Assistant Professor
Website: https://people.sutd.edu.sg/~yixiao_wang/
Telephone: +65 9646 7246
Office #: 1.202-07
Pillar / Cluster: Design and Artificial Intelligence, Information Systems Technology and Design
Research Areas:: Artificial and Augmented Intelligence, Interactive Computing, Networked and Autonomous Systems

Biography
My research focuses on human-centered design, engineering, and evaluation of AI-embedded robotic architecture and its components. I believe that one day, our surrounding built environment (e.g., our home, nursing home, office, public space, etc.) can be not only physically, but socially interactive and assistive as if our friends, partners, companions, etc. In my dissertation, I proposed and validated an agency-based design paradigm for space-making robots where AI-embedded walls, ceilings, partitions, etc. can be perceived and designed as socially intelligent agents. More broadly, my work includes but not limited to cyber-physical systems, non-humanoid robots, IoT, and continuum robotics. Application areas of my research include but not limited to healthcare (e.g., smart home & nursing home), education (e.g., smart library), transportation (e.g., smart vehicle interior), and work life (e.g., smart offices).
Education and Work Experience
- 2021 – Present, Assistant Professor, SUTD
- 2016 – 2020, PhD Student, Design & Human Behavior, Cornell University
- 2015 – 2016, PhD Student, Plan, Design, & Built Environment, Clemson University
- 2014 – 2015, Contract Designer & Intern, Parametric Design, MARC FORNES / THEVERYMANY
- 2013 – 2014, Intern, Architecture Design, Adam Sokol Architecture Practice
- 2012 – 2013, Master Student, Architecture, University of California, Berkeley
- 2007 – 2012, Undergraduate, Architecture, Hunan University, China
Professional Activities
- Keynote Speaker of KOSES (Korean Society for Emotion and Sensibility) 2021 Conference (Scheduled)
- Program Committee of IEEE RO-MAN Workshop SCRITA2021 (Trust, Acceptance and Social Cues in Human-Robot Interaction)
- Program Committee of ICSR (International Conference of Social Robotics) 2021 conference.
- Seminar Presentation at Dalian University of Technology
- Associate Chair of ACM DIS (Designing Interactive System) 2021 Conference
- External Reviewer of ACM DIS 2020 Conference
- Presentations at ACM TEI, ACM CHI, IEEE ROMAN, IEEE UV, DCA, & ACSA conferences
Awards
- Serby-Gildea Scholarship, Cornell University
- KMD Prize for Design Excellence in Digital Architecture, Thesis Award, UC Berkeley
Selected Publications
- Yixiao Wang and Keith Evan Green, 2021. “Space Agency”: A “Strong Concept” for Designing Socially Interactive, Robotic Environments. Full Paper In 13th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2021), in press.
- Kaustav Das, Yixiao Wang, and Keith E. Green. 2021. Are robots perceived as good decision makers? A study investigating trust and preference of robotic and human linesman-referees in football. Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics 12, no. 1 (2021): 287-296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/pjbr-2021-0020
- Yixiao Wang, François Guimbretière, and Keith Evan Green. 2020. Are Space-making Robots, Agents? Investigations on User Perception of an Embedded Robotic Surface. 2020 29th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), Naples, Italy, 2020, pp. 1230-1235, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/RO-MAN47096.2020.9223532.
- Richa Sirohi, Yixiao Wang, Samantha Hollenberg, Isuru S. Godage, Ian D. Walker, and Keith Evan Green. 2019. Design and Characterization of a Novel, Continuum-Robot Surface for the Human Environment. In Proceedings of 2019 the 15th IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering – CASE 19(2019). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/COASE.2019.8842988.
- Yixiao Wang, Chase Frazelle, Richa Sirohi, and Liheng Li. 2019. Design and Characterization of a Novel Robotic Surface for Application to Compressed Physical Environments. In Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE International Conferences on Robotics and Automation – ICRA 19(2019). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2019.8794043
- Yixiao Wang and Keith Evan Green. 2019. A Pattern-Based, Design Framework for Designing Collaborative Environments. In Proceedings of the 13th ACM International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction – TEI 19(2019), pp. 595-604. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3294109.3295652
- Yixiao Wang, Keith Evan Green, Rod Grupen, Johnell Brooks, and Ian D. Walker. 2018. Designing Intelligent Spaces as if They Were Human: A “Space Agent” Framework. In Proceedings of the 4th IEEE International Conference on Universal Village (UV)(2018), pp. 1-6. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/uv.2018.8642135