News & Awards

Physical Intelligence News 26-05-2017 Gecko-inspired multipurpose gripper An elastic membrane covered with tiny fibres paired with a pressure differential enables a new soft gripper system with a high adhesion performance even on curved surfaces Robots generally need a gripper that adapts to three-dimensional surfaces. Such a gripper needs to be soft to adapt to a great variety of geometries, but not too soft, as it will detach easily and not be able to bear weight for very long. Researchers working with Metin Sitti at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart developed a membrane equipped with microscopic fibres inspired by the fine hairs on a gecko's foot and attached it to a suction cup-like flexible body. An internal pressure differential ensures perfect conformation of the flexible gripper to a wide variety of surfaces and equally distributes the load over the entire contact interface. As a result, the researchers suppressed load induced stress concentrations at the edges, which strongly reduced the adhesion. The gripper demonstrates a 14-times higher adhesion than grippers without this load sharing mechanism. Metin Sitti Sukho Song Dirk Drotlef

Autonomous Motion News 24-05-2017 ICRA 2017 - Awards for our Robotics Researchers ICRA CEB award for best reviewers Jeannette Bohg Cristina Garcia Cifuentes

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Award 23-05-2017 Hyeon-Ho Jeong was awarded this year's Graduate Student Award at the 2017 E-MRS Spring Meeting in Strasbourg.

Physical Intelligence News 22-05-2017 Functional Microrobots Could Harbor Bioengineering Apps HospiMedica.com A new study suggests that untethered micron-scale mobile robots can navigate and non-invasively perform specific tasks inside hard-to-reach body sites. Currently being designed, fabricated, and tested at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and Carnegie Mellon University, the first-generation microrobots will be able to deliver therapeutics and other cargo to targeted body sites, as well as to enclosed organ-on-a-chip microfluidic devices with live cells. A new two-step approach is use to provide the microrobotic devices with desirable functions. The first step uses three-dimensional (3D) laser lithography to crosslink light-responsive polymers. Metin Sitti Hakan Ceylan Immihan Ceren Yasa

Haptic Intelligence News 20-05-2017 In Zukunft mit Gefühl Roboter können erstaunliche Dinge. Doch unser Tastsinn ist ihnen noch überlegen. Warum sich das bald ändern könnte – und was das heißt Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Physical Intelligence News 18-05-2017 Bacteria-Driven Drug Delivery Carriers: A Paradigm Shift Advanced Science News Congrats to Babak, Oncay and Jiang that their paper, “Bioadhesive bacteria-driven microswimmers for targeted drug delivery in the urinary and gastrointestinal tracts”, is highlighted on their news website Metin Sitti Babak Mostaghaci Oncay Yasa Jiang Zhuang

News 18-05-2017 Tübingen exibition: "Origins" - Steps of Humankind Opening of the exibition: Friday, May 19, 2017, 7:00 p.m., Schloß Hohentübingen (free entrance) The exhibition in the Museum Ancient Cultures (Hohentübingen Castle) will focus on the most important steps of humankind. Our institute supports the last part of the exibition "Origin of digital innovation" with a Nao robot and the Mosh Camera App. Vincent Berenz Claudia Daefler

Physical Intelligence News 16-05-2017 3D-microrobots voor minuscule chirurgie fpt-vimag.n Een kleine robot die door een eenvoudige medische injectie in het menselijk lichaam wordt gebracht en daar rechtstreeks en doelgericht een niet te opereren tumor bestrijdt. Dit klinkt misschien een beetje als science fiction, maar onderzoekers werken momenteel druk aan het moderniseren van de gezondheidszorg met behulp van bio-engineering. De uitdagingen zitten vooral in het ontwerp, productieproces en de codering van de microrobots die dit moeten gaan realiseren. Metin Sitti Hakan Ceylan Immihan Ceren Yasa

Physical Intelligence News 16-05-2017 Sticky gripper can lift flasks and tomatoes Nature.com A gecko-inspired adhesive could help robots to climb bumpy walls and grasp fragile objects. The hairs that make geckos’ feet sticky have inspired the invention of adhesives for flat surfaces, but creating strong adhesives that can grab complex, 3D objects has proved a challenge. Metin Sitti at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany, and his colleagues spread elastic microfibres, or ‘hairs’, across a soft, stretchy membrane, allowing it to mould and stick to a surface. The team attached this to a ‘gripper’ layer. Reducing the pressure inside the gripper spreads the load evenly across the sticky membrane, strengthening the bond between it and the target object. Changing the pressure in the system increased the membrane’s ‘stickiness’ 14-fold, allowing the device to suspend a variety of hard and soft objects, from fluid-filled flasks to tomatoes. Metin Sitti Sukho Song Dirk Drotlef

Physical Intelligence News 15-05-2017 Sciencemag.org Gecko-inspired gripper could help robots climb walls “The design of the backing is key to making these adhesives function properly for most applications, and this is a very exciting development.” The technology has several potential applications, says Metin Sitti, an author of the study and a mechanical engineer at the Max Planck Institute ... Metin Sitti Sukho Song Dirk Drotlef

Physical Intelligence News 11-05-2017 3D-Mikroroboter für minimal-invasive Chirurgie (Medizin Aspekte) medizin-aspekte.de Ein kleiner Roboter, der mühelos mittels Injektion in den menschlichen Körper gelangt, die gesunden Organe meidet und das Ziel – einen nicht operablen Tumor – findet und direkt behandelt… Klingt dies nicht nach Science-Fiction? Um es Wirklichkeit werden zu lassen, arbeiten immer mehr Forscher an der Vision, wesentliche Bereiche der Medizin und Biotechnologie zu revolutionieren. Das Design und die Herstellung solcher Mikroroboter, sowie auch die Ausstattung mit den entsprechenden Funktionalitäten, stellen jedoch noch große Herausforderungen dar. Metin Sitti Hakan Ceylan Immihan Ceren Yasa

Physical Intelligence News 05-05-2017 3D-Mikroroboter für minimal-invasive Chirurgie Innovations-report.de Wissenschaftler am Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme in Stuttgart haben einen Herstellungsprozess für Mikroroboter entwickelt. Diese könnten zukünftig miminal-invasiv schwer zugängliche Körperteile wie das Gehirn, das Rückenmark oder das Auge erreichen Ein kleiner Roboter, der mühelos mittels Injektion in den menschlichen Körper gelangt, die gesunden Organe meidet und das Ziel – einen nicht operablen Tumor – findet und direkt behandelt… Klingt dies nicht nach Science-Fiction? Metin Sitti Hakan Ceylan Immihan Ceren Yasa

Physical Intelligence News 03-05-2017 3D-Mikroroboter für minimal-invasive Chirurgie E-health-com.de Wissenschaftler am Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme in Stuttgart haben einen Herstellungsprozess für Mikroroboter entwickelt. Diese könnten zukünftig miminal-invasiv schwer zugängliche Körperteile wie das Gehirn, das Rückenmark oder das Auge erreiche. Metin Sitti Hakan Ceylan Immihan Ceren Yasa

Physical Intelligence News 03-05-2017 3D-Mikroroboter für minimal-invasive Chirurgie (NeoDoc) neodoc.de Wissenschaftler am Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme in Stuttgart haben einen Herstellungsprozess für Mikroroboter entwickelt. Diese könnten zukünftig miminal-invasiv schwer zugängliche Körperteile wie das Gehirn, das Rückenmark oder das Auge erreichen Metin Sitti Hakan Ceylan Immihan Ceren Yasa

Autonomous Vision News 03-05-2017 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Prize 2017 for Andreas Geiger The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize is recognized as the most important science award in Germany to early career researchers. It was awarded May 3rd, 2017 in Berlin. Andreas Geiger

Physical Intelligence News 03-05-2017 Kleinstroboter für größte OP-Erfolge unternehmen-heute.de Die moderne Medizin macht oft große Fortschritte im kleinen Maßstab. Am Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme in Stuttgart wird an Mikrorobotern geforscht, die Körperteile wie das Gehirn, das Rückenmark oder das Auge erreichen können. Metin Sitti Hakan Ceylan Immihan Ceren Yasa

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems News 02-05-2017 Special issue Stefano Palagi, Tian Qiu and Peer Fischer are editing a special issue in the journal Micromachines on “Locomotion at Small Scales: From Biology to Artificial Systems” Stefano Palagi Tian Qiu Peer Fischer

Perceiving Systems News 28-04-2017 Günter Enderle Best Paper Award at Eurographics 2017 for the paper "Sparse Inertial Pose: Automatic 3D Human Motion Capture from Sparse IMUs" Gerard Pons-Moll Michael Black

Autonomous Motion News 28-04-2017 Local networking event for women researchers from Tübingen Hosted this time by Jeannette Bohg Jeannette Bohg

Perceiving Systems Award 28-04-2017 Best Paper Award, Eurographics 2017, for the paper Sparse Inertial Poser: Automatic 3D Human Pose Estimation from Sparse IMUs, by von Marcard, T., Rosenhahn, B., Black, M. J., Pons-Moll, G.

News 22-04-2017 March for Science - Tübingen Science, not Silence! The Managing Directors encourage staff and supporters of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems to participate in March for Science events.

Haptic Intelligence News 20-04-2017 Katherine J. Kuchenbecker joins the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems as a new director The Max Planck Society has appointed Katherine J. Kuchenbecker as a director at the Stuttgart location of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. She will lead the newly established "Haptic Intelligence" department, which focuses on incorporating the sense of touch into robotic systems. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

News 23-03-2017 Nanomagnetism in X-ray Light Today’s most advanced scanning X-ray microscope is operated by the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin. The MAXYMUS scanning X-ray microscope has its home at Berlin’s synchrotron radiation source BESSY II at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin. Scientific support is provided by Dr. Markus Weigand from the “Modern Magnetic Systems” department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) under the management of Professor Dr. Gisela Schütz.

Modern Magnetic Systems News 23-03-2017 Nanomagnetism in X-ray Light Today’s most advanced scanning X-ray microscope is operated by the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin The MAXYMUS scanning X-ray microscope has its home at Berlin’s synchrotron radiation source BESSY II at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin. Scientific support is provided by Dr. Markus Weigand from the “Modern Magnetic Systems” department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) under the management of Professor Dr. Gisela Schütz.. Gisela Schütz

Haptic Intelligence Award 17-03-2017 Rachael Bevill Burns is selected to receive a grant from the Whitaker International Program to do research with the HI Department Rachael Burns

News 07-03-2017 New Research School for Intelligent Systems Call for Applications - Ph.D. positions The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Intelligent Systems (IS) is starting in fall 2017. This new doctoral program will enroll about 100 Ph.D. students over the next six years. Apply now! Leila Masri

Autonomous Motion News 01-03-2017 DOOMED - A new online learning approach from AMD in the spotlight Text: Kathryn Ryan. New Rochelle, February 21, 2017. Robotics researchers have developed a novel adaptive control approach based on online learning that allows for the correction of dynamics errors in real time using the data stream from the robot. The strategy is described in an article published in Big Data, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Big Data website until March 14, 2017. Franzi Meier Daniel Kappler Nathan Ratliff Stefan Schaal

Smart Nanoplasmonics News 01-03-2017 Magic ink from the nano world A chemical reaction alters the colours of plasmonic prints Plasmonic printing produces resolutions several times greater than conventional printing methods. In plasmonic printing, colours are formed on the surfaces of tiny metallic particles when light excites their electrons to oscillate. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart have now shown how the colours of such metallic particles can be altered with hydrogen. The technique could open the way for animating ultra-high-resolution images and for developing extremely sharp displays. At the same time, it provides new approaches for encrypting information and detecting counterfeits. Laura Na Liu

News 28-02-2017 A filter for heavy hydrogen Deuterium and tritium can be separated from each other relatively easily using a functionalized metal-organic framework compound Deuterium and tritium are substances with a future - but they are rare. The heavy isotopes of hydrogen not only have numerous applications in science but could also contribute to the energy mix of tomorrow as fuels for nuclear fusion. Deuterium is also contained in some drugs that are currently undergoing regulatory approval in the US. However, the process of filtering deuterium out of the natural isotopic mixture of hydrogen is at present both difficult and expensive. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, the University of Leipzig, Jacobs University Bremen, the University of Augsburg, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (USA) may be able to remedy this problem. They have presented a metal-organic framework compound that can be used to separate the two isotopes from normal hydrogen more efficiently than previous methods. Michael Hirscher

Autonomous Vision Award 23-02-2017 Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz Prize for Andreas Geiger.

Physical Intelligence News 22-02-2017 3D-microdevice for minimally invasive surgeries Scientists take challenge of developing functional microdevices for direct access to the brain, spinal cord, eye and other delicate parts of human body A tiny robot that gets into the human body through the simple medical injection and, passing healthy organs, finds and treats directly the goal – a non-operable tumor… Doesn’t it sound at least like science-fiction? To make it real, a growing number of researchers are now working towards this direction with the prospect of transforming many aspects of healthcare and bioengineering in the nearest future. What makes it not so easy are unique challenges pertaining to design, fabrication and encoding functionality in producing functional microdevices. Metin Sitti Hakan Ceylan Immihan Ceren Yasa

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems News 14-02-2017 New drive for tiny vessels Miniaturized robots can be propelled through biological fluids by an enzymatic reaction or ultrasound Nanorobots and other mini-vehicles might be able to perform important services in medicine one day – for example, by conducting remotely-controlled operations or transporting pharmaceutical agents to a desired location in the body. However, to date it has been hard to steer such micro- and nanoswimmers accurately through biological fluids such as blood, synovial fluid or the inside of the eyeball. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart are now presenting two new approaches for constructing propulsion systems for tiny floating bodies. In the case of one motor, the propulsion is generated by bubbles which are caused to oscillate by ultrasound. With the other, a current caused by the product of an enzymatic reaction propels a nanoswimmer. Peer Fischer Sámuel Sánchez

Empirical Inference News 01-02-2017 How Can We Use Machine Learning in the Search for Exoplanets? Bernhard Schölkopf joined the initiative "Latest Thinking" Exoplanets are planets beyond our own solar system. Since they do not emit much light and moreover are very close to their parent stars they are difficult to detect directly. When searching for exoplanets, astronomers use telescopes to monitor the brightness of the parent star under investigation: Changes in brightness can point to a passing planet that obstructs part of the star’s surface. The recorded signal, however, contains not only the physical signal of the star but also systematic errors caused by the instrument. As Bernhard Schölkopf explains in this video, this noise can be removed by comparing the signal of the star of interest to those of a large number of other stars. Commonalities in their signals might be due to confounding effects of the instrument. Using machine learning, these observations can be used to train a system to predict the errors and correct the light curves. Bernhard Schölkopf

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems News 12-01-2017 Our research in Der Spiegel und Die Zeit Our nanorobots are the topic of a special report on robots in the newspaper Die Zeit and Der Spiegel has previously covered our research, also highlights our work in its 2017 March 11 issue. Kai Melde Andrew Mark Tian Qiu Tung Chun Lee Peer Fischer

Autonomous Motion News 02-01-2017 Big Data in Robotics Guest edited by Jeannette Bohg, Matei Ciocarlie, Javier Civera, Lydia E. Kavraki. ... new big data methods have the potential to allow robots to understand and operate in significantly more complex environments than was possible even in the recent past. This should lead to a qualitative leap in the performance and deployability of robotics in a wide array of practical applications and real settings. Jeannette Bohg

Haptic Intelligence News 02-01-2017 Hasti Seifi wins EuroHaptics Society prize for best Ph.D. thesis Dr. Hasti Seifi is the winner of the 2017 EuroHaptics Society award for the best Ph.D. thesis in the field of haptics. While Ms. Seifi is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Stuttgart, the award honors research she conducted at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, where she completed her doctorate in Computer Science under the supervision of Professor Karon E. MacLean. Hasti Seifi Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Physical Intelligence Award 01-01-2017 Ahmet Fatih Tabak joined Bahcesehir University as an assistant professor in Turkey.

Physical Intelligence Award 01-01-2017 Byung-Wook Park joined Youngstown University as an assistant professor in USA.

Physical Intelligence Award 01-01-2017 Hakan Ceylan received the Masoumeh Ghaderi Best Talk Prize at the 5th annual workshop on Micro and Nanotechnologies for medicine: Emerging Frontiers and Applications in Boston, USA.

Physical Intelligence Award 01-01-2017 Hamed Shahsavan received the NSERC from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Physical Intelligence Award 01-01-2017 Hunter Bryant Gilbert joined Louisiana State University as an assistant professor in USA.

Physical Intelligence Award 01-01-2017 Massimo Mastrangeli joined Delft University of Technology as an assistant professor in Netherlands.

Physical Intelligence Award 01-01-2017 Yubing Guo, Yunus Alapan, and Zoey Davidson received the Humboldt postdoctoral fellowship.

Smart Nanoplasmonics Award 30-12-2016 Laura Na Liu is the recipient of the 2016 IUPAP Young Scientist Prize in Optics for outstanding contributions to Nanooptics, Nanophotonics, Nano plasmonics, and Metamaterials.

Modern Magnetic Systems Award 20-12-2016 Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize for Joachim Gräfe

Modern Magnetic Systems News 20-12-2016 Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize for Joachim Graefe On December 8, The Association of Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin granted the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize for an outstanding PhD thesis in the research area of synchrotron radiation as well as the innovation prize “Synchrotron Radiation”. The award ceremony took place at the 8th BER II and BESSY II Users’ Meeting. Joachim Gräfe

Modern Magnetic Systems News 20-12-2016 Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize for Joachim Graefe On December 8, The Association of Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin granted the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize for an outstanding PhD thesis in the research area of synchrotron radiation as well as the innovation prize “Synchrotron Radiation”. The award ceremony took place at the 8th BER II and BESSY II Users’ Meeting. Joachim Gräfe

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems News 20-12-2016 Peer Fischer wins World Technology Award 2016 Dr. Peer Fischer, head of the Micro- Nano- and Molecular Systems Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and Professor of Physical Chemistry, University of Stuttgart, has received the World Technology Award 2016. Professor Fischer was selected among 32 nominees and then among six finalists in the category “Information Technology – Hardware” that recognizes achievements in the field of IT hardware, including such significant subcategories as manufacturing and robotics. Peer Fischer

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Award 20-12-2016 Peer Fischer has received the 2016 World Technology Award for IT Hardware. Together with his group, he has developed new 3D nanofabrication methods and nanorobots, made the first reciprocal microswimmer, and realized the first swimming soft microrobot that moves using only body shape changes.

Award 15-12-2016 Joachim P. Spatz: has been honored with the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Award 2017 of the German Research Foundation (DFG).

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