Xiangyi Cheng: AR’s Impact on Education and Healthcare
▼ Summary
– Xiangyi Cheng is an assistant professor whose 2024 paper in IEEE Access on augmented reality in healthcare reflects her human-centered research in robotics, AI, and intelligent systems for personalized medicine and education.
– Her career was significantly shaped by her first IEEE conference paper acceptance in 2017, which gave her the confidence to pursue a Ph.D. and become a researcher.
– Cheng’s specific projects include developing technology for personalized surgical planning for syndactyly and creating smart gloves for hand rehabilitation.
– As an educator, she emphasizes critical thinking and cautions students against over-relying on AI, asserting that human judgment must lead the use of such tools.
– She credits IEEE with being central to her professional development, providing an interdisciplinary community and a sense of belonging that defined her career path.
The transformative potential of augmented reality is reshaping fields from medical training to classroom instruction, offering new ways to visualize complex procedures and three-dimensional concepts. For Xiangyi Cheng, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Loyola Marymount University, this technology represents a powerful tool for human-centered innovation. Her research, which bridges healthcare applications like surgical planning and engineering education, is guided by a core belief: technology must serve human judgment, not replace it. Her recent publication in IEEE Access, a comparative review of mobile and head-mounted AR displays in healthcare, underscores her commitment to practical, impactful solutions.
Cheng’s academic journey began in Xi’an, China, where she was influenced by her parents’ contrasting professions, her father’s work in mining engineering and her mother’s career in literature and Chinese. This environment helped her recognize her own affinity for logical, mathematical thinking early on. A supportive math teacher who emphasized clear reasoning over punitive measures further solidified her path toward STEM. She pursued mechanical engineering at the China University of Mining and Technology in Beijing, graduating in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree yet uncertain about her future in research.
Her trajectory changed after moving to the United States for graduate studies at Case Western Reserve University. Initially exploratory, her plans solidified in 2017 with the acceptance of her paper, “IntuBot: Design and Prototyping of a Robotic Intubation Device,” for the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Presenting this work in 2018 provided her first exposure to the global research community and the confidence to pursue a Ph.D. She followed her advisor to Texas A&M University, completing her doctorate in mechanical engineering in 2022. After a brief tenure as an assistant professor at Ohio Northern University, she joined Loyola Marymount University in 2024.
Cheng’s research portfolio is distinctly interdisciplinary, focusing on intelligent systems that benefit both medicine and education. One significant project addresses the surgical correction of syndactyly, a congenital condition where fingers are fused. Her team is developing technology to scan a patient’s hand, extract anatomical landmarks, and use finite element analysis to personalize the size and shape of required skin grafts, moving beyond reliance on a surgeon’s estimation alone. Another initiative involves creating smart gloves for hand rehabilitation, using the motion of an unaffected hand to guide therapy for an injured one.
In parallel, she explores how augmented reality can revolutionize engineering education. By using immersive visualization tools, students can interact with digital models in three-dimensional space, gaining an intuitive understanding of concepts that are difficult to convey through textbooks or flat screens. This hands-on, visual approach aims to deepen comprehension and engagement in technical subjects.
Despite her work at the forefront of AI and intelligent systems, Cheng maintains a balanced perspective for her students. She actively cautions against over-reliance on artificial intelligence, stressing that critical thinking and foundational knowledge are irreplaceable. “AI can give you ideas,” she notes, “but it should never lead your thinking.” In her lab, she prioritizes independent problem-solving and resilience, often mentoring undergraduate researchers and encouraging them to take ownership of their projects, learn from setbacks, and persist through challenges.
For students considering a career in engineering, her advice is straightforward: master mathematics. She observes that while engineering appears hands-on, mathematical principles form the essential foundation for all innovation. With dedication and practice, she believes students can find profound meaning and success in the field.
Cheng’s professional affiliation with IEEE has been instrumental since she joined in 2017. Serving as a reviewer for several prestigious IEEE journals and conferences, including Robotics and Automation Letters and Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, she values the organization’s interdisciplinary reach. IEEE provided a crucial platform early in her career; presenting at that first conference was a definitive turning point that showed her she belonged in the global research community. For Cheng, IEEE remains a unique forum that welcomes and fosters boundary-crossing research, aligning perfectly with her own approach to human-centered engineering.
(Source: Spectrum IEEE)
