CV

Education

• Ph.D in Robotics and Autonomous Systems, University of Bristol and University of the West of England, 2019
• Master of Science in Robotcs, Systems and Control, ETH Zürich (jointly with Disney Research Zürich), 2014
• Bachelor of Technology with Honors in Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, 2012

Fellowship

• Australia India Strategic Research Fund Early and Mid-Career Researcher Fellowship, 2025

Work experience

• Lecturer, School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics, QUT, Brisbane
  • Chief Investigator, QUT Centre for Robotics
  • Lead, Soft Robotics and Co-Lead, Medical Robotics Research Group
  • Since Dec 2022
• Scientist
  • Electrostatic Adhesion for Robot Grippers
  • Soft Transducers Lab (LMTS) and Laboratory of Intelligent Systems (LIS), EPFL
  • Duration: Oct 2020 - Sep 2022
• Research Associate
  • Fabrication of gel based robots
  • Duration: April 2019 - Sep 2020
• Research Associate in Soft Robotics
  • Implantable soft robotic devices to treat vocal fold paralysis
  • Studied anatomy of vocal folds. Designed a simulator and an implant to treat paralysis.
  • Supervisors: Prof. Jonathan Rossiter and Dr. Andrew Conn
  • Duration: Nov 2016 - May 2017
• Research Assistant - Elizabeth Blackwell Institute
  • Cilia-Inspired microfluidic manipulators for lab-on-a-chip diagnostic devices
  • Worked on testing an ionic polymer metal composite device.
  • Supervisor: Dr. Andrew Conn
  • Duration: Aug - Sep, 2016
• Visiting Researcher
  • Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, EPFL
  • Worked on a simulator for soft cells. Looked at evolutionary algorithms to generate functional structures.
  • Supervisor: Prof. Dario Floreano
  • Duration: May - Dec, 2014
• Intern - Disney Research Zürich
  • Design and control of friendly robots with personality
  • Worked on a quadruped capable of displaying personalities with the goal of creating friendly robots for children.
  • Supervisor: Prof. Stelian Coros
  • Duration: Jun - Sep, 2013
• Semester Project
  • Ajile and Dexterous Robotics Lab, ETH Zurich
  • Mechanical Design of a Robot gripper with Soft Skin for Control Tasks
  • Supervisor: Dr. Jonas Buchli
• Intern
  • Electroincs and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), DRDO Bengaluru
  • Worked on a Kalman filter based tracker to be used on an airborne early warning system.
  • Supervisor: Dr. Duvvuri Seshagiri
  • Duration: May - Jul, 2011

Publications

An Experimental Study of Downwash Effects on a Continuum Manipulator Integrated with a Multirotor UAV

Uthayasooriyan, Anuraj, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, Fernando Vanegas, and Felipe Gonzalez. "An Experimental Study of Downwash Effects on a Continuum Manipulator Integrated with a Multirotor UAV." IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (2026).

U-Joint CAAMS: Experimental Evaluation of a Universal-Joint Continuum Manipulator for Aerial Manipulation

Uthayasooriyan, Anuraj, Musab Alibrahim, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, Fernando Vanegas, and Felipe Gonzalez. "U-Joint CAAMS: Experimental Evaluation of a Universal-Joint Continuum Manipulator for Aerial Manipulation." In 2026 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), pp. 1037-1044. IEEE, 2026.

Tilt-X: Enabling Compliant Aerial Manipulation through a Tiltable-Extensible Continuum Manipulator

Anuraj Uthayasooriyan, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, Jack Breward, Fernando Vanegas, Julian Galvez-Serna, Felipe Gonzalez, "Tilt-X: Enabling Compliant Aerial Manipulation through a Tiltable-Extensible Continuum Manipulator." In 2026 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2026.

Programmable Telescopic Soft Pneumatic Actuators for Deployable and Shape Morphing Soft Robots

Kemp, Joel, André Farinha, David Howard, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, and Josh Pinskier. "Programmable Telescopic Soft Pneumatic Actuators for Deployable and Shape Morphing Soft Robots." In 2026 IEEE 9th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft), pp. 1-8. IEEE, 2026.

An experimental characterization of mechanical layer jamming systems

Gumowski, Jessica, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, and David Howard. "An experimental characterization of mechanical layer jamming systems." In 2026 IEEE 9th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft), pp. 1025-1030. IEEE, 2026.

A Capacitance Sensor for Monitoring Brace Compliance and Pressure in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis

Digumarti, Krishna Manaswi, Noon Osman, Genevieve Hughes, and J. Paige Little. "A Capacitance Sensor for Monitoring Brace Compliance and Pressure in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis." In 2026 IEEE 9th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft), pp. 579-584. IEEE, 2026.

Design and Characterization of a Thermal-electrostatic Dual-modal Soft Pouch Motor

Wu, Chuang, Youzhan Wang, Xiaozheng Li, Qingbiao Li, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, and Chongjing Cao. "Design and Characterization of a Thermal-electrostatic Dual-modal Soft Pouch Motor." In 2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), pp. 13032-13039. IEEE, 2025.

T-Touch: a Soft Thermal-haptic Multimodal Fingertip Wearable Device for Immersive Virtual Reality

Wang, Youzhan, Jinjun Li, Chuang Wu, Xiaozheng Li, Qingbiao Li, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, and Chongjing Cao. "T-Touch: a Soft Thermal-haptic Multimodal Fingertip Wearable Device for Immersive Virtual Reality." In 2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), pp. 1440-1447. IEEE, 2025.

Electrostatically Induced Multi-directional Vibro-impact Motions

Wu, Chuang, Xiaozheng Li, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, and Chongjing Cao. "Electrostatically Induced Multi-directional Vibro-impact Motions." In 2025 IEEE 8th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft), pp. 1-6. IEEE, 2025.

Electrostatically Induced Programmable Vibro-Impact Motion in Multiple Degrees of Freedom

Wu, Chuang, Guorui Li, Xing Gao, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, and Chongjing Cao. "Electrostatically Induced Programmable Vibro-Impact Motion in Multiple Degrees of Freedom." IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics 30, no. 6 (2025): 7973-7984.

Tendon-driven continuum robots for aerial manipulation — a survey of fabrication methods

Uthayasooriyan, Anuraj, et al. "Tendon-driven continuum robots for aerial manipulation—a survey of fabrication methods." Drones 8.6 (2024): 269.

Soft monolithic shielded sensors to measure shear and normal forces for local slip detection

Aksoy, Bekir, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, and Herbert Shea. "Soft monolithic shielded sensors to measure shear and normal forces for local slip detection." Advanced Materials Technologies 9.16 (2024): 2400486.

Folding for Stiffening: A Novel Corrugated Electro-Adhesive Clutch.

Wang, Youzhan, et al. "Folding for Stiffening: A Novel Corrugated Electro-Adhesive Clutch." in 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO), Dec. 2023.

Shielded stretchable capacitive force sensors with liquid metal channels

Aksoy, Bekir, et al. "Shielded stretchable capacitive force sensors with liquid metal channels," Proc. SPIE PC12482, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XXV, PC124820I (28 April 2023)

Electro-Adhesive Tubular Clutch for Variable-Stiffness Robots

Sun, Yi, et al. "Electro-Adhesive Tubular Clutch for Variable-Stiffness Robots." in 2022 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Oct. 2022.

Slip Anticipation for Grasping Deformable Objects Using a Soft Force Sensor

Judd, Euan, et al. "Slip Anticipation for Grasping Deformable Objects Using a Soft Force Sensor." in 2022 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Oct. 2022.

Shielded Soft Force Sensors

Aksoy, Bekir, et al. "Shielded soft force sensors." Nature communications 13.1 (2022): 1-12.

A variable stiffness soft gripper with integrated ion-drag pump

Michael Smith, Krishna Manaswi Digumarti, Vito Cacucciolo, and Herbert Shea "A variable stiffness soft gripper with integrated ion-drag pump", Proc. SPIE PC12042, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XXIV, (18 April 2022)

Dexterous textile manipulation using electroadhesive fingers

K. M. Digumarti et al., "Dexterous textile manipulation using electroadhesive fingers," in 2021 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Sep. 2021.

Toward Stimuli-Responsive Soft Robots with 3D Printed Self-Healing Konjac Glucomannan Gels

K. M. Digumarti et al., "Toward Stimuli-Responsive Soft Robots with 3D Printed Self-Healing Konjac Glucomannan Gels," in 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, July 2021.

B:Ionic Glove: A Soft Smart Wearable Sensory Feedback Device for Upper Limb Robotic Prostheses

M. F. Simons et al., "B:Ionic Glove: A Soft Smart Wearable Sensory Feedback Device for Upper Limb Robotic Prostheses," in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 3311-3316, April 2021.

NeatSkin: A Discrete Impedance Tomography Skin Sensor

Judd E, Digumarti KM, Rossiter J, Hauser H. NeatSkin: A Discrete Impedance Tomography Skin Sensor. In 2020 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft) 2020 Apr 6. IEEE.

Quantifying Dynamic Shapes in Soft Morphologies

Digumarti KM, Trimmer B, Conn AT, Rossiter J. Quantifying Dynamic Shapes in Soft Morphologies. Soft robotics. 2019 Jul 17.

Tiled Auxetic Cylinders for Soft Robots

Simons MF, Digumarti KM, Conn AT, Rossiter J. Tiled Auxetic Cylinders for Soft Robots. In 2019 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft) 2019 Apr 14. IEEE.

Lessons from delivering a STEM workshop using educational robots given language limitations

Carrillo-Zapata D, Lee C, Digumarti KM, Hauert S, Boushel C. Lessons from delivering a STEM workshop using educational robots given language limitations. In: Merdan M., Lepuschitz W., Koppensteiner G., Balogh R., Obdržálek D. (eds) Robotics in Education. RiE 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1023. Springer, Cham.

Pellicular Morphing Surfaces for Soft Robots

Digumarti KM, Conn AT, Rossiter J. Pellicular Morphing Surfaces for Soft Robots. In 2018 IEEE Robotics and Automation letters 2019 Volume 4 Issue 3 July 2019 (pp. 2304-2309). IEEE.

EuMoBot: replicating euglenoid movement in a soft robot

Digumarti KM, Conn AT, Rossiter J. EuMoBot: replicating euglenoid movement in a soft robot. Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 2018 Nov 21;15(148):20180301.

Multi-directional crawling robot with soft actuators and electroadhesive grippers

Digumarti KM, Cao C, Guo J, Conn AT, Rossiter J. Multi-directional crawling robot with soft actuators and electroadhesive grippers. In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft) 2018 Apr 24 (pp. 303-308). IEEE.

Euglenoid-Inspired Giant Shape Change for Highly Deformable Soft Robots

Digumarti KM, Conn AT, Rossiter J. Euglenoid-Inspired Giant Shape Change for Highly Deformable Soft Robots. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters. 2017 Oct;2(4):2302-7.

Concurrent optimization of mechanical design and locomotion control of a legged robot

Digumarti KM, Gehring C, Coros S, Hwangbo J, Siegwart R. Concurrent optimization of mechanical design and locomotion control of a legged robot. In Mobile Service Robotics 2014 (pp. 315-323).

Conference and Workshop Organization

• Publications Chair, 2027 IEEE 10th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft 2027), Brisbane, Australia
• Co-organizer, Workshop on Embodied Intelligence Meets Foundation Models: Tactile Sensing and Soft Manipulation at Robotics Science and Systems (RSS) 2026, Sydney, Australia

Editorial work

• Topic Editor, Adaptive Bioinspired Soft Robotics: Bridging Natural Behavior and Robotic Intelligence, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 2026
• Co-Guest Editor, Responsive and Multifunctional Soft Matter, Journal of Applied Physics, 2026

Awards and Achievements

• Recipient of the ETH Scholarship for Master’s students, 2013
• Recipient of the University of Tokyo IIT Undergraduate Student Scholarship Program (TODAI – Mori Seiki Scholarship) twice (2010, 2011)
• Participated in the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths Programme June 9th – 18th, 2010
• Awarded the University of Bristol Alumni Foundation Travel Grant, 2019
• Cleared the ‘Ideas’ round of the University of Bristol’s Basecamp New Enterprise Competition 2018-19
• Won the second prize for presenting a Numerical Analysis of Heat Transfer in the Foot During the Act of Firewalking at Techkriti 2011 in IIT Kanpur
• Won the second prize in a circuit design challenge at IIT Madras, 2009 for demonstrating a low-cost energy saving home automation circuit

Teaching

Foundations of Kinematics and Algorithms in Robotics

Entrepreneurship and Applications

Robot Motion, Control and Planning

Robot Anatomy

Evolutionary Robotics

Robotics Practicals - Artificial Muscles

Robotic Fundamentals

Aerospace engineering tutorial

Summer school - electrical engineering

Outreach and Voluntary Work

• Coordinate ASPIRE for the School of electrical engineering and robotics at QUT, working with the Mabel Park State High School.
• STEM ambassador UK. Regularly participate in outreach activities of the Bristol Robotics Lab, interacting with children, teaching programming, talking science and demonstrating robots.
• Participated in the Science in Schools outreach program organized by the British Council in France, November 2017. Part of a three-member team visiting schools in Nancy-Metz.
• Research featured in episode, 50 Shapes of Goo, of BBC Click with a worldwide audience of 380 million households, 10th June 2017. Cover photo shows off one of my robots.
• Member of the Bristol Robotics Lab delegation at the Robotics Conference, Science Museum, London, 4th July 2016. Demonstrated soft robots to officials of the government and journalists.
• Presented my research from the Soft Robotics Lab to the EPSRC Council on their visit to the University of Bristol, July 2016.
• Demonstrator for ROBOSOFT at the Gadget Show 2016, Birmingham. Engaged with members of the public on recent advancements in soft robotics. More than 6000 people visited our stand.
• Spearheaded a fundraiser to provide infrastructure to a school as part of an initiative by the alumni of IITH. Provided drinking water, built a library, set up labs and started computer training.

Skills

• Programming: C/C++, Python, MATLAB
• Workshop skills: casting, fitting, welding, carpentry, working the lathe, 3D printing, laser cutting
• Modelling and simulation: Siemens NX, SolidWorks, Autodesk Fusion (including scripting), ANSYS, Inkscape, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, Blender
• Tools and technologies: Microcontroller programming, image processing, computer-based simulation, modelling, animation, web design, HPC (beginner)
• Languages:
  • English, Telugu, Hindi (fluent)
  • French (A2)
  • German (A1)
  • Sanskrit (beginner, pravesa)

Hobbies

• Hold a brown belt in Shotokan karate, won gold at the national level
• Enjoy drawing and sculpting
• Adept at table tennis. Played for the department’s team
• Avid video gamer