Department of
Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering
 

Image of Xin Dong

Xin Dong

Associate Professor in Engineering Design For Manufacturing, Faculty of Engineering

Contact

  • workRoom B39 Advanced Manufacturing Building
    Jubilee Campus
    Wollaton Road
    Nottingham
    NG8 1BB
    UK
  • work0115 84 66395

Biography

Dr. Xin Dong is part of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Group. He is also part of the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre (UTC) in Manufacturing and On-Wing Technology at the University of Nottingham. His research interests are continuum and soft robots for inspection and repair in challenging environments. Dr Dong has worked on the topic of continuum robots since the start of his PhD research in 2011. Dr Dong led the development of the world's first continuum robot for in-situ coating repair of aero-engines (TRL6) in 2018 under FLARE (Innovate UK: 2015-2018) and deployed an 8m long continuum arm in an active nuclear cell at Dounreay site within Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in 2024 (GameChangers: 2022-2024). Further, Dr Dong served as the academic lead for coordinating the continuum robot development in several UKRI and ATI projects, including RAIN and RAIN+ (EPSRC: 2017-2022), CHIMERA (UKRI-2019-2022) and REINSTATE (ATI: 2020-2024). Dr Dong is an associate editor of the Journal of Field Robotics and a board member of the Early Career Forum in the EPSRC UK-RAS network.

Expertise Summary

  • Soft/continuum Robotic systems for in-situ repair and maintenance of large structures (e.g. aerospace, nuclear and aircraft wings).
  • Modeling of flexible robotic systems (e.g. kinematics, dynamics and stiffness);
  • Development of stiffness-adjustable systems for in-situ repair and maintenance;
  • Parallel kinematics system for machining and repairing operations;
  • Miniaturized soft robots

Research Summary

Robotics and AI Collaboration (RAICo) - Developing an 8-meter Disposable Long Snake Manipulator for Surveying Nuclear Environments via Narrow Entry (PI, 2024-2025). EPSRC IAA Awards - Developing… read more

Recent Publications

Current Research

  1. Robotics and AI Collaboration (RAICo) - Developing an 8-meter Disposable Long Snake Manipulator for Surveying Nuclear Environments via Narrow Entry (PI, 2024-2025).
  2. EPSRC IAA Awards - Developing a Snake Robot for Inspection and Maintenance of Aircraft Wing (PI, 2023-2024).
  3. Innovate UK - REINSTATE: Repair, Enhanced Inspection, and Novel Sensing Techniques for increased Availability and reduced Through life Expenses (CI, 2020-2024, https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=51689).

Past Research

  1. Innovate UK - 'FLame spray Adder for in-situ patch Repair of aero-Engine combustors' (FLARE, 2015-2018)
  2. EPSRC - Through-life performance: From science to instrumentation (2017-2022)
  3. Innovate UK - Robotic Inspection of Pressure Vessels (CHIMERA, 2019-2022)
  4. EPSRC - Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for Nuclear Plus (RAIN+, 2021-2022)

Department of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Materials Engineering

The University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD


telephone: +44 (0) 115 95 14081