Innovation

Needles are often difficult to detect in the body during surgical procedures using ultrasound. A research team from the Chair for Computer Aided Medical Procedures (CAMP) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now developed a method that causes needles to vibrate slightly, making them visible. Doctoral student Dianye Huang was awarded the Best Innovation Award for this achievement at the Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Centre (MRC) Symposium 2025. [read more]

From June 24 to 27, 2025, the Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) at the Technical University of Munich will showcase around 25 demonstrations on robotics and artificial intelligence at automatica. Under the umbrella of the high-tech platform munich_i, TUM and the Robotics Institute Germany will appear together, connecting research, industry, and startups. [read more]

Remote robot teaching is unlocking new possibilities in fields like surgery, aerospace, and manufacturing—allowing experts to train machines from anywhere in the world. MIRMI researcher Başak Güleçyüz of the chair of Media Technology of Technical University of Munich (TUM) explains how her team tackles the challenge of network delays and why industry leaders are already taking notice. [read more]

Autonomous tractors in the field must be able to recognize people safely. Otherwise, it is impossible to send these vehicles off without a driver. With the help of a new safety model, Prof. Timo Oksanen of the Chair of Agromechatronics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) can rule out errors with almost 100 percent certainty. [read more]

Maximilian Rettinger and his team at the Chair of Human-Machine Communication at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are working on an interactive mixed reality method to enable robots to be programmed faster and without prior technical knowledge in the future. The aim is to make control more intuitive, simpler, and significantly more efficient. [read more]

A researcher at MIRMI, together with researchers from Örebro University, has developed an innovative approach to radar odometry, which earned the 'Best Paper Award in Computer & Robot Vision' from the IEEE RAS Technical Committee on Computer & Robot Vision. Their work introduces CFEAR (Continuous Frequency Extended Adaptive Registration). This method surpasses existing algorithms in accuracy and generalizability across diverse environments, including smoky, dusty, or foggy conditions. We asked Prof. Achim Lilienthal three questions about this innovative method and its impact on radar odometry. [read more]

With his findings on motion planning and control for tactile manipulation, MIRMI researcher Erfan Shahriari earned the Georg Giralt PhD Award on the stage of the ERF 2025. His approach addresses robustness as well as energy-awareness. It is even already being used in practice. [read more]

A team led by start-up Olive Robotics and TUM Professor Eckehard Steinbach took third place in this year's euRobotics Technology Transfer Award with the topic ‘olixSense - AI-Powered Inertial Measurement Unit for Advanced Robotics’, out of 17 submissions. The award was presented at the European Robotics Forum (2025) in Stuttgart. [read more]

These five highlights of geriatronics research from 2024 show the potential of care assistance robotics. Research in the field of geriatronics has been underway at the TU Munich campus in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for over five years. First and foremost is the GARMI care assistance robot. It is set to develop into an all-in-one helper and later assist nursing staff. GARMI's repertoire already includes a lot, from simple pick-up and delivery services to possible physiotherapeutic use in the rehabilitation of patients and telemedical applications such as ultrasound.  If you want to know how much… [read more]