Ruixiang Cao
#3D Reconstruction #3D Printing #Embodied AI #Building a Startup #ShanghaiTech #Kyoto University
BEng, ShanghaiTech University. MEng, Kyoto University. Founder of Sparsee Tech, working on AI-based 3D reconstruction and full-color 3D printing.
Education
Wuning Road Primary School
↗Class 6 · Primary School
Sep 2006 – Jun 2012
Shanghai Peijia Bilingual School
↗Class 2 · Middle School
Sep 2012 – Jun 2015

SJTU High School, Jiading Campus
↗Class 2 · High School
Sep 2015 – Jun 2018
ShanghaiTech University
↗BEng, School of Information Science and Technology
Sep 2018 – Jun 2022
Advisors: Prof. André Rosendo · Prof. Sören Schwertfeger · Living Machines Lab
Kyoto University
↗MEng, Graduate School of Informatics
Apr 2023 – Mar 2025
Advisor: Prof. Jun Morimoto · Learning Machines Group
Research 4
VecNav: Vector Goal Robot Navigation from In-the-wild Videos
IEEE/RSJ IROS 2025 · First Author
Trains a monocular navigation model via self-supervision from uncalibrated, human-captured videos, yielding a generalist policy that guides various robots in unfamiliar environments.
DreamPrinting: Volumetric Printing Primitives for High-Fidelity 3D Printing
View PDFACM SIGGRAPH 2025 · Best Paper Award · Co-first Author
Transforms radiance-based volumetric representations (e.g. NeRF) into physically fabricable Volumetric Printing Primitives for high-fidelity full-color 3D printing. Recipient of a SIGGRAPH 2025 Best Paper Award.
Poxel: Voxel Reconstruction for 3D Printing
View PDFKyoto University, Learning Machines · First Author
A Printable-Voxel framework that removes view-dependency and maps digital RGB into a physical CMYKWCl color space, directly outputting full-color voxel grids for photopolymer-jetting 3D printing.
OmniWheg: An Omnidirectional Wheel-Leg Transformable Robot
View PDFIEEE IROS 2022 · First Author
Published at IROS, a top-tier robotics conference. Proposes an omnidirectional wheel-leg dual-mode transformable mechanism.
Patents 6
Full-Color 3D Printing Method, Device, Medium and Product
Invention Publication CN122034329A · Sparsee Technology (Shanghai)
Motion Pose Detection Method, Apparatus, Computer Device and Medium
Invention Publication CN118356184A · Deemos Corporation
Data Acquisition System Based on 3D Lighting
Invention Publication CN115379104A · ShanghaiTech University
Projects 4
Filament LED Wall
Club Project · Real-time Video Light Wall · Jetson + Arduino
A wall of filament LEDs driven by Jetson Xavier NX and Arduino, rendering a live camera feed as a warm-toned light display.
Music with Stepper Motors
Club Project · Stepper Motors Playing MIDI · Arduino
Parses MIDI with Python’s mido and drives stepper motors over serial so the motors “sing” by pitch and rhythm.
“The Last” — Unity Game
Course Project · Post-apocalyptic Survival Shooter · Unity
A self-made post-apocalyptic survival shooter with a building system, environment interaction, inventory, and original sound effects.
Dome Light-Field 3D Capture System
ArchiveLab Project · ShanghaiTech MARS Lab
Led, as the core student lead, the build of a spherical dome light-field 3D capture rig for facial geometry and material capture.
Press 14
Surfing Founders: Sealing the World in Resin — In Conversation with Ruixiang Cao
ArchiveAfter Graduation In-depth Founder Interview
A long-form founder interview tracing the path from light-field reconstruction to full-color UV 3D printing — turning a moment into a permanent memory.
ShanghaiTech: SIST Wins an ACM SIGGRAPH Best Paper Award
ArchiveAfter Graduation Author of the DreamPrinting Paper
Official news from SIST: the DreamPrinting full-color volumetric 3D-printing paper, co-authored by Ruixiang Cao, won a SIGGRAPH Best Paper Award.
Shanghai Observer: One Year of the Zhangjiang Mo-Li Community
ArchiveAfter Graduation Mentions Ruixiang Cao & Sparsee
Shanghai Observer: Zhangjiang Sets Off Again at 33
ArchiveAfter Graduation Sparsee’s Transparent-Cube Keepsake
On Zhangjiang’s innovation ecosystem, featuring Sparsee’s end-to-end full-color 3D scan-and-print service and its transparent-cube keepsakes.
The Paper: AI Implementation, the “Pudong Way”
ArchiveAfter Graduation Featuring Founder Ruixiang Cao
A tour of Pudong’s “Mo-Li Community” AI hub, quoting Ruixiang Cao on Sparsee’s vision of a new era of 3D memory.
IFNews: AI Implementation, the “Pudong Way”
ArchiveAfter Graduation Founder Interview
Official interview at the Pudong AI industry exhibition on the full-color 3D scan-and-print business.
Labour Daily: ShanghaiTech’s Dome Light-Field Undergraduate Team
ArchiveUndergraduate Five Undergraduates Built the Dome Rig
Press-association coverage of ShanghaiTech: Ruixiang Cao and four fellow undergraduates built a dome light-field system for facial geometry and material capture at the MARS studio.
ShanghaiTech: Making Things in My College
ArchiveUndergraduate Founder of Sandbox Studio
Official college feature: Ruixiang Cao recounts founding the “Sandbox Studio” and leading the design and fabrication of campus memorabilia such as the Mass Tower model, etched rulers, and SIST badges.
ShanghaiTech SIST: A Student Team Builds the Dome Light Stage
ArchiveUndergraduate Core Student Lead, Dome Light Stage
Official SIST feature: Ruixiang Cao and four fellow undergraduates built a spherical dome light stage with ~150 controllable LED sources at the MARS lab for facial geometry and material capture.
SJTU High School (Jiading): SMASHING Team Wins “F1 in Schools” Best Design
ArchiveHigh School Grade 11 · Team Engineer
SJTU High School (Jiading): 2016 Sci-Tech Achievements Review
ArchiveHigh School Multiple Competition Awards
SJTU High School (Jiading): 1st Prize at the 2nd Shanghai Maker Star Contest
ArchiveHigh School 1st Prize, 3D Creative Design
SJTU High School (Jiading): Top Prize at Tongji Structural Design Invitational
ArchiveHigh School Special Prize, Mechanical & Energy Engineering
SJTU High School (Jiading): Honored in the “Tomorrow’s Sci-Tech Star” Selection
ArchiveHigh School District “Future Sci-Tech Star”