CV

Education

• Georgia Institute of Technology, Ph.D. in Robotics (Aerospace Department), 06/2024 – present
  Lab: Computational Design and Metamaterial Lab
  Coursework: Dynamics in Mechanical Systems; Robotics; Machine Learning; Introduction to Robotics; Structural Dynamics; Deep Learning; Evaluation of Human Integrated Systems

• Harvard University, Master of Design Studies (Technology Domain), 09/2021 – 06/2023
  Coursework: Advanced Topics in Robotics Research (Micro-robotic Fabrication); Material Systems: Digital Design and Fabrication; Introduction to Computer Science; Informal Robotics

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cross-Registration), Mechanical Engineering / EECS, 09/2021 – 06/2023
  Coursework: Additive Manufacturing; Design and Manufacturing; Computing Fabrics; Mobile and Sensor Computing; Experiment in Zero-Gravity Flight

• South China Agricultural University, Bachelor of Engineering (Architecture Domain), 09/2012 – 06/2017

Skills

• Design: Adobe Illustrator, AutoCAD, Adobe Photoshop
• Modeling: Rhino, Grasshopper, Fusion 360, SolidWorks, AutoCAD
• Fabrication: 3D Printing (FDM, SLA), CNC Milling, Injection Molding, Vacuum Forming, Laser Cutting, Soft Material Fabrication, Knitting and Weaving, Wood Making
• Testing: Material Mechanical Testing, Wind Tunnel Testing, Vibration Testing
• Computation: MATLAB, Python, ROS
• Prototyping: Arduino Programming

Work Experience

• Research Associate, Morphing Matter Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon University, 07/2023 – 12/2023
  • Designed and fast prototyped the 2nd generation of a bio-inspired sustainable seed carrier
  • Improved material lifespan and replaced original materials with sustainable alternatives
  • Conducted in-field testing
• Research Assistant, Harvard Micro-Robotics Laboratory, Harvard SEAS, 05/2022 – 06/2023
  • Contributed to Project CETI (Sea Exploration Robot)
  • Deployed devices for whale communication in deep ocean
  • Designed and fabricated adhesion and releasing systems (suction cups, burn wire, vacuum generator)
• Project Manager / Senior Architectural Designer, LWK+Partners (Hong Kong), 10/2017 – 12/2020
  • Designed government healthcare facilities including hospitals and health centers
  • Consolidated requirements from the Hospital Authority client
  • Coordinated with designers and engineers to deliver layout plans

Publications

• Electronic-free Particle Robots Communicate through Architected Tentacles(Advanced Intelligent Systems) Xinyi Yang, Bohan Wang, Victor Riera Naranjo, Minghao Guo, Olivia Rivera, Leonid Sopizhenko, Shucong Li, William Freeman, Wojciech Matusik, Bolei Deng
  DOI: 10.1002/aisy.202500151

• OriStitch: A Machine Embroidery Workflow to Turn Existing Fabrics into Self-Folding 3D Textiles (Accepted, ACM Symposium on Computational Fabrication)
  Zekun Chang, Yuta Noma, Shuo Feng, Xinyi Yang, Kazuhiro Shinoda, Koji Yatani, Tomoyuki Yokota, Takao Someya, Yoshihiro Kawahara, Koya Narumi, Thijs Roumen
  DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2412.02891

• Passive Vacuum Regeneration for Suction-Based Marine Adhesion Devices (Accepted, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering)
  Germain Meyer, Daniel Vogt, Xinyi Yang, Robert Wood DOI: 10.1109/JOE.2025.3595607

• A Digital Fabrication Procedure to Rapidly Fold Structures via Pull-up Nets (ACM International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction)
  Xinyi Yang, Lauren Niu, Martin Nisser, Stefanie Mueller
  DOI: 10.1145/3569009.3573123

• A Programmable Composite Material for Tangible Interaction (ACM International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction)
  Xinyi Yang, Martin Nisser, Stefanie Mueller
  DOI: 10.1145/3569009.3573120

• Azimuth Calculation and Telecommunication between VR Headset and Smartphone for Nearby Interaction (ACM International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction)
  Xinyi Yang, Susanna Chen, Katarina Bulovic*, Junyi Zhu, Stefanie Mueller
  DOI: 10.1145/3569009.3573107