The Second Online Academic Forum on "Frontiers in Bionic Engineering" organized by the ISBE, and sponsored by the Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering of Jilin University, was successfully held via tencent meeting/voov meeting on October 18, 2020. The forum was presided over by Prof. Zhihui Qian from Jilin University, and Prof. Zhiguang Guo, the chairman of the Youth Commission had delivered a welcome speech at the opening.

Prof. Li Wen from the School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, one of the winners of the National Science Foundation for Outstanding Young Scholars, was invited to share the latest research progress of his team in the field of marine bio-inspired soft robotics. As we all know, more than 80% of the ocean remains unobserved and unexplored, and the uncharted parts have huge potential for the industrial sectors, as well as for disruptive, exploration-driven scientific discoveries. Inspired by the special functions of marine organisms such as sardines and octopus, Prof. Wen's team innovatively developed bionic adhesive components, robots with soft tentacles and underwater robots with smart and soft operating devices, offering a new technical protocol for efficient capture of offshore marine organisms.

More than 140 scholars and postgraduates from more than 20 universities and research institutions around the world participated in the online academic exchange, including Beihang University, Jilin University, Zhejiang University, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics of CAS, Tsinghua University, Beijing University of Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Tianjin University, Kiel University of Germany, Nice University of France, McGill University of Canada, University of Salford at UK, University of Mpumalanga at South Africa, etc. The forum aroused heated discussion among the scholars involved.

"Frontiers in Bionic Engineering" online academic forum is a series of academic exchange activities initiated by the Youth Commission of ISBE. The current second forum demonstrated the latest research highlights and progress of marine bio-inspired soft robotics. The activity gained attention and support of specialists, scholars and graduate students, and received enthusiastic reactions.