Welcome to the Hybrid Intelligent Experimental Robotics (HIER) Lab website!

We are affiliated with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at NC State University and the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC–Chapel Hill and NC State University. Our lab focuses on both theoretical and experimental research in the field of legged loco-manipulation for real-world robotic deployment. Our research seeks to advance the fundamentals of agile and versatile loco-manipulation in environments where humans and robots coexist, as well as in wildlife settings. The detailed scope of research in our group includes the following areas: 1) Formulating planning and control frameworks for autonomous task execution. 2) Investigating hybrid dynamical systems with multiple contacts. 3) Developing innovative hardware for more efficient and versatile mission completion. 4) Applying learning techniques to devise adaptable solutions for complex problems. 5) Integrating generative AI with dynamically consistent motion primitives.

HIER Lab is actively seeking passionate and self-motivated prospective graduate students (2026 Spring/Fall) . If you are interested in joining our lab, please submit the google form: Form
We also have openings for undergraduate students, with priority given to ABM students or those interested in pursuing a graduate program. If you're interested in joining our lab, please complete the Google Form: Form. We will contact you if we find a good fit for your interests and background.

Recent News

[new: 2025] HIER lab is newly renovated and fully operational (EB3-1309).
[new: 2025] Dr. Lee has been appointed as an Associate Faculty member in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC–Chapel Hill and NC State University.
[new: 2025] ICRA 2025 submission "Safety-critical Locomotion of Biped Robots in Infeasible Paths: Overcoming Obstacles during Navigation toward Destination" has been accepted.
[new: 2025] ACC 2025 Workshop "Data-Driven and Risk-Aware Control for Safety-Critical Autonomous Systems" has been accepted. The workshop was collaboratively proposed by Binghan He (UT Sanantonio), Minghui Zheng (Texas A&M), Mengxue Hou (University of Notre Dame), Hao Su (North Carolina State University), and Jaemin Lee (North Carolina State University). Link

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