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About

Mohamed Najib Ribuan is a pioneering researcher in soft robotics, focusing on the development of flexible, compliant systems for medical assistance, inspection, and locomotion. His work centers on creating safe, human-friendly robots using pneumatic rubber actuators and silicone-based materials that can bend, stretch, and move omnidirectionally. Ribuan’s major contributions include the design of a soft robot platform for medical X-ray assistive devices, which leverages transparent, compliant actuators to improve patient safety and imaging access. He also introduced a novel pneumatic rubber leg mechanism for omnidirectional locomotion, enabling robots to move in any direction through balloon-like deformation. More recently, Ribuan has advanced the field by addressing a key challenge in soft continuum robots: reducing the number of actuators needed for multi-segment manipulation, thereby lowering cost and complexity while maintaining performance. His work on slender continuum manipulators for tall structure inspection further demonstrates the practical utility of soft robotics in hazardous environments. With over 30 citations across his most-cited papers, Ribuan’s research is shaping the future of safe, adaptable, and efficient robotic systems for real-world applications.