Shuo Yang Robotics Visionary and Innovator | Generated by AI
Question: Provide a comprehensive introduction to Shuo Yang, including his connections to Tesla Optimus, CMU, DJI, and HKUST.
Answer:
Shuo Yang is a prominent robotics engineer and entrepreneur with extensive experience in drone technology, legged robotics, state estimation, and humanoid robots. As of 2026, he serves as the Co-founder and CTO of Mondo Tech (also known as Mondo Robotics or 妙动科技), a consumer robotics company he established in 2025 with dual operations in Palo Alto, California, and Shenzhen, China. The company focuses on developing smaller, more accessible “mini robots” designed as friendly companions for everyday life, inspired partly by his personal desire to create an interactive robot for his young son.
Career Highlights
- Tesla (2023–2025): Shuo Yang worked as a Staff Humanoid AI/Robotics Engineer on Tesla Optimus, the company’s ambitious general-purpose humanoid robot project. His role involved work on robot control, state estimation, and related AI/ML aspects. He contributed to Elon Musk’s vision for versatile humanoid robots capable of performing useful tasks. In mid-2025 (around April–June 2025 based on announcements), he left Tesla to pursue his own venture, expressing appreciation for the opportunity while shifting focus to more consumer-oriented, companion-style robots.
- DJI (approximately 2015–2018, with influence continuing): Before his PhD, Yang spent several years at DJI, the world’s leading drone manufacturer. He started as a flight control algorithm engineer and rose to roles such as Project Manager, Technical Director, and Director of Intelligent Navigation Technologies. He led teams developing key flight control software and vision-based intelligent navigation algorithms for major consumer drone products, including:
- Inspire 1
- Phantom 3
- Phantom 4 (notably the first consumer drone with stereo-vision obstacle avoidance)
- Mavic series
- Matrice 100 (a widely used research drone platform) Some of his master’s research directly contributed to DJI’s A3 autopilot. He also played a leadership role in organizing RoboMaster, DJI’s international robotics competition.
- Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) (2018–2023): Yang earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from CMU’s Robotics Institute. He conducted research in the Robot Exploration Lab and Biorobotics Lab, advised by Professors Zachary Manchester and Howie Choset. His doctoral work centered on state estimation for legged robots, real-time optimization for robust control, contact-implicit model-predictive control, equality-constrained linear optimal control, and multi-IMU sensor fusion for complex robotic systems. His publications appear in top venues like IEEE Transactions on Robotics and ICRA.
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (undergraduate and master’s): Yang received his B.Eng. in Computer Engineering (2012) and M.Phil. in Electronic and Computer Engineering (2015) from HKUST. During his time there, he was deeply involved in robotics competitions: he served as team leader of the HKUST Robotics Team for three years (competing in ABU Robocon) and led the HKUST IARC team in 2014 (autonomous aerial robotics competition). These experiences built his foundation in robotics hardware, software, and team leadership.
Overall Profile
Shuo Yang’s career spans drone innovation at DJI, advanced legged/humanoid robotics research at CMU, cutting-edge humanoid development at Tesla Optimus, and now entrepreneurial efforts at Mondo Tech to make robotics more personal and accessible. His path reflects a progression from aerial systems to ground-based and humanoid platforms, with strong expertise in control algorithms, perception, estimation, and real-world product deployment. He maintains an active online presence, including a personal website detailing his work and an X account (@ShuoYangAIR).
References:
- Shuo Yang’s Personal Website
- Shuo Yang’s CV
- South China Morning Post article on Mondo Tech founding
- His X announcement of leaving Tesla