Publications

DEPARTMENTS

Emperical Interference

Haptic Intelligence

Modern Magnetic Systems

Perceiving Systems

Physical Intelligence

Robotic Materials

Social Foundations of Computation


Research Groups

Autonomous Vision

Autonomous Learning

Bioinspired Autonomous Miniature Robots

Dynamic Locomotion

Embodied Vision

Human Aspects of Machine Learning

Intelligent Control Systems

Learning and Dynamical Systems

Locomotion in Biorobotic and Somatic Systems

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems

Movement Generation and Control

Neural Capture and Synthesis

Physics for Inference and Optimization

Organizational Leadership and Diversity

Probabilistic Learning Group


Topics

Robot Learning

Conference Paper

2022

Autonomous Learning

Robotics

AI

Career

Award


Empirical Inference Book Chapter Natural Language Processing Jin, Z., Mihalcea, R., Schölkopf, B. In Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Communication, (Editors: Nai, A. and Grömping, M. and Wirz, D.), Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025 (Published) PDF URL BibTeX

Perceiving Systems Book Chapter ElephantBook: Participatory Human–AI Elephant Population Monitoring Kulits, P., Wall, J., Beery, S. In Collaborative Intelligence: How Humans and AI Are Transforming Our World, 173-196, 7, (Editors: Lane, Mira and Sethumadhavan, Arathi), The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 2024 (Published) URL BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Natural Language Processing for Policymaking Jin, Z., Mihalcea, R. In Handbook of Computational Social Science for Policy, 141-162, 7, (Editors: Bertoni, E. and Fontana, M. and Gabrielli, L. and Signorelli, S. and Vespe, M.), Springer International Publishing, 2023 (Published) DOI BibTeX

Rationality Enhancement Book Chapter Life Improvement Science Lieder, F., Prentice, M. In Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, Springer, November 2022 (Published) DOI BibTeX

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Book Chapter Magnetic Micro-/Nanopropellers for Biomedicine Qiu, T., Jeong, M., Goyal, R., Kadiri, V., Sachs, J., Fischer, P. In Field-Driven Micro and Nanorobots for Biology and Medicine, 389-410, 16, (Editors: Sun, Y. and Wang, X. and Yu, J.), Springer, Cham, November 2022 (Published)
In nature, many bacteria swim by rotating their helical flagella. A particularly promising class of artificial micro- and nano-robots mimic this propeller-like propulsion mechanism to move through fluids and tissues for applications in minimally-invasive medicine. Several fundamental challenges have to be overcome in order to build micro-machines that move similar to bacteria for in vivo applications. Here, we review recent advances of magnetically-powered micro-/nano-propellers. Four important aspects of the propellers – the geometrical shape, the fabrication method, the generation of magnetic fields for actuation, and the choice of biocompatible magnetic materials – are highlighted. First, the fundamental requirements are elucidated that arise due to hydrodynamics at low Reynolds (Re) number. We discuss the role that the propellers’ shape and symmetry play in realizing effective propulsion at low Re. Second, the additive nano-fabrication method Glancing Angle Deposition is discussed as a versatile technique to quickly grow large numbers of designer nano-helices. Third, systems to generate rotating magnetic fields via permanent magnets or electromagnetic coils are presented. And finally, the biocompatibility of the magnetic materials is discussed. Iron-platinum is highlighted due to its biocompatibility and its superior magnetic properties, which is promising for targeted delivery, minimally-invasive magnetic nano-devices and biomedical applications.
DOI URL BibTeX

Organizational Leadership and Diversity Book Chapter Stigmatization of Women in the Workplace: Sources of Stigma and its Consequences at the Individual, Organizational and Societal Level Keplinger, K., Smith, A. In Diversity in Action, 23-28, Emerald Publishing Limited, Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK, September 2022 (Published)
Gender balance has been a declared goal in business and society for decades as gender diversity leads to more equality and better decision-making, enhances financial performance of organizations, and fosters creativity and innovation. Although there is a steady upward trend in the number of women actively participating in the workplace, there is still a dearth of women in top leadership positions. This motivates a closer look at the reasons why this happens. Stigmatization – a social process of disapproval based on stereotypes or particular distinguishing characteristics of individuals (e.g. gender) – has been recognized as one of the primary explanations for the barriers to career advancement of women. This chapter aims to address workplace inequality by analysing different sources of stigma women face in the workplace. Previous research has mostly focused on visible sources of stigma, such as gender or race/ethnicity. We propose to go beyond visible sources of stigma and expand the focus to other physical (e.g. physical appearance, age, childbearing age), emotional (e.g. mental health) and societal (e.g. flexibility) sources of stigma. We are especially interested in the consequences of stigma for women in the workplace. Stigmatization of women is a multi-level process, so this chapter focuses on the antecedents (sources of stigma) and outcomes (consequences of stigma) for women at the individual level, organizational level and the societal level. The proposed chapter will make contributions to the areas of management, diversity and gender studies.
Stigmatization of Women DOI URL BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter CLEVR-X: A Visual Reasoning Dataset for Natural Language Explanations Salewski, L., Koepke, A. S., Lensch, H. P. A., Akata, Z. In xxAI - Beyond Explainable AI: International Workshop, Held in Conjunction with ICML 2020, July 18, 2020, Vienna, Austria, Revised and Extended Papers, 69-88, (Editors: Holzinger, Andreas and Goebel, Randy and Fong, Ruth and Moon, Taesup and Müller, Klaus-Robert and Samek, Wojciech), Springer International Publishing, 2022 (Published) DOI BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Causal Models for Dynamical Systems Peters, J., Bauer, S., Pfister, N. In Probabilistic and Causal Inference: The Works of Judea Pearl, 671-690, 1, Association for Computing Machinery, 2022 (Published) arXiv DOI BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Causality for Machine Learning Schölkopf, B. In Probabilistic and Causal Inference: The Works of Judea Pearl, 765-804, 1, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 2022 (Published) arXiv DOI BibTeX

Empirical Inference Probabilistic Learning Group Book Chapter Towards Causal Algorithmic Recourse Karimi, A. H., von Kügelgen, J., Schölkopf, B., Valera, I. In xxAI - Beyond Explainable AI: International Workshop, Held in Conjunction with ICML 2020, July 18, 2020, Vienna, Austria, Revised and Extended Papers, 139-166, (Editors: Holzinger, Andreas and Goebel, Randy and Fong, Ruth and Moon, Taesup and Müller, Klaus-Robert and Samek, Wojciech), Springer International Publishing, 2022 (Published) DOI BibTeX

Robotic Materials Book Chapter Electriflow: Augmenting Books With Tangible Animation Using Soft Electrohydraulic Actuators Purnendu, , Novack, S., Acome, E., Alistar, M., Keplinger, C., Gross, M. D., Bruns, C., Leithinger, D. In ACM SIGGRAPH 2021 Labs, 1-2, Association for Computing Machinery, SIGGRAPH, August 2021 (Published)
We present Electriflow: a method of augmenting books with tangible animation employing soft electrohydraulic actuators. These actuators are compact, silent and fast in operation, and can be fabricated with commodity materials. They generate an immediate hydraulic force upon electrostatic activation without an external fluid supply source, enabling a simple and self-contained design. Electriflow actuators produce an immediate shape transition from flat to folded state which enabled their seamless integration into books. For the Emerging Technologies exhibit, we will demonstrate the prototype of a book augmented with the capability of tangible animation.
Supplemental Material DOI URL BibTeX

Book Chapter Empirical Aesthetics Brielmann, A. In Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2021
{Empirical aesthetics is a research area at the intersection of psychology and neuroscience that aims to understand how people experience, evaluate, and create objects aesthetically. Its central two questions are: How do we experience beauty? How do we experience art? In practice, this means that empirical aesthetics studies (1) prototypically aesthetic responses, such as beauty or chills, and (2) responses to prototypically aesthetic objects, such as paintings and music. Empirical aesthetics also encompasses broader questions about how we experience other aesthetic experiences, such as ugliness and the sublime, and about how we create art. The field of empirical aesthetics aims to understand how such aesthetic experiences and behaviors emerge and unfold. To do so, researchers in the field link the observer\textquoterights characteristics to her responses, link the object properties to the observer\textquoterights responses, or describe an interaction between them. As a science, empirical aesthetics relies heavily on the analysis and interpretation of data. Data is primarily generated from experiments: Researchers conduct studies in which they manipulate the independent variables to observe the effect of those manipulations on one or more independent variables. In addition, empirical aesthetics relies on observational data, where people\textquoterights behavior is observed or surveyed without the introduction of manipulations. Empirical aesthetics is as old as empirical psychology. The first thorough written account dates back to Gustav Fechner, who published Vorschule der Aesthetik in 1876. Nonetheless, the modern field of empirical aesthetics can be considered rather young. Its gain in popularity in the 21st century can be linked to the emergence of neuroaesthetics\textemdashthe study of brain responses associated with aesthetic experiences\textemdashin the late 1990s. Contemporary empirical aesthetics studies aesthetic experiences with a variety of methods, including brain-imaging and measures of other physiological responses, such as the movements of the eyes and facial muscles.}
BibTeX

Book Chapter Metal Ion Complexes in Paramagnetic Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (ParaCEST) Rodr\’\iguez-Rodr\’\iguez, A., Zaiss, M., Esteban-Gómez, D., Angelovski, G., Platas-Iglesias, C. In Metal Ions in Bio-Imaging Techniques, 101-135, Metal Ions in Life Sciences, De Gruyter, Berlin, Germany, 2021
{Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) is an emerging mechanism to provide contrast in clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CEST agents are compounds that contain a pool of exchangeable or labile protons involved in exchange with the surrounding}
DOI BibTeX

Theory of Inhomogeneous Condensed Matter Book Chapter Adopting the Boundary Homogenization Approximation from Chemical Kinetics to Motile Chemically Active Particles Popescu, M. N., Uspal, W. E. In Chemical Kinetics, 517-540, (Editors: Lindenberg, Katja and Metzler, Ralf and Oshanin, Gleb), World Scientific, New Jersey, NJ, 2020 DOI BibTeX

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Book Chapter Soft Microrobots Based on Photoresponsive Materials Palagi, S. In Mechanically Responsive Materials for Soft Robotics, 327-362, (Editors: Koshima, Hideko), Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2020 DOI BibTeX

Embodied Vision Book Chapter TUM Flyers: Vision-Based MAV Navigation for Systematic Inspection of Structures Usenko, V., Stumberg, L. V., Stückler, J., Cremers, D. In Bringing Innovative Robotic Technologies from Research Labs to Industrial End-users: The Experience of the European Robotics Challenges, 136:189-209, Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, Springer International Publishing, 2020 (Published) DOI URL BibTeX

Book Chapter General Micromagnetic Theory and Applications Kronmüller, H. In Materials Science and Technology, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2019 DOI BibTeX

Modern Magnetic Systems Book Chapter Nanomagnetismus im Röntgenlicht Schütz, G. In Vielfältige Physik, 173-182, Springer Spektrum, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2019 DOI BibTeX

Book Chapter Attending to the Auditory Scene Improves Situational Awareness Scheer, M., Bülthoff, H., Chuang, L. In Neuroergonomics: the brain at work and in everyday life, 251-252, Elsevier, Academic Press, London, UK, 2019
{Early studies suggested that auditory stimuli are only (cognitively) processed if they are relevant for the task. However, studies that are more recent show that this is not necessarily true. Rather, it depends on the nature of the auditory stimuli. Environmental sounds are processed even when they are irrelevant for the task and even when participants are engaged in demanding visual tasks. These latter results can be interpreted within the framework of situational awareness. To maintain situational awareness, it is essential to continuously scan the environment for unexpected sounds that might not be of immediate task relevance but could inform us about important changes in the environment. In the current study, we investigate whether and how the scanning for, and processing of, environmental sounds\textemdashin other words, situational awareness of the auditory scene\textemdashis influenced by auditory attention manipulations. Here, auditory attention was manipulated by requiring participants to perform an auditory oddball-detection task or not, while task-irrelevant environmental sounds were occasionally presented in the background. The current study answers the following questions: (1) Is the processing of environmental sounds influenced by manipulations of auditory attention or is it an automatic process? (2) Is the processing of irrelevant environmental sounds attenuated or enhanced by auditory attention? On the one hand, the processing of the irrelevant environmental sounds could be attenuated, because the additional task increases the demand for auditory attentional resources. On the other hand, the processing of the environmental sounds could be enhanced because more attention is directed toward the auditory channel to optimize performance in the auditory oddball-detection task.}
DOI BibTeX

Book Chapter MRS Sequences and Protocols Giapitzakis, I., Henning, A. In Clinical MR Spectroscopy, Springer International Publishing, Cham, Switzerland, 2019 BibTeX

Book Chapter When Does the Brain Respond to Information During Visual Scanning? Flad, N., Bülthoff, H., Chuang, L. In Neuroergonomics: the brain at work and in everyday life, 267-268, Elsevier, Academic Press, London, UK, 2019
{High-stress work environments, such as a flight deck or surveillance systems, provide operators with multiple instruments that have to be monitored constantly using eye movements. Eye tracking allows us to infer when an operator\textquoterights overt attention is devoted to an instrument, namely when fixation begins. It is commonly assumed that fixating a visual stimulus equates its processing. In this study, we use an electroencephalogram (EEG) to demonstrate that visual perception, hence processing, can take place even prior to fixation. We show that target onsets give rise to brain responses that are associated with stimulus processing even before targets were fixated. This poses a challenge for the use of the electroencephalogram/event-related potential (EEG/ERP) in visual scanning environments: if fixation onset is not necessarily the onset of perception, it cannot always be used for attributing ERP data.}
DOI BibTeX

Book Chapter Why Do Auditory Warnings During Steering Allow for Faster Visual Target Recognition? Glatz, C., Bülthoff, H., Chuang, L. In Neuroergonomics: The Brain at Work and in Everyday Life, 249-250, Elsevier, Academic Press, London, UK, 2019
{Auditory cues are often used to capture and direct attention, away from an ongoing task to a critical situation. In the context of driving, previous research have shown that looming sounds, which convey time-to-contact information through their rising-intensity profiles, promote faster braking times to potential front collisions. The current experiment investigates the role of auditory warnings in facilitating the identification of visual objects in the visual periphery during steering. This approximates the use of auditory warnings for cueing possible candidates for side collisions. We expected faster response times for visual targets cued by a looming sound compared to a constant sound. Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded to determine whether faster response times were due to either earlier or stronger neural responses to the visual target. We hypothesize: (1) earlier event-related potentials (ERPs) for cued compared to non-cued visual targets, and (2) larger amplitudes for visual targets that were cued by looming versus constant sounds.}
DOI BibTeX

Book Chapter Wie real sind virtuelle Realitäten? Über Chancen und potenzielle Risiken von virtuellen Realitäten de la Rosa, S. In Gehirne unter Spannung: Kognition, Emotion und Identität im digitalen Zeitalter, 99-126, Springer, Berlin, Germany, 2019
{Virtuelle Realit\"at (VR) wird derzeit vielerorts als \quotedblbaseTechnologie der Zukunft\textquotedblleft beschrieben. Schon jetzt treffen VR-verwandte Technologien auf das Interesse der breiten \"Offentlichkeit, wie der bahnbrechende Erfolg von Pok\'emon Go zeigt. Der Kognitionswissenschaftler Stephan de la Rosa (Max-Planck-Institut f\"ur biologische Kybernetik in T\"ubingen) erl\"autert in seinem Beitrag, was in unserem Kopf passiert, wenn wir uns in virtuelle Realit\"aten begeben und woraus sich der realistische Wahrnehmungseindruck ergibt. Auch vielf\"altige Potenziale f\"ur Wissenschaft und Therapie werden diskutiert, ohne eventuelle Gefahren unbeachtet zu lassen.}
DOI BibTeX

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Book Chapter Nanoscale robotic agents in biological fluids and tissues Palagi, S., Walker, D. Q. T., Fischer, P. In The Encyclopedia of Medical Robotics, 2:19-42, 2, (Editors: Desai, J. P. and Ferreira, A.), World Scientific, October 2018 (Published)
Nanorobots are untethered structures of sub-micron size that can be controlled in a non-trivial way. Such nanoscale robotic agents are envisioned to revolutionize medicine by enabling minimally invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. To be useful, nanorobots must be operated in complex biological fluids and tissues, which are often difficult to penetrate. In this chapter, we first discuss potential medical applications of motile nanorobots. We briefly present the challenges related to swimming at such small scales and we survey the rheological properties of some biological fluids and tissues. We then review recent experimental results in the development of nanorobots and in particular their design, fabrication, actuation, and propulsion in complex biological fluids and tissues. Recent work shows that their nanoscale dimension is a clear asset for operation in biological tissues, since many biological tissues consist of networks of macromolecules that prevent the passage of larger micron-scale structures, but contain dynamic pores through which nanorobots can move.
DOI URL BibTeX

Haptic Intelligence Book Chapter Haptics and Haptic Interfaces Kuchenbecker, K. J. In Encyclopedia of Robotics, 1-9, Springer, May 2018 (Published)
Haptics is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to both understand and engineer touch-based interaction. Although a wide range of systems and applications are being investigated, haptics researchers often concentrate on perception and manipulation through the human hand. A haptic interface is a mechatronic system that modulates the physical interaction between a human and his or her tangible surroundings. Haptic interfaces typically involve mechanical, electrical, and computational layers that work together to sense user motions or forces, quickly process these inputs with other information, and physically respond by actuating elements of the user’s surroundings, thereby enabling him or her to act on and feel a remote and/or virtual environment.
DOI BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Maschinelles Lernen: Entwicklung ohne Grenzen? Schölkopf, B. In Mit Optimismus in die Zukunft schauen. Künstliche Intelligenz - Chancen und Rahmenbedingungen, 26-34, (Editors: Bender, G. and Herbrich, R. and Siebenhaar, K.), B&S Siebenhaar Verlag, 2018 (Published) BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Methods in Psychophysics Wichmann, F. A., Jäkel, F. In Stevens’ Handbook of Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, 5 (Methodology), 7, 4th, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2018 (Published) BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Transfer Learning for BCIs Jayaram, V., Fiebig, K., Peters, J., Grosse-Wentrup, M. In Brain–Computer Interfaces Handbook, 425-442, 22, (Editors: Chang S. Nam, Anton Nijholt and Fabien Lotte), CRC Press, 2018 (Published) BibTeX

Book Chapter Complex Role of the Serotonin Receptors in Depression: Implications for Treatment Amidfar, M., Colic, L., Walter, M., Kim, Y. In Understanding Depression: Volume 1. Biomedical and Neurobiological Background, 83-95, Springer, Singapore, 2018
{Evidence from pharmacological, neuroimaging, postmortem, and genetic studies underlines the various roles of 5-HT receptor subtypes in the pathogenesis of major depressive disorder. Recent investigations further supported the notion of their interaction with the antidepressant medication and advanced the knowledge on underlying mechanisms of their action. The heterogeneous properties of individual 5-HT receptors offer a chance for development of new generation of antidepressants, which may be more beneficial and effective than traditional selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Antagonists of 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C, 5-HT3, 5-HT6, and 5-HT7 receptors, as well as agonists of 5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT2C, 5-HT4, and 5-HT6 receptors, were observed to produce antidepressant-like responses. Paradoxical antidepressant-like effects of both agonists and antagonists of 5-HT receptors are likely connected to the diverse neurochemical mechanisms they instantiate. Augmented behavioral effects of SSRIs and other antidepressants used in combined treatment with 5-HT receptor agonists or antagonists have also been reported. The involvement of 5-HT receptors in depression is complex. Identifying the role of 5-HT receptors in response to antidepressants is an essential step in recognizing their mechanisms of action and, thereby, potentially producing more effective antidepressants with fewer side effects in patients with major depressive disorder.}
DOI BibTeX

Book Chapter Models and Methods for Reinforcement Learning Dayan, P., Nakahara, H. In Stevens’ Handbook of Experimental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, 5: Methodology:1-40, 4., Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2018
{The temporal difference (TD) learning framework is a major paradigm for understanding value-based decision making and related neural activities (e.g., dopamine activity). The representation of time in neural processes modeled by a TD framework, however, is poorly understood. To address this issue, we propose a TD formulation that separates the time of the operator (neural valuation processes), which we refer to as internal time, from the time of the observer (experiment), which we refer to as conventional time. We provide the formulation and theoretical characteristics of this TD model based on internal time, called internal-time TD, and explore the possible consequences of the use of this model in neural value-based decision making. Due to the separation of the two times, internal-time TD computations, such as TD error, are expressed differently, depending on both the time frame and time unit. We examine this operator-observer problem in relation to the time representation used in previous TD models. An internal time TD value function exhibits the co-appearance of exponential and hyperbolic discounting at different delays in intertemporal choice tasks. We further examine the effects of internal time noise on TD error, the dynamic construction of internal time, and the modulation of internal time with the internal time hypothesis of serotonin function. We also relate the internal TD formulation to research on interval timing and subjective time.}
DOI BibTeX

Book Chapter Spatial Biases in Wayfinding and Navigation Wiener, J., Meilinger, T. In Spatial Biases in Perception and Cognition, 324-335, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2018 DOI BibTeX

Book Chapter The Role of the Locus Coeruleus in Cellular and Systems Memory Consolidation Eschenko, O. In Handbook of in vivo neural plasticity techniques: a systems neuroscience approach to the neural basis of memory and cognition, 28:327-347, Handbook of Behavioral Neuroscience, Academic Press, London, UK, 2018
{Synaptic plasticity, neuronal replay, and cross-regional communication are considered key physiological processes underlying memory consolidation. Both cellular and systems-level consolidation hypotheses are supported by extensive empirical evidence. However, presently, little is known about the temporal relations between local synaptic modifications and activity dynamics within extended neuronal networks supporting memory. The diffuse ascending neuromodulatory systems, with the locus coeruleus (LC) noradrenergic system being one of them, appear to be ideal candidates for bridging the cellular and systems mechanisms of memory consolidation. According to a canonical view, noradrenaline release from the terminal fields of LC neurons creates a window of heightened synaptic plasticity within a recently activated neuronal network. Importantly, this neuromodulatory input is critical at times of actual learning experience but also functions \textquotedblleftoff-line,\textquotedblright when experience-activated neuronal ensembles replay and protein-dependent synaptic modifications occur. Tracking the connectivity strength within learning-related large-scale networks combined with monitoring neuromodulatory activity and behavioral assessment of memory appear irreplaceable methodology for examining interactions between cellular and systems mechanisms of memory consolidation, which are both dependent on neuromodulation.}
DOI BibTeX

Micro, Nano, and Molecular Systems Book Chapter Chapter 8 - Micro- and nanorobots in Newtonian and biological viscoelastic fluids Palagi, S., (Walker) Schamel, D., Qiu, T., Fischer, P. In Microbiorobotics, 133 - 162, 8, Micro and Nano Technologies, Second edition, Elsevier, Boston, March 2017 (Published)
Swimming microorganisms are a source of inspiration for small scale robots that are intended to operate in fluidic environments including complex biomedical fluids. Nature has devised swimming strategies that are effective at small scales and at low Reynolds number. These include the rotary corkscrew motion that, for instance, propels a flagellated bacterial cell, as well as the asymmetric beat of appendages that sperm cells or ciliated protozoa use to move through fluids. These mechanisms can overcome the reciprocity that governs the hydrodynamics at small scale. The complex molecular structure of biologically important fluids presents an additional challenge for the effective propulsion of microrobots. In this chapter it is shown how physical and chemical approaches are essential in realizing engineered abiotic micro- and nanorobots that can move in biomedically important environments. Interestingly, we also describe a microswimmer that is effective in biological viscoelastic fluids that does not have a natural analogue.
DOI URL BibTeX

Movement Generation and Control Book Chapter Momentum-Centered Control of Contact Interactions Righetti, L., Herzog, A. In Geometric and Numerical Foundations of Movements, 117:339-359, Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, Springer, Cham, 2017 URL BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Policy Gradient Methods Peters, J., Bagnell, J. In Encyclopedia of Machine Learning and Data Mining, 982-985, 2nd, (Editors: Sammut, Claude and Webb, Geoffrey I.), Springer US, 2017 (Published) URL BibTeX

Empirical Inference Autonomous Motion Book Chapter Robot Learning Peters, J., Lee, D., Kober, J., Nguyen-Tuong, D., Bagnell, J., Schaal, S. In Springer Handbook of Robotics, 357-394, 15, 2nd, (Editors: Siciliano, Bruno and Khatib, Oussama), Springer International Publishing, 2017 (Published) BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Robot Learning Peters, J., Tedrake, R., Roy, N., Morimoto, J. In Encyclopedia of Machine Learning and Data Mining, 1106-1109, 2nd, (Editors: Sammut, Claude and Webb, Geoffrey I.), Springer US, 2017 (Published) DOI BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Statistical Asymmetries Between Cause and Effect Janzing, D. In Time in Physics, 129-139, Tutorials, Schools, and Workshops in the Mathematical Sciences, (Editors: Renner, Renato and Stupar, Sandra), Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2017 (Published) DOI URL BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Unsupervised clustering of EOG as a viable substitute for optical eye-tracking Flad, N., Fomina, T., Bülthoff, H. H., Chuang, L. L. In First Workshop on Eye Tracking and Visualization (ETVIS 2015), 151-167, Mathematics and Visualization, (Editors: Burch, M., Chuang, L., Fisher, B., Schmidt, A., and Weiskopf, D.), Springer, 2017 (Published) DOI BibTeX

Autonomous Motion Book Chapter Implications of Action-Oriented Paradigm Shifts in Cognitive Science Dominey, P. F., Prescott, T. J., Bohg, J., Engel, A. K., Gallagher, S., Heed, T., Hoffmann, M., Knoblich, G., Prinz, W., Schwartz, A. In The Pragmatic Turn - Toward Action-Oriented Views in Cognitive Science, 18:333-356, 20, Strüngmann Forum Reports, vol. 18, J. Lupp, series editor, (Editors: Andreas K. Engel and Karl J. Friston and Danica Kragic), The MIT Press, 18th Ernst Strüngmann Forum, May 2016 (In press)
An action-oriented perspective changes the role of an individual from a passive observer to an actively engaged agent interacting in a closed loop with the world as well as with others. Cognition exists to serve action within a landscape that contains both. This chapter surveys this landscape and addresses the status of the pragmatic turn. Its potential influence on science and the study of cognition are considered (including perception, social cognition, social interaction, sensorimotor entrainment, and language acquisition) and its impact on how neuroscience is studied is also investigated (with the notion that brains do not passively build models, but instead support the guidance of action). A review of its implications in robotics and engineering includes a discussion of the application of enactive control principles to couple action and perception in robotics as well as the conceptualization of system design in a more holistic, less modular manner. Practical applications that can impact the human condition are reviewed (e.g. educational applications, treatment possibilities for developmental and psychopathological disorders, the development of neural prostheses). All of this foreshadows the potential societal implications of the pragmatic turn. The chapter concludes that an action-oriented approach emphasizes a continuum of interaction between technical aspects of cognitive systems and robotics, biology, psychology, the social sciences, and the humanities, where the individual is part of a grounded cultural system.
The Pragmatic Turn - Toward Action-Oriented Views in Cognitive Science 18th Ernst Strüngmann Forum Bibliography Chapter URL BibTeX

Autonomous Motion Book Chapter Learning Action-Perception Cycles in Robotics: A Question of Representations and Embodiment Bohg, J., Kragic, D. In The Pragmatic Turn - Toward Action-Oriented Views in Cognitive Science, 18:309-320, 18, Strüngmann Forum Reports, vol. 18, J. Lupp, series editor, (Editors: Andreas K. Engel and Karl J. Friston and Danica Kragic), The MIT Press, 18th Ernst Strüngmann Forum, May 2016 (In press)
Since the 1950s, robotics research has sought to build a general-purpose agent capable of autonomous, open-ended interaction with realistic, unconstrained environments. Cognition is perceived to be at the core of this process, yet understanding has been challenged because cognition is referred to differently within and across research areas, and is not clearly defined. The classic robotics approach is decomposition into functional modules which perform planning, reasoning, and problem-solving or provide input to these mechanisms. Although advancements have been made and numerous success stories reported in specific niches, this systems-engineering approach has not succeeded in building such a cognitive agent. The emergence of an action-oriented paradigm offers a new approach: action and perception are no longer separable into functional modules but must be considered in a complete loop. This chapter reviews work on different mechanisms for action- perception learning and discusses the role of embodiment in the design of the underlying representations and learning. It discusses the evaluation of agents and suggests the development of a new embodied Turing Test. Appropriate scenarios need to be devised in addition to current competitions, so that abilities can be tested over long time periods.
18th Ernst Strüngmann Forum The Pragmatic Turn- Toward Action-Oriented Views in Cognitive Science Bibliography Chapter URL BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter A cognitive brain–computer interface for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Hohmann, M., Fomina, T., Jayaram, V., Widmann, N., Förster, C., Just, J., Synofzik, M., Schölkopf, B., Schöls, L., Grosse-Wentrup, M. In Brain-Computer Interfaces: Lab Experiments to Real-World Applications, 228(Supplement C):221-239, 8, Progress in Brain Research, (Editors: Damien Coyle), Elsevier, 2016 (Published) DOI BibTeX

Autonomous Motion Book Chapter Locally Weighted Regression for Control Ting, J., Meier, F., Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S. In Encyclopedia of Machine Learning and Data Mining, 1-14, Springer US, Boston, MA, 2016 DOI URL BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Nonlinear functional causal models for distinguishing cause from effect Zhang, K., Hyvärinen, A. In Statistics and Causality: Methods for Applied Empirical Research, 185-201, 8, 1st, (Editors: Wolfgang Wiedermann and Alexander von Eye), John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2016 (Published) BibTeX

Physical Intelligence Book Chapter Untethered Magnetic Micromanipulation Diller, E., Sitti, M. In Micro-and Nanomanipulation Tools, 13, 10, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, November 2015
This chapter discusses the methods and state of the art in microscale manipulation in remote environments using untethered microrobotic devices. It focuses on manipulation at the size scale of tens to hundreds of microns, where small size leads to a dominance of microscale physical effects and challenges in fabrication and actuation. To motivate the challenges of operating at this size scale, the chapter includes coverage of the physical forces relevant to microrobot motion and manipulation below the millimeter-size scale. It then introduces the actuation methods commonly used in untethered manipulation schemes, with particular focus on magnetic actuation due to its wide use in the field. The chapter divides these manipulation techniques into two types: contact manipulation, which relies on direct pushing or grasping of objects for motion, and noncontact manipulation, which relies indirectly on induced fluid flow from the microrobot motion to move objects without any direct contact.
DOI BibTeX

Empirical Inference Book Chapter Kernel methods in medical imaging Charpiat, G., Hofmann, M., Schölkopf, B. In Handbook of Biomedical Imaging, 63-81, 4, (Editors: Paragios, N., Duncan, J. and Ayache, N.), Springer, Berlin, Germany, June 2015 (Published) Web URL BibTeX

Autonomous Motion Intelligent Control Systems Book Chapter Lernende Roboter Trimpe, S. In Jahrbuch der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Max Planck Society, May 2015, (popular science article in German) URL BibTeX

Autonomous Motion Book Chapter Autonomous Robots Schaal, S. In Jahrbuch der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, May 2015 BibTeX