The Robot Dexterity Lab (DexLab) at Duke University, led by Dr.Xianyi Cheng,has multiple PhD positions starting Fall 2025.

Our Research

The research goal of the DexLab is human-level dexterity in robotic manipulation.In the DexLab, we believe that dexterity is a crucial manipulation capability that

1. all robots will have in the future. Dexterity is not just manipulation with complex,high-DoF hands; it is the motion intelligence with vast complexity that still awaits
2. more understanding. Our research focuses on robotic manipulation and dexterity,and the topics include but are not limited to:

•  Dexterous skills generalizable across tasks and embodiments
• Robustness in manipulation
•  Contact interactions and compliance in robotic manipulation
• Uncovering new forms of robot dexterity, like whole-body, tool-use, andcollaborative dexterity.