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Soh Gim Song

SOH Gim Song

Associate Professor
Director (Education and Innovation)
EMAIL
sohgimsong
sutd.edu.sg
WEBSITE
OFFICE
1.402.18
CONTACT
+65 6303 6679
RESEARCH AREAS
Design Science & Engineering
Robotics & Electronics

Biography

Gim Song Soh is an Associate Professor in Engineering Product Development and Director of Education and Innovation at SUTD, where he is the lead Pl in the Robotics Innovation Lab. His research addresses fundamental challenges in autonomous robotics and intelligent manufacturing, developing robotic systems that can operate reliably in complex, unstructured environments. His work spans bio-inspired locomotion, multi-robot coordination, human-robot teaming, mechanism design, and hybrid wire arc additive manufacturing. His robotic systems have been applied across a range of domains including urban search and rescue, construction, healthcare, aviation MAO, and large-scale marine fabrication.

He obtained his MSc and PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Irvine, where he developed computer-aided design tools for the synthesis of articulated mechanical systems. He was a Visiting Scholar at MIT and an Associate Research Scientist at the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology prior to joining SUTO as a founding faculty member in 2011. He holds 4 granted US patents and has received multiple best paper awards at ASME and IEEE conferences, including at IDETC in 2024, 2023, and 2018, as well as Singapore Good Design Mark Awards for his robotic systems. He serves on the ASME Design Engineering Division Awards Executive Committee and as Chairperson of the International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science (IFToMM) Singapore Member Organisation. He was Associate Editor of the ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics from 2019 to 2025.

For details on my publications, see

Education
  • PhD Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, USA, 2008
  • MSc Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, USA, 2006
  • BEng Mechanical and Production Engineering (Mechatronics), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2003
Research interests
  • Kinematics
  • Mechanisms
  • Robotics
  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Wearable Devices

My co-authored book published in 2010:
Institutional and professional services

Institutional services at SUTD
  • Jun 2024 – Present: Director, Robotics Innovation Lab (RIL), SUTD.
  • Jan 2022 – Present: Director, Office of Education and Innovation (ODEI), SUTD.
  • Apr 2020 – Dec 2021: Director, Graduate Studies, SUTD.
  • Jun 2019 – Mar 2020: Associate Director, Graduate Studies, SUTD.

Professional society and editorial services
  • Nov 2025 – Present: Awards Executive, ASME Design Engineering Division (DED).
  • Jun 2019 – Dec 2025: Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics.
  • Jun 2018 – Present: Chairperson, IFToMM Singapore Member Organization.
  • Sep 2014 – Present: Member, IFToMM Technical Committee for Robotics and Mechatronics.
  • May 2015 – Present: Working Group Member, Automation, Robotics and Precision Engineering Technical Committee, Singapore Standards Council.
Professional activities
  • Jun 2019 – Dec 2025: Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics.
  • Jun 2011 – Present: Member, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
  • Mar 2014 – Present: Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
  • Jan 2016 – Present: Member, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (RAS).
  • Sep 2014 – Present: Member, IFToMM Technical Committee for Robotics and Mechatronics (International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science).
  • Jun 2018 – Present: Chairperson, IFToMM Singapore Member Organization.
  • May 2015 – Present: Working Group Member, Automation, Robotics and Precision Engineering Technical Committee, Singapore Standards Council.
Honours and awards
  • 2024 — ASME IDETC Mechanism and Robotics (MR) Conference Best Paper Award, “Motion Planning for Nonprehensile Object Manipulation Using Novel 5-Bar Linkage.”
  • 2023 — ASME IDETC Mechanism and Robotics (MR) Conference Best Paper Award, “Targeted Sampling DWA: A Path-Aware Sampling Strategy for Omni-Directional Robots.”
  • 2025 — Best Poster Award (W. S. Lim, supervised), 1st International Conference on Future of Additive Manufacturing (ICFAM), Singapore — “Contour Toolpath Planning with Limits on Bead Width Constraints in WAAM.”
  • 2020 — Unmanned Systems Best Paper Award (Application Category), “Design of a Hybrid Aerial Robot with Multi-Mode Structural Efficiency and Optimized Mid-Air Transition.”
  • 2019 — Most Outstanding Paper Award, IEEE International Symposium on Multi-Robot and Multi-Agent Systems, “Decentralized Multi-Floor Exploration by a Swarm of Miniature Robots Teaming with Wall-Climbing Units.”
  • 2019 — Singapore Good Design Mark Award, “Orion.”
  • 2018 — ASME IDETC Mechanism and Robotics (MR) Conference Best Paper Award, “A Bio-Inspired Miniature Climbing Robot With Bilayer Dry Adhesives: Design, Modeling, and Experimentation.”
  • 2018 — Singapore Good Design Mark Award, “TIM: Tree Inspection Microdrone.”
  • 2018 — Singapore Good Design Mark Award, “THOR: Transformable Hovering Rotorcraft.”
  • 2017 — Singapore Good Design Mark Award, “Virgo Intelligent Surveillance and Reconnaissance Robot.”
  • 2007 — Most Innovative Design Award, Extreme Gravity Racing Series (USA), “Kumo.”
  • 2006 — Most Innovative Design Award, Extreme Gravity Racing Series (USA), “Lean Dynamics.”

Ongoing projects

Research in the Robotics Innovation Lab spans the following active themes: 
  • Autonomous Ground and Aerial Robot Systems – developing legged, wheeled, and aerial robots for complex, unstructured environments
  • Multi-Robot Coordination and Swarm Systems – algorithms for cooperative exploration, mapping, and task allocation across robot teams
  • Human-Robot Teaming – interfaces, planning, and interaction frameworks for effective collaboration between humans and autonomous systems
  • Hybrid Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing – robotic large-scale metal 3D printing for marine and industrial fabrication

For more information, visit the Robotics Innovation Lab or contact sohgimsong@sutd.edu.sg.
Teaching

Undergraduate Courses
  • 30.001 Structures and Materials
  • 30.101 Systems and Control
  • 30.105 Machine Element Design

Graduate Courses
  • 30.502 Research Methods
  • 30.529 Mechanics and Mechanisms
Selected patents
  • Method and Device for Measuring Anatomical Movement of a Joint. Patent No: US12446799B2. Filed: 05/11/2019. Granted: 21 /1 0/2025.
  • Autorotating Aerial Device, Method of Forming the Autorotating Aerial Device and an Autorotating Aerial System. Patent No: US12202612B2. Filed: 11/05/2021. Granted: 21/01/2025.
  • Transformable Hovering Rotorcraft. Patent No: US11453492B2. Filed: 12/02/2018. Granted: 27/09/2022.
  • Robot and Method for Localizing a Robot. Patent No: US11216006B2. Filed: 20/07/2017. Granted: 04/01/2022.
Selected recent publications
  • J. L. Lau and G. S. Soh, “Characterization, Design, and Experimentation of a Fabric-Based Wearable Joint Sensing Device on Human Elbow,” ASME J. Mechanisms and Robotics, vol. 13, no. 3, art. 031012, 2021.
  • D. Sufiyan, L. S. T. Win, S. K. H. Win, G. S. Soh and S. H. Foong, “Joint Mechanical Design and Flight Control Optimization of a Nature-Inspired Unmanned Aerial Vehicle via Collaborative Co-Evolution,” IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett., vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 2044–2051, 2021.
  • H. Y. Li, Y. C. Ma, M. N. A. Bin Miswadi, L. N. N. Luu, L. J. Yang, S. H. Foong, G. S. Soh, E. Sivertsen and U. X. Tan, “Detect-Remove-Replace: A Robotic Solution That Enables Unmanned Continuous 3D Printing,” IEEE Robot. Autom. Mag., vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 33–45, 2022.
  • S. K. H. Win, L. S. T. Win, D. Sufiyan, G. S. Soh and S. H. Foong, “An Agile Samara-Inspired Single-Actuator Aerial Robot Capable of Autorotation and Diving,” IEEE Trans. Robot., vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 1033–1046, 2022.
  • M. Ng, Z. M. Er, G. S. Soh and S. H. Foong, “Aggregation Functions for Simultaneous Attitude and Image Estimation With Event Cameras at High Angular Rates,” IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett., vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 4384–4391, 2022.
  • A. G. Dharmawan and G. S. Soh, “A Cylindrical Path Planning Approach for Additive Manufacturing of Revolved Components,” Mater. Sci. Add. Manuf., vol. 1, no. 1, art. 3, 2022.
  • B. P. L. Lau, B. J. Y. Ong, L. K. Y. Loh, R. Liu, C. Yuen, G. S. Soh and U. X. Tan, “Multi-AGV’s Temporal Memory-Based RRT Exploration in Unknown Environment,” IEEE Robot. Autom. Lett., vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 9256–9263, 2022.
  • N. A. Surovi and G. S. Soh, “Process Map Generation of Geometrically Uniform Beads Using Support Vector Machine,” Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 70, pp. 113–118, 2022.
  • Y. M. Elkhouly, W. S. Lim, A. G. Dharmawan and G. S. Soh, “Adaptive Contour Based Printing of a Propeller Using Hybrid-Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing,” Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 70, pp. 395–400, 2022.
  • W. S. Lim, A. G. Dharmawan and G. S. Soh, “Development and Performance Evaluation of a Hybrid-Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing System Based on Robot Manipulators,” Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 70, pp. 587–592, 2022.
  • Z. Chen and G. S. Soh, “Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Wire Arc Additive Manufactured (WAAM) Inconel 718 Parts via Post Heat Treatments,” Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 70, pp. 567–573, 2022.
  • C. H. Tan, D. S. B. Shaiful, E. Tang, G. S. Soh and S. H. Foong, “Flydar: A Passive Scanning Flying Lidar Sensing System for SLAM Using a Single Laser,” IEEE Sensors J., vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 1746–1755, 2022.
  • D. Sufiyan, L. S. T. Win, S. K. H. Win, Y. H. Pheh, G. S. Soh and S. H. Foong, “An Efficient Multimodal Nature-Inspired Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Capable of Agile Maneuvers,” Adv. Intell. Syst., vol. 5, no. 1, art. 2200242, 2023.
  • N. Robson, B. Y. Chen, J. Won and G. S. Soh, “Development and Evaluation of a Passive Multiloop Wearable Hand Device for Natural Motion,” ASME J. Mechanisms and Robotics, vol. 15, no. 1, art. 011004, 2023.
  • U. Gupta, J. L. Lau, P. Z. Chia, Y. Y. Tan, A. Ahmed, N. C. Tan, G. S. Soh and H. Y. Low, “All Knitted and Integrated Soft Wearable of High Stretchability and Sensitivity for Continuous Monitoring of Human Joint Motion,” Adv. Healthcare Mater., art. 2202987, 2023.
  • N. A. Surovi and G. S. Soh, “Acoustic Feature-Based Geometric Defect Identification in Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing,” Virtual Phys. Prototyping, vol. 18, no. 1, art. e2210553, 2023.
  • A. Yeldan, A. Arora and G. S. Soh, “On the Edge Obstacle Surmounting Method Using Hybrid Locomotion,” ASME J. Mechanisms and Robotics, vol. 16, no. 1, art. 011002, 2024.
  • S. Dontu, E. Kanhere, T. Stalin, A. G. Dharmawan, C. Hegde, J. T. Su, X. D. Chen, S. Magdassi, G. S. Soh and P. V. Y. Alvarado, “Applications of a Vacuum-Actuated Multi-Material Hybrid Soft Gripper: Lessons Learnt from RoboSoft Manipulation Challenge,” Front. Robot. AI, vol. 11, art. 1356692, 2024.
  • C. Shen and G. S. Soh, “Targeted Sampling DWA: A Path-Aware DWA Sampling Strategy for Omni-Directional Robots,” ASME J. Mechanisms and Robotics, vol. 16, no. 11, art. 111001, 2024.
  • A. Yeldan, A. Arora and G. S. Soh, “Motion Planning for Nonprehensile Object Manipulation Using Novel 5-Bar Linkage,” ASME J. Mechanisms and Robotics, vol. 17, no. 4, art. 044508, 2025.
  • C. C. Lan, M. Niitsuma, P. C. Lin, G. Sziebig and G. S. Soh, “Focused Section on Applications of Intelligent Human–Robot Collaboration and Interaction,” Int. J. Intell. Robot. Appl., vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1–3, 2025.
  • Y. Y. Tan, U. Gupta, P. Z. Chia, C. P. Pambudi, B. E. H. Lim, G. S. Soh and H. Y. Low, “Seamlessly Machine-Knitted Multi-Sensor Garment to Monitor and Quantify Dynamic Upper Body Movement,” Adv. Sens. Res., vol. 4, no. 12, art. e00067, 2025.