Constantina Lekakou

About

Constantina Lekakou is a leading researcher in soft robotics, with a particular focus on advancing surgical applications through innovative design and modeling. Her work centers on the development of pneumatically actuated soft manipulators, combining finite element analysis, material science, and continuum mechanics to create flexible, safe robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery. Her most cited paper (216 citations) presents a finite element analysis and design optimization of a pneumatically actuating silicone module for robotic surgery, demonstrating her expertise in creating soft tissue-like actuators. She has also made significant contributions to dynamic modeling of fiber-reinforced soft manipulators (80 citations), employing visco-hyperelastic material models to improve control accuracy. Lekakou’s research extends to stiffness control, where she has developed tunable stiffness mechanisms critical for real-time surgical procedures, and bio-inspired skins and sleeves for soft robotics. Her work on design optimization of silicone pneumatic actuators and system identification for soft actuators further underscores her impact, with over 386 total citations across her top papers. Through her pioneering efforts, Lekakou has established herself as a key figure in making soft robotics viable for delicate, real-world surgical interventions.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Finite Element Analysis and Design Optimization of a Pneumatically Actuating Silicone Module for Robotic Surgery Applications

   216 citations · 2014
2. 2
   Dynamic Modeling of Fiber-Reinforced Soft Manipulator: A Visco-Hyperelastic Material-Based Continuum Mechanics Approach

   80 citations · 2019
3. 3
   Design optimisation of soft silicone pneumatic actuators using finite element analysis

   23 citations · 2014
4. 4
   Stiffness Control for Soft Surgical Manipulators

   20 citations · 2018
5. 5
   A unified system identification approach for a class of pneumatically-driven soft actuators

   15 citations · 2014
6. 6
   Skins and Sleeves for Soft Robotics: Inspiration from Nature and Architecture

   14 citations · 2015
7. 7
   Crimped braided sleeves for soft, actuating arm in robotic abdominal surgery

   7 citations · 2015
8. 8
   A Material-Based Model for the Simulation and Control of Soft Robot Actuator

   6 citations · 2017
9. 9
   A new coefficient-adaptive orthonormal basis function model structure for identifying a class of pneumatic soft actuators

   5 citations · 2014
10. 10
    Tuneable Stiffness Design of Soft Continuum Manipulator

    5 citations · 2015

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links