
Contact & CV
For any inquires, you can reach me via email: jaemineom81@gmail.com.
CV can be downloaded from here.
Update: 2026/05/16