The IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft 2025), organized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and hosted by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), was recently held in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Creeper, a student team from the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)—under the mentorship of Associate Professor Hongqiang WANG from the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering—participated in the finals and claimed first place in the In-pipe Locomotion competition.

The competition attracted teams from renowned universities and research institutions, including the University of Michigan, Queen Mary University of London, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, EPFL, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Representing SUSTech, Creeper was the only all-undergraduate team at the event. The team members—Wuheng WANG, Jiaqi CHEN, Yafei ZHANG, and Xiaoyu ZHU—were guided by Ph.D. student Ting WANG and emerged as winners in the In-pipe Locomotion category.

This achievement marks the fifth consecutive year that a team from SUSTech has received awards at RoboSoft, making it the only team with such a consistent track record over this period.

The competition challenged teams to design and build robots capable of autonomous movement within confined environments such as narrow pipelines, while demonstrating adaptability, system optimization, and mechanical robustness.

The SUSTech team’s electric-driven robot utilized a PLA-worm gear to power TPU-printed tracks. These tracks allowed for differential tooth skipping and synchronized meshing, enabling dynamic diameter adjustment to better grip the inner pipe walls, significantly enhancing flexibility and adaptability in curved sections.

To overcome obstacles such as inner-pipe barriers and silicone soft walls, the team incorporated dual-sided PVC pads to improve obstacle clearance and overall robustness across different challenge segments. Additionally, an onboard air duct system allowed the robot to loosen sand or debris by ejecting gas from its front, giving it the ability to tunnel through sand-like terrains.

The IEEE RoboSoft Conference is recognized as the leading international event in soft robotics, attracting global experts and scholars annually to showcase the latest advancements, provide a platform for exchanges, and promote the development of the world’s soft robotics field.