News & Awards

Autonomous Learning Haptic Intelligence News 24-02-2022 Fingertip sensitivity for robots Striving to improve touch sensing in robotics, scientists developed a thumb-shaped sensor with a camera hidden inside and trained a deep neural network to infer its haptic contact information. When something touches the finger, the system constructs a three-dimensional force map from the visible deformations of its flexible outer shell. This research invention significantly improves a robot finger’s haptic perception, coming ever closer to the sense of touch of human skin. Huanbo Sun Georg Martius Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Appointment 01-02-2022 Hojin Lee appointed Senior Researcher at ETRI in South Korea Hojin Lee

Haptic Intelligence News 17-01-2022 HI-Department featured in MaxPlanckForschung In its upcoming edition, the science magazine of the Max Planck Society features several of the research projects of the Haptic Intelligence Department. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker Rachael Burns Alexis Block

Haptic Intelligence Award 23-11-2021 Katherine J. Kuchenbecker has been named an IEEE Fellow effective January 1, 2022, for contributions to interactive haptic systems and robotic touch perception Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence News 09-11-2021 Hyosang Lee appointed new Cyber Valley Research Group Leader The former PostDoc in the Haptic Intelligence Department started his new position at the Institute for Smart Sensors at the University of Stuttgart on October 1, 2021. Hyosang Lee Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Appointment 01-10-2021 Hyosang Lee is a Cyber Valley Research Group Leader at the University of Stuttgart

Haptic Intelligence Award 22-07-2021 Ph.D. student Alexis E. Block is selected as a 2021 Computing Innovation Fellow (CIFellow) to support her postdoctoral research with Veronica Santos at UCLA in the USA Alexis Block

Haptic Intelligence Award 10-07-2021 Postdoc Yitian Shao receives a two-year Humboldt Research Fellowship to support his postdoctoral research in the HI Department Yitian Shao

Haptic Intelligence Award 09-07-2021 Ph.D. student Saekwang Nam and Katherine J. Kuchenbecker jointly win Honorable Mention for their IEEE Transactions on Haptics short paper at the 2021 IEEE World Haptics Conference Saekwang Nam Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Award 09-07-2021 Postdoc Yitian Shao wins the 2020 EuroHaptics Society prize for the best Ph.D. thesis in the field of haptics; he earned his doctorate with Yon Visell at UCSB in the USA Yitian Shao

Haptic Intelligence Award 18-06-2021 Ph.D. student Rachael Bevill Burns wins Honorable Mention for Best Research Lightning Talk at the IMPRS-IS Boot Camp Rachael Burns

Haptic Intelligence Award 07-04-2021 Ph.D. students Alexis E. Block, Rachael Bevill Burns, and Mayumi Mohan are selected to participate in the Gordon Research Seminar on the Future of Robotics: Possibilities for Transforming Healthcare Alexis Block Rachael Burns Mayumi Mohan

Haptic Intelligence News 06-04-2021 Challenging the design of electrovibrations to generate a more realistic feel A user should feel realistic haptic feedback on a touchscreen embedded with electrovibration technology – independent of the number of fingers used, the movements made, or the pressure applied to the screen. Unfortunately, not even the most advanced touchscreen devices provide a realistic user experience – all images feel like glass. In the near future, a completely rethought design of the electrical signals causing the haptic sensation could close the gap between reality and fiction. In an experiment, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and Delft University of Technology laid the foundation for rethinking the design approach, generating more compelling tactile sensations on touchscreens, and improving the usability of mobile devices. Yasemin Vardar Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Award 11-03-2021 Ph.D. student Rachael Bevill Burns wins first place at the HRI 2021 Student Elevator Pitch Competition Rachael Burns

Haptic Intelligence Award 01-01-2021 Ph.D. student Rachael Bevill Burns is selected to participate in the HRI Pioneers 2021 Workshop Rachael Burns

Haptic Intelligence Award 29-11-2020 Ph.D. student Saekwang Nam receives a KIST Europe Scholarship Award from the Korean Scientists and Engineers Association in Germany Saekwang Nam

Haptic Intelligence News 08-10-2020 Haptic Intelligence Department rocks EuroHaptics 2020! Experiences with a hybrid conference during the COVID-19 pandemic Director Katherine J. Kuchenbecker and fourteen other members of the MPI-IS Haptic Intelligence (HI) Department presented twelve of their current research projects at the first-ever hybrid EuroHaptics conference. This meeting took place both physically and virtually from September 6 to 9, 2020, in Leiden, Netherlands. EuroHaptics is the primary European meeting for researchers working on haptic perception and technology. Together, the HI team presented nine work-in-progress (WIP) posters and three hands-on demonstrations, winning one award and being a finalist for another. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker Hasti Seifi Yasemin Vardar Rachael Burns Saekwang Nam Hyosang Lee Neha Thomas Ravali Gourishetti Farimah Fazlollahi Maria Paola Forte David Gueorguiev Behnam Khojasteh Cara Nunez Gokhan Serhat Hojin Lee Eric Young

Haptic Intelligence Appointment 01-10-2020 Hasti Seifi becomes Assistant Professor at University of Copenhagen

Haptic Intelligence Award 09-09-2020 Ph.D. student Saekwang Nam and Katherine J. Kuchenbecker jointly win the EuroHaptics 2020 Award for Best Poster Saekwang Nam Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Appointment 01-09-2020 Ad Spiers becomes Lecturer at Imperial College London

Haptic Intelligence Appointment 01-09-2020 Yasemin Vardar wird Assistenzprofessorin an der TU Delft

Haptic Intelligence News 27-08-2020 Three scientists from MPI-IS Stuttgart accept appointments at top universities across Europe The researchers from Katherine Kuchenbecker's Haptic Intelligence Department see their time at the MPI-IS as a valuable springboard for the next step in their academic careers. Hasti Seifi, Ad Spiers, and Yasemin Vardar are set to take up their new positions in the coming month. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker Hasti Seifi Adam Spiers Yasemin Vardar Valerie Callaghan

Haptic Intelligence Award 14-06-2020 Senior Research Scientist Ad Spiers receives an Outstanding Reviewer Award from the IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters Adam Spiers

Haptic Intelligence News 06-06-2020 Debates on the future of robotics at ICRA: Katherine J. Kuchenbecker makes a case for virtual conferences The virtual debate was held at the 2020 International Conference on Robotics and Automation. During a 90-minute debate, leading scientists in the field of robotics discussed the pros and cons of large international conferences. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker Valerie Callaghan

Haptic Intelligence Appointment 01-01-2020 David Gueorguiev becomes CNRS Researcher in Paris

Haptic Intelligence Award 26-11-2019 Postdocs David Gueorguiev and Hasti Seifi win a 9,500 USD grant from the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society to create a hands-on, standalone teaching module on haptic devices David Gueorguiev Hasti Seifi

Haptic Intelligence Award 04-11-2019 Research Scientist Hyosang Lee, visiting Ph.D. student Kyungseo Park, Prof. Jung Kim of KAIST, and Katherine J. Kuchenbecker jointly win the Best Poster Award at the 2019 IROS ROBOTAC workshop Hyosang Lee Kyungseo Park Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence News 29-10-2019 Vibrant research environment creates pulling force Many students from around the world choose the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems for research stays abroad. The Haptic Intelligence Department is currently hosting several promising young researchers. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Award 11-10-2019 Ph.D. student Rachael Bevill Burns wins Second Place for Best Research Lightning Talk at the IMPRS-IS Boot Camp Rachael Burns

Haptic Intelligence Award 01-10-2019 Stanford Ph.D. student Cara Nunez receives a ten-month DAAD scholarship to do research with the HI Department as a visiting Ph.D. student Cara Nunez

Haptic Intelligence Award 15-08-2019 JHU Ph.D. student Neha Thomas receives a ten-month Fulbright grant to do research with the HI Department as a visiting Ph.D. student Neha Thomas

Haptic Intelligence Award 15-07-2019 Korea University Ph.D. students Jeong-Hyun Cho and Young-Eun Lee each receive a six-month grant to do research with the HI Department as a visiting Ph.D. student Jeong-Hyun Cho Young-Eun Lee

Haptic Intelligence Award 12-07-2019 Postdoc Yasemin Vardar wins the 2018 EuroHaptics Society prize for the best Ph.D. thesis in the field of haptics; she earned her doctorate with Cagatay Basdogan at Koc University in Turkey Yasemin Vardar

Haptic Intelligence News 12-07-2019 Yasemin Vardar wins the 2018 EuroHaptics Society Best Ph.D. Thesis Award She received the prize at the IEEE World Haptics Conference in Tokyo, Japan, on July 12, 2019 Yasemin Vardar Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Award 25-06-2019 Ph.D. students Alexis E. Block and Maria-Paola Forte win ROSCon 2019 diversity scholarships Alexis Block

Haptic Intelligence News 04-06-2019 Alexis Block is teaching robots to give good hugs Scientist working in the Haptic Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems receives great media feedback on her research Alexis Block Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Award 18-12-2018 Ph.D. student Mayumi Mohan is selected to participate in the HRI Pioneers 2019 Workshop Mayumi Mohan

Haptic Intelligence Award 29-11-2018 Ph.D. student Alexis E. Block wins a 2,500 USD research grant from the IEEE Technical Committee on Haptics Alexis Block

Haptic Intelligence Award 23-10-2018 Postdoc Yasemin Vardar is selected to participate in the MPG's Sign up! career-building program Yasemin Vardar

Haptic Intelligence News 15-06-2018 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

Haptic Intelligence Award 15-06-2018 Postdoc Hasti Seifi wins the 2017 EuroHaptics Society prize for the best Ph.D. thesis in the field of haptics; she earned her doctorate with Karon MacLean at UBC in Canada Hasti Seifi

Haptic Intelligence News 23-05-2018 Brent Gillespie receives Humboldt Research Award The award will allow the visiting professor in the Haptic Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart to extend his stay in Germany. Brent Gillespie Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Award 01-05-2018 Visiting Professor Brent Gillespie receives a Humbold Research Award Brent Gillespie

Haptic Intelligence Award 21-04-2018 Postdoc Hyosang Lee is selected to participate in the RSS Pioneers 2018 Workshop Hyosang Lee

Haptic Intelligence News 16-04-2018 Hyosang Lee receives fellowship from South Korean Government Another prestigious fellowship for one of the Postdocs of the Haptic Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. Hyosang Lee Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Award 16-04-2018 Postdoc Hyosang Lee receives a fellowship from the South Korean National Research Foundation to support his postdoctoral research in the HI Department Hyosang Lee

Haptic Intelligence Award 01-04-2018 Postdoc Hasti Seifi receives a two-year fellowship from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada to support her postdoctoral research in the HI Department Hasti Seifi

Haptic Intelligence News 27-03-2018 Katherine J. Kuchenbecker at the IEEE Haptics Symposium 2018 The Director of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems leads the team that is organizing this vibrant forum for haptics researchers. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Award 05-03-2018 Alexis E. Block is elected as co-general chair of the HRI Pioneers 2019 Workshop Alexis Block

Haptic Intelligence Award 05-03-2018 Rachael L'Orsa receives a four-month DAAD scholarship to visit the HI Department Rachael Lorsa