Projects & Theses
Below you find a collection of BSc and MSc projects and theses that can be carried out within the MaP community.
Resin with a Twist: Photoreversible Material for Digitally Printed Films
Create a next-gen resin that switches from solid to liquid using light! Dive into synthesizing, testing, and refining this unique material with exciting potential in the watch industry and beyond. Ideal for a chemistry or engineering student ready to explore the full journey—from lab synthesis to real-world application. Join us to make light a game-changer in material science!
Keywords
photoreversible, resin, light-activated, digital printing, smart materials, synthesis, rheology, polymers, formulations, prototyping, engineering, chemistry, innovation, dynamic materials, industry, material, characterization, application, light, photosensitive, photocleavable
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Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-05-23 , Earliest start: 2025-06-22 , Latest end: 2026-01-23
Organization Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Wolf Morris
Topics Engineering and Technology , Chemistry
Trajectory Optimization and Policy Distillation for Agile Control of Hybrid Mobile Robots
Hybrid mobile robots that integrate wheels and legs present a promising locomotion paradigm, combining the speed and efficiency of wheeled motion with the adaptability of legged systems. However, controlling such platforms remains challenging due to their underactuated and hybrid dynamics. This project explores a control-learning framework that leverages trajectory optimization (TO) or model predictive control (MPC) to generate high-quality motion plans while concurrently distilling a lightweight neural policy through supervised learning. The approach supports both sampling-based and gradient-based optimization methods, depending on simulator capabilities, and emphasizes real-world learning by collecting rollout data directly from hardware. The resulting policy enables efficient and robust control suitable for deployment under real-time constraints. Development and evaluation will be conducted using the LIMX Dynamics TRON1 robot, a bipedal wheeled platform with 4 DoF per leg, providing a rich testbed for advancing agile and intelligent control in hybrid robotic systems.
Keywords
Bipedal wheeled locomotion, Trajectory optimization, Model predictive control, Policy distillation, Sim-to-real transfer
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Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-05-22 , Earliest start: 2025-05-22 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Applications limited to EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , ETH Zurich
Organization Computational robotics laboratory (Prof. Stelian Coros)
Hosts Cheng Jin
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Fabrication of TiC-Reinforced Alumina Composites with Enhanced Mechanical Properties and Self-Healing Capability via Spark Plasma Sintering
The objective of this project is to design, fabricate and characterize TiC-reinforced alumina (Al₂O₃) ceramic composites using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS), with the aim of achieving a combination of a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), high hardness (approximately 10–13 GPa), high bending strength and enhanced fracture toughness, as well as the potential for self-healing. Although SPS is a promising method of sintering for dense, fine-grained ceramic composites, controlling the microstructure and optimizing properties such as hardness, toughness and dimensional stability remains challenging. This research project will therefore focus on developing optimized Al₂O₃–TiC composite formulations and SPS processing parameters, integrating experimental sintering trials with microstructural and mechanical characterization. Particular attention will be given to exploring the self-healing behavior induced by TiC oxidation at high temperatures. This project will contribute to the development of toughened, high-performance ceramic composites suitable for advanced engineering applications.
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Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-05-22 , Earliest start: 2025-06-01
Organization Advanced Manufacturing
Hosts Kovalska Natalia
Topics Engineering and Technology
Modelling and experimental validation of near-net-shape densification in ceramic composites using Spark Plasma Sintering
This project aims to advance finite element modelling (FEM) techniques to predict material densification and optimize tool design for 3D spark plasma sintering (SPS) of Si₃N₄-based ceramic composites. While SPS has shown enormous potential for processing nanocrystalline and ultrafine grained materials. Its application to the fabrication of complex 3D geometries has been challenging due to difficulties in controlling material properties such as dimensional accuracy, local densification, and microstructural integrity. Recent developments in selective powder deposition combined with sacrificial materials have shown promise in increasing design flexibility and enabling the production of more complex geometries. This project will focus on using FEM to model the densification behavior during the SPS process, taking into account factors such as applied pressure, temperature and current. The aim is to predict the densification profile of the material and optimize tool design to improve the overall quality of the sintered components. By integrating experimental results with numerical simulations, the study will address key issues such as local variations in densification and dimensional distortion during sintering. This research will contribute to improving the accuracy and reliability of SPS for Si₃N₄-based ceramic composites, enabling the production of high-performance components with complex shapes and superior mechanical properties.
Keywords
finite element modelling, spark plasma sintering, complex geometries
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Semester Project , Course Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis , Student Assistant / HiWi , Summer School
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Published since: 2025-05-22 , Earliest start: 2025-06-01
Organization Advanced Manufacturing
Hosts Kovalska Natalia
Topics Engineering and Technology
Learning Diverse Adversaries to Black-box Learning-based Controller for Quadruped Robots
The project aims to leverage the latest unsupervised skill discovery techniques to validate the state-of-the-art black-box learning-based controllers in diverse ways.
Keywords
Diversity in RL, Trustworthy AI
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-22 , Earliest start: 2024-03-02 , Latest end: 2024-08-28
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , [nothing]
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Shi Fan , Cheng Jin , Shi Fan , Shi Fan
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Inverse Design for Robotic Assembly via Task and Motion Planning
Can we optimize a design so that a robot can assemble it more easily? This project explores inverse design for robotic assembly using task and motion planning (TAMP), coupling design optimization with planning algorithms that lays the foundation for designing robot-friendly structures.
Keywords
task and motion planning, robotic assembly, inverse design, co-design
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Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-05-22 , Earliest start: 2025-05-22 , Latest end: 2026-09-01
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Computational robotics laboratory (Prof. Stelian Coros)
Hosts Huang Yijiang
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
6month Master Thesis Project: Dynamic Hydrogels for Cardiac Tissue Regeneration
Congenital heart diseases represent a significant cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Current therapeutic materials for congenital heart defect closure have been evaluated in 2D in vitro models and in vivo animal studies, both of which have inherent limitations in replicating human cardiac physiology. This is reflected in common surgical complications like inflammation and fibrosis as well as in a lack of integration with native cardiac tissue. To address these challenges, this project aims at the development of a 3D in vitro tissue model that mimics the native heart defects, offering an innovative platform to study regenerative closure mechanisms and evaluate therapeutic materials. This model will be composed of cardiac cells and a dynamic, decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM)-based hydrogel scaffold, processed into a defect shape by 3D bioprinting.
Keywords
Biomaterials; Hydrogels; Tissue engineering
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-21 , Earliest start: 2025-08-01 , Latest end: 2026-03-31
Organization Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles
Hosts Wei Kongchang
Topics Engineering and Technology
Mechanophores for advanced wearable strain and pressure sensors
The goal of the project is to synthesize and characterize a number of small molecules capable of acting as mechanophore addition to various polymers. These polymers would then be used as wearable strain or pressure sensors.
Keywords
mechanophore, polymer, wearable, sensor, color, strain, pressure
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-21 , Earliest start: 2024-09-01 , Latest end: 2025-09-01
Organization Biomedical and Mobile Health Technology Lab
Hosts Shokurov Aleksandr
Topics Engineering and Technology , Chemistry
Point-of-Care Sensor for Urinary Iodine
The goal of the project is to develop a cheap and disposable sensor capable of determination of iodine levels in human urine for early diagnostic purposes.
Keywords
electrochemistry, iodine, nutrition, health, point of care
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-21 , Earliest start: 2025-01-01 , Latest end: 2025-10-01
Organization Biomedical and Mobile Health Technology Lab
Hosts Shokurov Aleksandr
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Chemistry
Learning Terrain Traversal from Human Strategies for Agile Robotics
Teaching robots to walk on complex and challenging terrains, such as rocky paths, uneven ground, or cluttered environments, remains a fundamental challenge in robotics and autonomous navigation. Traditional approaches rely on handcrafted rules, terrain classification, or reinforcement learning, but they often struggle with generalization to real-world, unstructured environments.
Keywords
3D reconstruction, egocentric video, SMPL representation
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-21 , Earliest start: 2025-05-26
Organization Computer Vision and Geometry Group
Hosts Wang Xi , Frey Jonas , Patel Manthan , Kaufmann Manuel , Li Chenhao
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
HandoverNarrate: Language-Guided Task-Aware Motion Planning for Handovers with Legged Manipulators
This project addresses the challenge of task-oriented human-robot handovers, where a robot must transfer objects in a manner that directly facilitates the human’s next action. In our prior work, we demonstrated that robots can present objects appropriately for immediate human use by leveraging large language models (LLMs) to reason about task context. However, integrating task-specific physical constraints—such as ensuring a full mug remains upright during transport—into the motion planning process remains unsolved. In this project, we aim to extend our existing motion planning framework for legged manipulators by incorporating such constraints. We propose using LLMs to dynamically generate task-aware constraint formulations based on high-level task descriptions and object states. These constraints will then be used to adjust the cost function of the model predictive controller in real time, enabling more context-sensitive and physically appropriate handovers.
Keywords
language-guided motion planning, legged robotics, human-robot collaboration
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-21
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Tulbure Andreea
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Shared Autonomy Teleoperation with Vision–Language Navigation
In the near future, we envision domestic service robots that can understand an open‑ended verbal request—for example, “I spilled my drink, can you help?”—and autonomously carry out every step required to resolve the situation. Such complex, multi‑stage household tasks demand both long‑horizon spatial reasoning and fine‑grained manipulation skills. To this end, state‑of‑the‑art Vision-Language Navigation (VLN) systems already excel at navigation from language instructions, achieving impressive results across a rich body of work, but they do not yet handle the nuanced manipulation once the robot arrives. Therefore, we aim to develop a two-layer shared autonomy architecture that integrates a Vision-Language Navigation (VLN) module for long-horizon, language-guided navigation with a teleoperation framework for dexterous manipulation. The system will be implemented on the ALMA quadruped manipulator, controlled with the Davinci dVRK teleoperation device.
Keywords
Robotics, Shared Autonomy, Teleoperation, Vision Language Navigation, Vision Language Models, Large Language Models, VLN, VLM, LLM, Navigation, Domestic Service Robots, Human-in-the-Loop Interaction.
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-21 , Earliest start: 2025-05-26 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Fuchioka Yuni , Qu Kaixian
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences
6month Master Thesis Project: 3D printing of dECM hydrogels for in vitro cardiac tissue modelling
Congenital heart diseases represent a significant cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Current therapeutic materials for congenital heart defect closure have been evaluated in 2D in vitro models and in vivo animal studies, both of which have inherent limitations in replicating human cardiac physiology. This is reflected in common surgical complications like inflammation and fibrosis as well as in a lack of integration with native cardiac tissue. To address these challenges, this project aims at the development of a 3D in vitro tissue model that mimics the native heart defects, offering an innovative platform to study regenerative closure mechanisms and evaluate therapeutic materials. This model will be composed of cardiac cells and a dynamic, decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM)-based hydrogel scaffold, processed into a defect shape by 3D bioprinting.
Keywords
Biomaterials; Hydrogels; Tissue engineering; Cardiac model
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-21 , Earliest start: 2025-08-01 , Latest end: 2026-03-31
Organization Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles
Hosts Wei Kongchang
Topics Engineering and Technology
Humanoid Locomotion in Rough Terrain via Imitation Learning
TLDR: Make Humanoid walk in rough terrain using human demonstration and RL
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-21 , Earliest start: 2025-05-31 , Latest end: 2025-09-30
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , University of Zurich
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Frey Jonas
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences
Open Position - Production work and engineering - MedTech Startup
Diaxxo, an innovative ETH Zürich spinoff, is transforming diagnostics with cutting-edge PCR technology that combines lab-grade accuracy with field-ready simplicity. Our mission is to enable faster, affordable, and accessible detection of viral and bacterial infections, driving impact in animal health, food safety, and human diagnostics. We are seeking a motivated part-time worker to join our team in Zürich, starting June/July 2025 (or a mutually agreed date). This role involves contributing to manufacturing of devices and cartridges and quality control. It’s an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a dynamic startup environment while supporting our mission to revolutionize diagnostics. No specific experience is required—just motivation, commitment, and adaptability.
Keywords
Diagnostics PCR Technology Innovation Start-up Biotechnology Viral Detection Quality Control Device Assembly Healthcare Startup Hardware Electrical
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Collaboration , Internship , Student Assistant / HiWi , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-05-20 , Earliest start: 2025-05-01 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Organization Functional Materials Laboratory
Hosts Gregorini Michele
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Chemistry
Master Project/Thesis: Investigation of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Carbon Fiber Hydrogel for Wearable Devices
(see attached pdf for clarification) Project overview: Focus: fabrication process of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/carbon fiber (CF) hydrogel Aim: building a hydrogel that possesses both good conductivity and good stretchability, with the end goal of using it for wearable devices
Keywords
Wearable Devices Soft Electronics Hydrogel
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-20 , Earliest start: 2025-08-24
Organization Multifunctional Materials
Hosts Kuang Hekun
Topics Engineering and Technology
Global Optimization Enabled by Learning
We aim to characterize optimization landscapes using metrics such as Sobolev norms, measuring function smoothness, Hessian spectral properties, indicating curvature, and the tightness of semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxations (relevant for polynomial optimization). The core innovation lies in translating these metrics into differentiable objectives or regularizers. By incorporating these into the training process, we encourage the learned modules to produce downstream optimization problems that are inherently well-conditioned and possess favourable global structures
Keywords
Optimization, Learning, Optimal, Robotics
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Semester Project , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-05-19 , Earliest start: 2025-06-01 , Latest end: 2026-06-01
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Talbot William , Tuna Turcan
Topics Engineering and Technology
Human-scene interaction reconstruction based on Gaussian Splats
Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of dynamic scenes, particularly those involving humans interacting with their environment, remains a challenging problem in computer vision and graphics. Traditional volumetric and mesh-based methods can struggle with occlusions, complex geometries, and real-time performance. Recent advances in neural rendering—especially Gaussian splatting—offer promising alternatives by representing scenes as clouds of oriented 3D Gaussians (“splats”) that can be rendered extremely efficiently. The goal of this project is to develop a novel pipeline that leverages Gaussian splatting to reconstruct, analyze, and interpret human–scene interactions in 3D.
Keywords
3D reconstruction, Gaussian splats, Human pose estimation
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-18 , Earliest start: 2025-05-31
Organization pd|z Product Development Group Zurich
Hosts Wang Rui
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Development of Neuromuscular Biohybrid Robots
Biohybrid robots integrate living cells and synthetic components to achieve motion. These systems often rely on engineered skeletal muscle tissues that contract upon electrical stimulation for actuation. Neuromuscular-powered biohybrid robots take this concept further by integrating motor neurons to induce muscle contractions, mimicking natural muscle actuation. In our lab, we are developing neuromuscular actuators using advanced 3D co-culture systems and biofabrication techniques to enable functional macro-scale biohybrid robots.
Keywords
Tissue engineering, mechanical engineering, biology, neuroengineering, biomaterials, biohybrid robotics, 3D in vitro models, biofabrication, bioprinting, volumetric printing.
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-05-16 , Earliest start: 2025-01-15
Organization Soft Robotics Lab
Hosts Badolato Asia , Katzschmann Robert, Prof. Dr.
Topics Engineering and Technology , Biology
Long-term ex situ liver perfusion for tissue repair
Liver transplantation is the only treatment for patients with end-stage liver disease. Unfortunately, there are not sufficiently many transplantable liver grafts available to meet the patient demand. Therefore, many patiens remain on waiting lists and eventually die when they do not get a transplant in time. While a lot of people donate organs after their death, many organs are not used because the organ is injured or diseased and thus cannot be transplanted. We aim at increasing utilization of available liver grafts by preserving livers outside of the body on so-called perfusion machines, where they can be preserved for multiple days. Perfusion devices pump a perfusate, similar to blood, through the vessels and provide the organ with nutrients, oxygen and a series of stimuli that mimick in vivo conditions. The perfusion time window gives the opportunity for treatment allowing for reconditioning and repair of the allografts.
Keywords
tissue engineering, ex situ perfusion, liver transplant, hepatology, bioengineering, medical engineering, surgery
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Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-05-15 , Earliest start: 2025-06-02 , Latest end: 2026-04-30
Organization Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Huwyler Florian , Cunningham Leslie
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Design and development of a novel printing approach
3D printing has revolutionized the way objects are designed and fabricated across a wide range of industries—from aerospace and automotive to healthcare and consumer products. It enables rapid prototyping, complex geometries, customized solutions, and recently bioprinting of living tissues that are difficult or impossible to achieve with traditional manufacturing methods. Every 3D printing method has certain drawbacks, often related to resolution, material compatibility, speed, or scalability. The ongoing search for new approaches aims to overcome these challenges and expand the potential of the technology. We have developed and demonstrated a proof of concept for a novel printing approach, and are now seeking to advance it into a fully functional prototype.
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-15 , Earliest start: 2025-06-01 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Organization Zenobi-Wong Group / Tissue Engineering and Biofabrication
Hosts Janiak Jakub
Topics Engineering and Technology
Parkour With Boston Dynamics' Robot Spot (RAI collaboration)
ANYmal has demonstrated almost animal-like agility and confidence on several parkour elements, utilizing jumping, crouching and climbing behaviors. In this master thesis we aim to extend our training pipeline for synthesizing such specialized motions to new robots, in particular, Boston Dynamic's quadruped Spot. We speculate that the increased joint velocity limits and the longer legs may lead to even higher performance, greater success rate, and more diverse parkour skills.
Keywords
Reinforcement Learning, RL, Dagger, policy distillation
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-14 , Earliest start: 2025-05-14
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Jenelten Fabian , Schwarke Clemens
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Stanford – UC Berkeley Collaboration: Learning Progress Driven Reinforcement Learning for ANYmal
TLDR: Improving navigation capabilities of ANYmal - RL is simulation - optimizing learning progress.
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-14 , Earliest start: 2025-05-14 , Latest end: 2025-08-31
Applications limited to EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , ETH Zurich , University of Zurich
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Frey Jonas
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences
Master's Thesis Project: Soft tribology with self-built "macroAFM"
This project builds on an existing proof-of-concept device, "macroAFM", a large-scale equivalent of an atomic force microscope that works as a tribometer to study friction, wear, and lubrication properties between surfaces at the macro- or meso-scale.
Keywords
soft tribology, strain sensors, atomic force microscopy, poly(dimethylsiloxane), self-built
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-14 , Earliest start: 2025-05-14 , Latest end: 2026-02-28
Organization Interfaces, Soft matter and Assembly
Hosts Kuk Keumkyung
Topics Engineering and Technology , Physics
Thesis at the Exploration Lab - join an agile innovation task force; find needs, build prototypes, & more (Multiple industry partners!)
ETH Zürich's Feasibility Lab is partnering with leading industry players to offer a unique thesis opportunity. You'll have the freedom to choose from a diverse range of real-world projects across multiple companies, based on your individual interests.
Keywords
usability, high-tech, rapid prototyping, sustainability, industrial automation, mechanical design, mechanical engineering, automation, process design, robotics, machine learning, applied AI, food processing, advanced materials
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Semester Project , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-05-12 , Earliest start: 2025-10-01 , Latest end: 2026-04-05
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , Zurich University of Applied Sciences
Organization pd|z Product Development Group Zurich
Hosts Gisler Daniel , von Hopffgarten Arne , von Petersdorff-Campen Kai
Topics Engineering and Technology
Multi-Critic Reinforcement Learning for Whole-Body Control of Bimanual Legged Manipulator
Recent work in legged robotics shows the promise of unified control strategies for whole-body control. Portela et al. (2024) demonstrated force control without force sensors, enabling compliant manipulation through body coordination. In another study, they achieved accurate end-effector tracking using whole-body RL with terrain-aware sampling. Fu et al. (2023) showed that unified policies can dynamically handle both movement and manipulation in quadruped robots by training with two critics: one for arms, and one for legs, and then gradually combining them. In this project, you will investigate reinforcement learning for whole body control of a bimanual legged manipulator. You will implement a baseline single-critic whole body controller for the system. You will then investigate different multi-critic approaches and their effects on the training and final performance of the whole-body controller. References: Learning Force Control for Legged Manipulation, Portela et al., 2024 Whole-Body End-Effector Pose Tracking, Portela et al., 2024 Deep Whole-Body Control: Learning a Unified Policy for Manipulation and Locomotion, Fu et al., 2023
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-09 , Earliest start: 2025-05-11 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , [nothing]
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Fischer Oliver , Elanjimattathil Aravind
Topics Engineering and Technology
Visual Language Models for Long-Term Planning
This project uses Visual Language Models (VLMs) for high-level planning and supervision in construction tasks, enabling task prioritization, dynamic adaptation, and multi-robot collaboration for excavation and site management. prioritization, dynamic adaptation, and multi-robot collaboration for excavation and site management
Keywords
Visual Language Models, Long-term planning, Robotics
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-07 , Earliest start: 2025-06-01 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Terenzi Lorenzo
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
AI Agents for Excavation Planning
Recent advancements in AI, particularly with models like Claude 3.7 Sonnet, have showcased enhanced reasoning capabilities. This project aims to harness such models for excavation planning tasks, drawing parallels from complex automation scenarios in games like Factorio. We will explore the potential of these AI agents to plan and optimize excavation processes, transitioning from simulated environments to real-world applications with our excavator robot.
Keywords
GPT, Large Language Models, Robotics, Deep Learning, Reinforcement Learning
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-07 , Earliest start: 2025-07-01 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Terenzi Lorenzo
Topics Engineering and Technology
Internship at the Exploration Lab - Tackle Real Industry Challenges in Engineering & Innovation
Join a multidisciplinary task force of ETH students in a hands-on internship solving real-world challenges with leading Swiss industry partners like Bühler, Bossard, V-Zug, and VAT. Gain practical experience in areas such as AI, automation, logistics, UX, and product innovation, all while working in an agile team within a modern maker space environment.
Keywords
Internship, Innovation, Industry Collaboration, Engineering, AI, Machine Learning, Automation, Product Development, Logistics, Manufacturing, UX, Maker Space, ETH Zurich
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Internship , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-05-07 , Earliest start: 2025-10-01 , Latest end: 2026-02-28
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , Zurich University of Applied Sciences , Zurich University of the Arts
Organization pd|z Product Development Group Zurich
Hosts von Petersdorff-Campen Kai , von Hopffgarten Arne
Topics Engineering and Technology
Robotic motion planning for active environmental manipulation
Robotic motion planning usually happens in static environments, and we typically do not reason about how we can (or need to) change the environment in order to reach certain places or fulfill certain tasks. In reality, this is an important part that can not be neglected: think of grabbing a chair to reach an object high up, or building a bridge to walk to another place over a gap (see images below, from [1]). Another setting can be found in the construction industry, where we need to build scaffolding to facilitate work higher up. In these cases, the robot intentionally extend its reachable space by building supports (bridges or makeshift staircases). Traditional motion planning techniques requires explicitly representing and enumerating all the different surfaces on which a robot could move, which usually involves case-specific assumptions and engineering heuristics. [1] Atlas Gets a Grip | Boston Dynamics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1_QhJ1EhQ
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-03 , Earliest start: 2025-05-05 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Organization Computational robotics laboratory (Prof. Stelian Coros)
Hosts Hartmann Valentin
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Transcatheter Heart Valve Repair and Replacement Devices at Harvard Medical School
Master thesis on novel devices and tools for both valve repair and replacement at Harvard Medical School
Keywords
Prototyping, Experimental Evaluation, Materials
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-02
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Multiscale Robotics Lab
Hosts Gantenbein Valentin
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Autonomous Robotic Cardiac Catheters at Harvard Medical School
We are developing robotic catheters for heart valve repair and for treatment of arrythmias.
Keywords
Autonomous Control, Medical devices, Animal models, Prototyping
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-05-02
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Multiscale Robotics Lab
Hosts Gantenbein Valentin
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Low-Dose CT Phantom for Neonates & Children – Materials, Manufacturing & Clinical Validation
Three-dimensional medical imaging techniques such as Computed Tomography (CT) and MRI are indispensable in modern clinical workflows. CT utilizes X-rays acquired from multiple angles to reconstruct detailed volumetric patient anatomy data. Due to the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, especially in vulnerable populations such as infants, it is critical to minimize radiation exposure while maintaining diagnostic image quality. Optimizing CT parameters requires systematic studies, yet direct experimentation on infants is ethically and medically unacceptable. This project aims to develop a novel infant head phantom that accurately replicates the radiological properties of an infant’s head. The phantom will serve as a testbed for CT imaging studies, enabling the optimization of scan parameters that balance minimal radiation exposure with high-quality image acquisition tailored for pediatric neuroimaging.
Keywords
pediatric CT imaging, child radiation safety, low-dose CT, medical imaging phantom, 3D-printed phantom, biomedical engineering thesis, materials for radiology, imaging dose reduction, ETH Zurich research, clinical radiology innovation
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Semester Project , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-04-30 , Earliest start: 2025-05-01
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Organization Multiscale Robotics Lab
Hosts Landers Fabian
Topics Engineering and Technology
Feedback Optimization of Acoustic Patterning in Real Time for Bioprinter
Our project aims to enhance the ultrasound-assisted bioprinting process using real-time feedback and image processing. We have developed a transparent nozzle equipped with multiple cameras for real-time monitoring. The next steps involve integrating advanced image processing techniques, such as template matching, and implementing a feedback system to optimize the printing process. The system will be fully automated, featuring a function generator for wave creation and cooling elements. By analyzing the printing process and acoustic cell patterning with computer vision and leveraging real-time sensor feedback, we aim to dynamically optimize parameters such as frequency and amplitude for accurate and consistent pattern formation, crucial for bio applications.
Keywords
Machine learning, control and automation, 3D Printing, Ultrasound
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Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-29 , Earliest start: 2025-02-01 , Latest end: 2025-09-30
Organization Acoustic Robotics for Life Sciences and Healthcare (ARSL)
Hosts Medany Mahmoud
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences
BEV meets Semantic traversability
Enable Birds-Eye-View perception on autonomous mobile robots for human-like navigation.
Keywords
Semantic Traversability, Birds-Eye-View, Localization, SLAM, Object Detection
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Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-04-29 , Earliest start: 2025-01-15 , Latest end: 2025-10-31
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Gawel Abel
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Scene graphs for robot navigation and reasoning
Elevate semantic scene graphs to a new level and perform semantically-guided navigation and interaction with real robots at The AI Institute.
Keywords
Scene graphs, SLAM, Navigation, Spacial Reasoning, 3D reconstruction, Semantics
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Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-04-29 , Earliest start: 2025-01-15 , Latest end: 2025-10-31
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Gawel Abel
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Acceleration of Crack Growth Prediction in Metamaterials by Distributed Multi-XPU Computing
Predicting the failure mechanisms of low-density cellular solids, from random fiber networks to periodic architected materials (or metamaterials), remains a challenge for computational mechanics. One fundamental distinction between beam-based architected materials and classical homogeneous solids lies in the nature of their failure. Unlike classical materials, beam-based architected materials fail through the discrete breaking of individual beams. This results in complex patterns of crack initiation and propagation, that are significantly different from those observed in classical materials. As computational models for large-scale, manufacturable metamaterials often involve millions or even billions of unknowns, we are developing an open-source C++ library for scalable finite element simulations. Currently, this library leverages distributed computing on CPUs via Open MPI, utilizing ETH Zurich’s Euler cluster. The goal of this project is to improve simulation performance for predicting failure in large-scale beam networks. A key focus will be integrating Nvidia’s GPU accelerators to achieve significantly enhanced computational efficiency beyond what distributed CPU computing alone can provide. Throughout this project, the student will contribute to an open-source project, conduct in-depth performance studies, and utilize the developed software to predict fracture behavior in novel materials with different (multi-)material properties, including both linear elastic and plastic regimes.
Keywords
Fracture, Metamaterials, GPU, Accelerators, HPC, Distributed Computing
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Semester Project , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-04-28 , Earliest start: 2025-05-12 , Latest end: 2026-04-01
Organization Mechanics and Materials
Hosts Kraschewski Kevin
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Modelling and Optimizing the Power Budget of a Bridge-Mounted Camera System for River Waste Monitoring
In this thesis, you will contribute to the Autonomous River Cleanup (ARC) by helping develop SARA, a bridge-mounted, camera-based system for monitoring river waste. Your focus will be on modeling the system’s power dynamics to determine the ideal battery and solar panel size, and balancing runtime throughout the day with overall the system size and weight. If time allows, you will also validate your findings with tests on the real hardware.
Keywords
system modelling, power electronics, simulations
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-27 , Earliest start: 2025-05-05 , Latest end: 2025-09-30
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Elbir Emre
Topics Engineering and Technology
Domain Adaptation Techniques for Vision Algorithms on a Smartphone for River Waste Monitoring
In this thesis, you will work on SARA, a bridge-mounted, smartphone-based system for detecting and monitoring river waste. The focus will be on selecting lightweight detection and classification models suitable for smartphones and exploring domain adaptation techniques to improve performance across different locations with minimal retraining. Your work will build on previous research at ARC and current literature to develop solutions that balance model robustness and computational efficiency.
Keywords
machine learning, computer vision, domain adaptation techniques
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Semester Project
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Published since: 2025-04-27 , Earliest start: 2025-05-05 , Latest end: 2025-09-30
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Elbir Emre
Topics Engineering and Technology
Optimal Robot Configuration for Autonomous Waste Sorting in Confined Spaces
In this thesis, you will contribute to the Autonomous River Cleanup (ARC) by helping improve MARC, our robotic platform for autonomous waste sorting. Your work will focus on optimizing the robot arm configuration by simulating different base locations and degrees of freedom to achieve faster and more efficient pick-and-place movements in a confined space. You will build on our existing simulation environment to model and evaluate various setups.
Keywords
modelling and simulations, robotics, robot dynamics
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Semester Project
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Published since: 2025-04-27 , Earliest start: 2025-05-05 , Latest end: 2025-09-30
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Elbir Emre
Topics Engineering and Technology
Thermal Protection of a Bridge-Mounted Camera System for River Waste Monitoring
The Autonomous River Cleanup (ARC) is developing SARA, the next iteration of a bridge-mounted, camera-based system to detect and measure riverine waste. Smartphones offer a compact, affordable, and powerful core for year-round monitoring but are vulnerable to shutdowns from extreme heat in summer and cold in winter. This thesis focuses on assessing these thermal challenges and designing protective solutions to ensure reliable, continuous operation.
Keywords
thermodynamics, heat transfer, testing
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-27 , Earliest start: 2025-05-05 , Latest end: 2025-09-30
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Elbir Emre
Topics Engineering and Technology
Utilizing the human body for ambient electromagnetic energy harvesting
The goal of the project is to develop wearable devices, for use in environmental electromagnetic energy recovery based on human body application.
Keywords
Flexible electronics, electromagnetic energy harvesting
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-23 , Earliest start: 2025-06-20
Organization Biomedical and Mobile Health Technology Lab
Hosts Li Yuanlong
Topics Engineering and Technology
Reinforcement learning for robotic 3D bin packing
Many industrial assembly tasks require high accuracy when manipulating parts, e.g., when inserting an object somewhere, such as a box that we would like to put in a bin. Here, the tolerances that are required can vary wildly. While industrial manipulators are generally accurate in a controlled setting, as soon as the environment is not as structured as we would like it to be, we need to leverage feedback policies to correct for inaccuraies in estimation, and unexpected/unmodeled effects. The setting we are interested in in this work is robotic bin packing, i.e., enabling a robot to pick objects (initially boxes/parcels), and (the focus of this work) placing them in a box, where other previously placed object possibly obstruct the placement.
Keywords
Reinforcement learning, robotics
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-23 , Earliest start: 2025-05-01 , Latest end: 2026-02-01
Organization Computational robotics laboratory (Prof. Stelian Coros)
Hosts Hartmann Valentin
Topics Engineering and Technology
Single-cell Encapsulation for RNA Sequencing
This project focuses on understanding the metabolism of bacteria exposed to an enzymatic inhibitor. By employing microfluidic systems, we aim to perform a single-based encapsulation in hydrogel beads to be exposed to inhibitors. Using FACS-based sorting and bulk sequencing, bacteria in hydrogel beads will be sorted and the RNA from pool or individual beads will be extracted for sequencing. We aim to create an RNA sequencing protocol for sorted hydrogel beads containing bacteria to analyze the total gene expression profiles of our candidates.
Keywords
Keywords: Bacteria, RNA, droplets, microfluidic, high-throughput, hydrogel, gene expression, sequencing
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-21 , Earliest start: 2024-08-01 , Latest end: 2025-07-31
Organization Complex Materials
Hosts Enrriquez Nadia
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Chemistry , Biology
pH Quantification in Emulsified Droplets for High-Throughput Screening
This project focuses on finding a suitable emulsification system for encapsulating bacteria in water-in-oil droplets. By employing microfluidic systems and versatile pH dyes, we aim to create emulsified droplets with reduced crosstalk rates to screen bacteria based on the pH changes as a result of their metabolic activity.
Keywords
Keywords: Bacteria, pH, droplets, microfluidic, high-throughput.
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-21 , Earliest start: 2024-08-01 , Latest end: 2025-07-31
Organization Complex Materials
Hosts Enrriquez Nadia
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Biology
Biomineralization of Hydrogels-Based Structures
Currently, the mineralization capacity of S. pasteurii is being exploited in developing construction materials in the form of bio-bricks and bio-cement. These materials are mostly compact structures with different degrees of porosity to increase the diffusion of nutrients through the material. Nevertheless, one recurrent challenge in biomineralized structures is the limited precipitation across the structure.
Keywords
Biomineralization, Hydrogel Scaffolds, Bacteria, 3D Printing
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-21 , Earliest start: 2024-08-01 , Latest end: 2025-04-01
Organization Complex Materials
Hosts Enrriquez Nadia
Topics Engineering and Technology , Chemistry , Biology
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Direction-Dependent Flow Resistance in Engineered Geometries
Controlling fluid flow is essential in various natural and engineering systems, with geometry playing a fundamental role in shaping fluid behavior. However, the interaction between geometry and flow behavior remains a complex phenomenon, primarily governed by the flow regime and fluid material properties. Certain geometries, whether naturally occurring or engineered, induce direction-dependent flow resistance, causing variations in velocity and flow rate in opposite directions. One well-known example of such engineered geometries is the Tesla valve—a passive device without moving parts, designed to create asymmetric flow resistance, particularly at high Reynolds numbers. This structure acts like a fluidic diode, offering greater resistance to flow in one direction by generating turbulent vortices and flow separations while allowing smoother movement in the opposite direction. This effect is quantified by diodicity, which represents the ratio of pressure drop in the reverse direction to that in the forward direction, providing a measure of the valve's asymmetric resistance. However, this direction dependence is limited at lower velocities. We have designed two sets of geometries that effectively induce directional flow resistance within high and low fluid flow velocities. This Master’s thesis project aims to experimentally investigate the impact of different flow obstruction designs on direction-dependent resistance in rectangular channels and semicircular arc segments. The student will, together with their direct supervisor, design and construct an experimental setup for the reliable measurement of flow and diodicity. This project offers an excellent opportunity to gain expertise in fluid dynamics, experimental testing, numerical modeling, and additive manufacturing, with applications in biomedical systems. Students with a background in mechanical engineering, fluid dynamics, or related fields are encouraged to apply. Prior experience with COMSOL Multiphysics is beneficial but not mandatory.
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-15 , Earliest start: 2025-06-01 , Latest end: 2025-12-01
Organization Musculoskeletal Biomechanics
Hosts Mosayebi Mahdieh
Topics Engineering and Technology
Microelectronic circuit design for neural interfaces in 0.18um CMOS technology
This project is about the development of integrated circuits to study neurons and neural networks, and may comprise different parts of the design including analog and/or digital microelectronics, PCB design, signal processing and programming.
Keywords
Microelectronics, CMOS, circuit design, electronics, PCB, signal processing, neural interface.
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-14 , Earliest start: 2022-01-03
Organization Bio Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Cardes Fernando
Topics Engineering and Technology
Embedded systems for neural interfaces
The student will be involved in the development of software applications for in-vitro neural interfaces. The ultimate goal is controlling a complex embedded system, comprising a custom-made CMOS neural interface and two system on a chip.
Keywords
Software development, Python, C++, Linux, Embedded systems, SoC, FPGA, VHDL, Neural interfaces.
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-14 , Earliest start: 2024-08-01
Organization Bio Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Cardes Fernando
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Advanced Robotic In-Situ Tissue Repair
The future of advanced tissue repair lies in precise, minimally invasive techniques that enhance patient outcomes while reducing recovery time. This innovative project aims to revolutionize in-situ tissue repair by designing and implementing a cutting-edge robotic tool, purpose-built for the medical frontier. Combining state-of-the-art robotics, real-time feedback systems, and versatile functionalities, this research will address the complex challenges of advanced tissue repair with a focus on precision and patient safety.
Keywords
Embedded Systems, PCB Design, Robotics, Biomechatronics, CAD, Medical Device Design, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Python, ROS, Surgery, Biomaterials, Biomedical Device Innovation, 3D Design
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-04-10 , Earliest start: 2025-05-01
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , Empa , University of Zurich
Organization Nanoparticle Systems Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Balta Nisa
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Smart Microcapsules for Biomedical Advances
This Master's thesis/semester project focuses on the microfluidic fabrication of microcapsules with multi-environmental responsiveness. The aim is to develop microcapsule-based microrobots capable of adapting to various environmental cues. We envision that these microrobots will be used for complex tasks in biomedical applications.
Keywords
Microfluidics, Microcapsules, Microrobotics, Responsive Polymers, Biomedical Engineering
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Semester Project , Internship , Master Thesis , Student Assistant / HiWi , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-04-08 , Earliest start: 2025-07-01
Organization Multiscale Robotics Lab
Hosts Hu Minghan
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Chemistry
Low-Voltage Soft Actuators for Developing Untethered Robotic Systems
We are building the next generation of HALVE (Hydraulically Amplified Low-Voltage Electrostatic) actuators which are flexible, pouch-based electrostatic actuators that operate at voltages 5–10× lower than traditional soft electrostatic systems. You will help us explore novel actuator geometries, ultra-thin functional layers, and new fabrication techniques to unlock scalable, energy-efficient soft robotic systems.
Keywords
soft robotics, low-voltage actuation, dielectric elastomers, electrostatic actuators, fabrication, PVDF-TrFE-CTFE, vapor deposition, CNC sealing, mechatronics, materials science
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-07 , Earliest start: 2025-04-14 , Latest end: 2026-01-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , Empa
Organization Soft Robotics Lab
Hosts Albayrak Deniz , Hinchet Ronan
Topics Engineering and Technology
Combined Muscle and Nerve Tissue Engineering
Engineered muscle tissues have applications in regenerative medicine, drug testing, and understanding motion. A key challenge is restoring neuromuscular communication, especially in treating volumetric muscle loss (VML). This project aims to create functional neuromuscular constructs with biomimetic innervation. Scaffolds will be made using electrospun fibers, conductive materials, and drug-loaded graphene. Muscle and nerve cells derived from iPSCs will be seeded into these scaffolds. Constructs will be tested for motion, drug response, and integration in bio-hybrid robotic systems. The platform will advance muscle-nerve regeneration, drug testing, and bio-hybrid robotics.
Keywords
Tissue engineering, innervation, neural tissue, nerve, muscle tissue, scaffold, iPSCs, muscle cells, bioprinting, biofabrication, biohybrid robotics, soft robotics, 3D printing, biomaterials, electrical stimulation, actuation.
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-04-06 , Earliest start: 2025-04-06 , Latest end: 2025-09-30
Organization Soft Robotics Lab
Hosts Filippi Miriam
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Biology
Data-driven/Machine Learning polymer formulation for drug development
This project aims to leverage machine learning to accelerate the design of polymer-based drug delivery systems with tailored release kinetics. Using a curated dataset of polymer formulations and their drug release profiles, predictive models will be developed, validated, and applied to optimize future formulations. By combining computational tools with explainable AI techniques, the project seeks to uncover key design principles and reduce experimental workloads. The outcome will enable smarter, data-driven reformulation processes, advancing personalized medicine and next-generation drug delivery technologies.
Keywords
Data-driven, machine learning, polymer formulation, drug
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Semester Project , Internship
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Published since: 2025-04-04 , Earliest start: 2025-04-07 , Latest end: 2025-11-30
Organization Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Guzzi Elia
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Chemistry
Open Position - Master Thesis: Synthesis and characterization of doped-tungsten oxides
The project is centered on the sol-gel synthesis of tungsten oxides, the characterization of their plasmonic properties and their application in a nanophotonic device.
Keywords
nanoparticle synthesis, tungsten oxides, plasmonic nanoparticles
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-28
Organization Multifunctional Materials
Hosts Radaelli Eleonora
Topics Engineering and Technology , Chemistry
Thesis with Planted: image based product characterization
The goal of this project is to develop an image-based analysis method that enables timely evaluations.
Keywords
plant based meat, extrusion, image based analysis, programming, lab tests
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-27 , Earliest start: 2025-03-30 , Latest end: 2025-11-30
Organization pd|z Product Development Group Zurich
Hosts Reikat Maximilian
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Thesis with Planted: lab on a chip
The goal of this project is to develop an analytical method that will enable even small material samples to be tested for their suitability for the extrusion process.
Keywords
plant based meat, extrusion, CAD, design, lab test, lab on a chip
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-27 , Earliest start: 2025-03-30 , Latest end: 2025-11-30
Organization pd|z Product Development Group Zurich
Hosts Reikat Maximilian
Topics Engineering and Technology
Thesis with Planted: CAD-design and Experimentation
Based on pre-study, the aim of this new thesis project is to continue the research work and further improve the die design, fabricate new die variants using AM, and experimentally test them onsite at the facilities of Planted.
Keywords
plant based meat, extrusion, CAD, design, lab test,
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-27 , Earliest start: 2025-03-30 , Latest end: 2025-11-30
Organization pd|z Product Development Group Zurich
Hosts Reikat Maximilian
Topics Engineering and Technology
How Mechanical Forces Shape Cell Fate – and the Future of Regenerative Medicine
Project Summary We’re developing a powerful new in vitro model to untangle the complex mechanical cues—osmotic pressure and substrate stiffness—that skin cells experience every day. These signals are deeply intertwined in the body, but we’re building a system to decouple and precisely control them, for the first time. Why? Because understanding how cells respond to these forces is crucial for engineering functional tissues, guiding organ regeneration, and tackling mechanobiology-driven diseases like fibrosis.
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Key words: mechanical stresses, cell behavior, fibroblasts, immunostaining.
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-26 , Earliest start: 2025-06-01 , Latest end: 2026-01-31
Organization Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Cuni Filippo
Topics Engineering and Technology , Biology
PDMS-Based Bioreactor Investigating Cell Behavior in Response to Hydrostatic Pressure and Substrate Stiffness
Introduction and Background Skin cells dynamically respond to mechanical and biochemical stimuli, which influence critical processes such as proliferation, differentiation, and migration. By understanding this interplay, mechanical and biochemical stimuli may be used in the future to facilitate the growth of skin patches, tissue formation, and organ regeneration, enabling new therapies and benefiting patients. The study of these responses, mechanobiology, requires advanced in-vitro systems to emulate physiological conditions. This project utilizes a device designed for controlled manipulation of hydrostatic pressure (0.1–1.5 kPa) and substrate stiffness (0.1–100 kPa). The system facilitates isolated and scalable experiments to analyze how the interplay of these mechanical parameters affects cell behavior. In this thesis, the student will use this system to investigate how different stimuli affect cell behavior.
Keywords
Bioreactor, tissue engineering, organ regeneration
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-26 , Earliest start: 2025-05-01 , Latest end: 2025-11-30
Organization Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Binz Jonas
Topics Engineering and Technology , Biology
Continual Learning and Domain Adaptation Techniques for a Camera-Based Waste Monitoring System on an Ocean Cleanup Vessel
This thesis, part of the Autonomous River Cleanup (ARC) initiative in collaboration with The SeaCleaners, explores adaptive computer vision methods for automated quantification of oceanic plastic waste on the Mobula 10 vessel. The work focuses on applying continual learning and domain adaptation techniques to improve a baseline detection model’s robustness to changing waste types and environments. The system will be evaluated in real-world conditions to assess its performance and guide future research in environmental monitoring.
Keywords
computer vision, continual learning, field testing, unsupervised domain adaptation, plastic pollution
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-26 , Earliest start: 2025-05-01 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Stolle Jonas , Elbir Emre
Topics Engineering and Technology
Hardware / software development in medtech startup (project / thesis)
diaxxo, a start-up from ETH Zürich, is transforming molecular diagnostics with an innovative Point-of-Care Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) device. Designed to accelerate and democratize access to diagnostic testing, our cutting-edge technology can be used across various fields, from human diagnostics to vet and food testing. Our products are also tailored for use in developing countries and resource-limited settings, aiming to bring reliable diagnostics to every corner of the globe. The company offers several projects and thesis opportunities focusing on interfacing computer and camera systems (e.g. controlling Camera Pi from ESP microcontrollers, and integrating hardware and software components to address design and automation challenges.
Keywords
Point-of-Care PCR, Molecular Diagnostics, Embedded Systems, Arducam SPI, Camera Pi ESP Microcontroller, Hardware-Software Integration, Design and Automation Challenges
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Published since: 2025-03-26 , Earliest start: 2024-07-01 , Latest end: 2025-06-30
Organization Functional Materials Laboratory
Hosts Gregorini Michele
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Extending Functional Scene Graphs to Include Articulated Object States
While traditional [1] and functional [2] scene graphs are capable of capturing the spatial relationships and functional interactions between objects and spaces, they encode each object as static, with fixed geometry. In this project, we aim to enable the estimation of the state of articulated objects and include it in the functional scene graph.
Keywords
scene understanding, scene graph, exploration
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-25 , Earliest start: 2025-03-25
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Organization Computer Vision and Geometry Group
Hosts Bauer Zuria, Dr. , Trisovic Jelena , Zurbrügg René
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Development of a Heterocellular Human Bone Organoid for Precision Medicine and Treatment
Our goal is to establish a heterocellular 3D printed bone organoid model comprising all major bone cell types (osteoblasts, osteocytes, osteoclasts) to recapitulate bone remodeling units in an in vitro system. The organoids will be produced with the human cells, as they could represent human pathophysiology better than animal models, and eventually could replace them. These in vitro models could be used in the advancement of next-generation personalised treatment strategies. Our tools are different kinds of 3D bioprinting platforms, bio-ink formulations, hydrogels, mol-bioassays, and time-lapsed image processing of micro-CT scans.
Keywords
3D printing, bone organoids, co-culture, bioreactor, hydrogels, drug testing
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-03-24 , Earliest start: 2022-08-01 , Latest end: 2025-11-30
Organization Müller Group / Laboratory for Bone Biomechanics
Hosts Steffi Chris
Topics Engineering and Technology , Biology
Develop Dexterous Humanoid Robotic Hands
Design and build dexterous human-like robotic hands with us at the Soft Robotics Lab and the ETH spin-off mimic. We will explore different possibilities of developing design features and sub-systems. The developed features shall be integrated into a fully functional robotic hand and applied to solve practical manipulation challenges.
Keywords
humanoid, robotics, hand, dexterity, soft robotics, actuation, prototyping, modeling and control, mechatronics, biomimetic, design, 3D printing, silicone casting, electronics, machine learning, control
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-24 , Earliest start: 2025-01-01 , Latest end: 2026-03-31
Organization Soft Robotics Lab
Hosts Weirich Stefan
Topics Engineering and Technology
Motion Imitation and Control for Humanoid Robot using Diffusion
To achieve effective and natural interaction, humanoid robots may need to closely imitate human motion, which encompasses walking, object manipulation, and environmental interactions. Motion capture data, which captures human motion with high precision, serves as an excellent resource for training robotic systems to replicate human movements. Diffusion models are a class of generative models designed to handle multi-modal distributions, making them highly suitable for complex motion generation tasks. Recent state-of-the-art methods use diffusion to produce human like motions for character animation or to imitate human expert data for controlling robotic arms. The goal of this project is to explore diffusion approaches for imitating motion data from humans to obtain control policies for humanoid robots.
Keywords
RL, Imitation Learning, Robotics, Diffusion
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-23 , Earliest start: 2025-01-15 , Latest end: 2025-09-30
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Organization Computational robotics laboratory (Prof. Stelian Coros)
Hosts Zargarbashi Fatemeh
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Exploring the Mechanoregulation of Bone Regeneration
In over 100 years, the remarkable ability of bone to adapt to its mechanical environment has been a source of scientific fascination. Bone regeneration has been shown to be highly dependent on the mechanical environment at the fracture site. It has been demonstrated that mechanical stimuli can either accelerate or impede regeneration. Despite the fundamental importance of the mechanical environment in influencing bone regeneration, the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are complex and poorly understood.
Keywords
Bone, Mechanobiology, Spatial transcriptomics, Gene expression, Finite element modelling, Image processing
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-23 , Earliest start: 2024-11-01 , Latest end: 2025-08-31
Organization Müller Group / Laboratory for Bone Biomechanics
Hosts Mathavan Neashan
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Intelligent Micromachines Made from Droplet-Based Factory
We invite applications for a Master's thesis / semester project that focuses on the fabrication of microrobots with custom shapes. Using our developed droplet printing technique, this project will explore how different microrobot shapes, created by different magnetic fields and materials, influence their control behaviors in blood vessels. This research aims to advance biomedical technologies, particularly in targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive procedures.
Keywords
Microrobotics, 4D Printing, Soft Materials, Biomedical Devices
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Semester Project , Master Thesis , Student Assistant / HiWi , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-03-18 , Earliest start: 2025-06-02
Organization Multiscale Robotics Lab
Hosts Hu Minghan
Topics Engineering and Technology , Chemistry
Laser Engraving and Coloring of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) High-Performance Bikes
High-performance bicycle frames made from fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) benefit from low weight but also require attractive finishes. Painting adds weight, so laser-based engraving or color modification offers a paint-free alternative. This project aims to identify suitable laser parameters and assess potential damage mechanisms (e.g., delamination, fiber/matrix degradation). The outcome will enable paint-less customization of FRP bikes, supported by microstructural analysis (microscopy, SEM, Raman). The thesis is carried out in cooperation with the company Scott Sports SA.
Keywords
laser manufacturing, laser ablation, engraving, composite structures, Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP), bicycle frames
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Semester Project , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-03-18 , Earliest start: 2025-04-01 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Applications limited to Department of Materials , Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering
Organization Advanced Manufacturing
Hosts Neff Luis
Topics Engineering and Technology
Industrial Design of a Medical Robotic Platform for Autonomous Eye Injections
The purpose of this project is to enhance an existing robotic platform capable of autonomously delivering injections into the human eye. Rather than starting from zero, the student will build upon substantial prior research. The project’s primary focus is on industrial design—making the system both visually appealing and suitable for clinical settings. This includes collaborating with external manufacturers for casting and production, resulting in a polished, user-friendly device for healthcare professionals. In addition, the student will do some coding in Python (specifically for motion planning) to run experiments on porcine and mock-eyes using the updated design.
Keywords
Mechanical design, system integration, industrial design
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ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-03-18
Organization Multiscale Robotics Lab
Hosts Ehmke Claas
Topics Engineering and Technology
Towards Fully 3D-Printed EEG Headsets: Eliminating External Wiring with Embedded Electronics
Multimaterial FDM printing offers exciting potential for directly integrating electronics into structural parts. One promising application is in EEG systems, which monitor brain activity using electrodes. The Ultracortex Mark IV by OpenBCI, for example, uses a 3D-printed frame but relies on external wiring. This thesis aims to redesign the headset to incorporate 3D-printed electronics and test its functionality.
Keywords
3D Printing, 3D Printed Electronics; Design; Testing
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-17 , Earliest start: 2025-01-21 , Latest end: 2026-01-01
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization pd|z Product Development Group Zurich
Hosts Vögerl Johannes
Topics Engineering and Technology
Next-Generation Wire Integration: Automating Electrical Routing in 3D-Printed Components
Novel 3D printing processes directly integrate electrical cables into components, solving many challenges of traditional electrical wires like entanglement, high assembly effort, or high system weight. However, the challenge of efficiently designing these integrated wires remains. This thesis aims to automate the design process of these integrated wires enabling fast generation of the integrated electronics in various use cases. Join us in pushing the boundaries for the fast design of complex 3D printing cables.
Keywords
Design Automation, 3D Printing, 3D Printed Electronics, Wiring; Programming
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-03-17 , Earliest start: 2025-01-21 , Latest end: 2026-01-01
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization pd|z Product Development Group Zurich
Hosts Vögerl Johannes
Topics Engineering and Technology
Bio-inspired Laser Ablation Process of Advanced Ceramic Material
Laser surface texturing is an advanced manufacturing process that harnesses the power and precision of light, transforming ordinary surfaces into innovative functionalized structures inspired by nature. By mimicking natural surface textures, various functionalities, such as friction reduction, self-cleaning, and superhydrophobicity, can be achieved. Notable examples of nature-inspired surfaces include the lotus leaf, snake skin, and the Namib beetle, all of which can be replicated through laser ablation processes. Laser surface texturing is mainly driven by the so-called laser-matter interaction. Especially for hard-to-machine materials like ceramics, which are gaining increasing attention in technical applications, the ablation phenomenon must be fully understood and controlled to achieve precise and selective material removal while maintaining material integrity. These materials have outstanding properties for a plurality of applications in industry; however, one is faced with the issue of finding a suitable manufacturing technique. Brittleness, hardness, and their tendency to crack lead to complications that could be addressed by the implementation of laser technology. However, experimental approaches alone are not expedient to fully handle and understand the complex phenomenon of laser ablation of ceramic multi-materials. This is the motivation for introducing the first steps of simulating laser-matter interaction in multi-material ceramics within this student project.
Keywords
Bio-inspired, Laser, ceramics, ablation, simulation, biomimicry
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-17 , Earliest start: 2025-06-01 , Latest end: 2026-01-31
Organization Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory
Hosts Reichel Andreas
Topics Engineering and Technology
Human wearing trial in collaboration with industry partner: Impact of protective coveralls on heat strain dur-ing rest and physical activity in warm conditions
To protect from chemical, biological, radioactive, and nuclear (CBRN) contaminants, disposable coveralls are used as personal protective clothing (PPC). In addition to its protective nature, PPC affects heat dissemination from the body, resulting in increased heat strain, which might result in reduced working performance. Therefore, new clothing material developments aim to reduce thermal load while maintaining a protective nature. We conduct a wearing trial in collaboration with an industrial partner to investigate the impact of different types of protective coveralls on heat strain during exposure to warm conditions, including resting phases and physical activity.
Keywords
Personal protective clothing, heat strain, human subject trials, sweating, sensors, data analysis.
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Semester Project , Internship , Lab Practice , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-16 , Earliest start: 2025-05-01 , Latest end: 2026-01-31
Organization Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles
Hosts Annaheim Simon
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Biology
Event-based feature detection for highly dynamic tracking
Event cameras are an exciting new technology enabling sensing of highly dynamic content over a broad range of illumination conditions. The present thesis explores novel, sparse, event-driven paradigms for detecting structure and motion patterns in raw event streams.
Keywords
Event camera, neuromorphic sensing, feature detection, computer vision
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-13 , Earliest start: 2025-03-17
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Kneip Laurent
Topics Engineering and Technology
Fast, change-aware map-based camera tracking
Experiment with Gaussian Splatting based map representations for highly efficient camera tracking and simultaneous change detection and map updating. Apply to different exteroceptive sensing modalities.
Keywords
Localization, Camera Tracking, Gaussian Splatting, Change detection
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-13 , Earliest start: 2025-03-17
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Kneip Laurent
Topics Engineering and Technology
Soft object reconstruction
This project consists of reconstructing soft object along with their appearance, geometry, and physical properties from image data for inclusion in reinforcement learning frameworks for manipulation tasks.
Keywords
Computer Vision, Structure from Motion, Image-based Reconstruction, Physics-based Reconstruction
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-13 , Earliest start: 2025-03-17
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Kneip Laurent
Topics Engineering and Technology
Reconstruction from online videos taken in the wild
Push the limits of arbitrary online video reconstruction by combining the most recent, prior-supported real-time Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) methods with automatic supervision techniques.
Keywords
Computer Vision, 3D Reconstruction, SLAM
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-13 , Earliest start: 2025-03-17
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Kneip Laurent
Topics Engineering and Technology
Computationally Efficient Neural Networks
Computing, time, and energy requirements of recent neural networks have demonstrated dramatic increase over time, impacting on their applicability in real-world contexts. The present thesis explores novel ways of implementing neural network implementations that will substantially reduce their computational complexity and thus energy footprint.
Keywords
AI, CNNs, transformers, network implementation
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-12 , Earliest start: 2025-03-17
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Kneip Laurent
Topics Engineering and Technology
Microfabrication and characterization of microelectrodes for neural interfaces
The focus of this project is on the fabrication of microelectrodes for advanced neural interfaces in a cutting-edge cleanroom environment. Our research aims to develop high-resolution neural probes utilizing state-of-the-art microfabrication techniques.
Keywords
Microfabrication; Cleanroom; Neural Interfaces; Microelectrode Arrays; Biomedical Devices; Nanotechnology; Electrochemical Deposition; Neurotechnology; Semiconductor Processing; Bioengineering.
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-12 , Earliest start: 2023-12-01
Organization Bio Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Cardes Fernando
Topics Engineering and Technology
Design of analog front-end for CMOS-based neural interfaces
This project focuses on the design of low-noise, low-power, compact amplifiers for next-generation neural interfaces.
Keywords
Microelectronics, VLSI, CMOS, LNA, electronics, analog integrated circuit design, neural interface.
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-12 , Earliest start: 2024-07-01
Organization Bio Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Cardes Fernando
Topics Engineering and Technology
Improvements of the Detection Block of a Rapid PCR diagnostic device in a medtech startup
diaxxo, a start-up from ETH Zürich, is transforming molecular diagnostics with an innovative Point-of-Care Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) device. This project aims to enhance the detection module of Diaxxo's Point-of-Care Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) system by improving light uniformity to ensure precise and reliable optical detection. The redesigned detection block will be compatible with Diaxxo's existing cartridges and support multiplexing with up to three distinct light channels. High light uniformity across the cartridge will be a key focus to enhance detection accuracy and reliability. Additionally, the project emphasizes cost-effective design, leveraging affordable materials and methods to maintain performance without increasing production costs.
Keywords
Optical Detection Fluorescence-Based Methods Light Uniformity Fiber Optics Multiplexing PCR Diagnostics Thermocycling Cost-Effective Design Point-of-Care Systems Molecular Diagnostics
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-11 , Earliest start: 2025-01-01 , Latest end: 2025-09-01
Organization Functional Materials Laboratory
Hosts Gregorini Michele
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Physics
Generalist Excavator Transformer
We want to develop a generalist digging agent that is able to do multiple tasks, such as digging and moving loose soil, and/or control multiple excavators. We plan to use decision transformers, trained on offline data, to accomplish these tasks.
Keywords
Offline reinforcement learning, transformers, autonomous excavation
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-11 , Earliest start: 2025-07-01 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Werner Lennart , Egli Pascal Arturo , Terenzi Lorenzo , Nan Fang , Zhang Weixuan
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Exploring the 3D Mineralization Behavior in Material-Induced Osteoinduction Through a Multiscale Micro-CT Imaging Approach
The project aims at investigating material-induced osteoinduction using the available mouse model of orthotopic or ectopic bone graft substitute (BGS) application. Through the 3D-3D registration of ex vivo and in vivo multiscale micro-CT images, crucial 3D mineralization behavior of the BGS can be investigated.
Keywords
Femur, Bone Graft Substitute, Critical Size Defect, Osteoinduction, in vivo, micro-CT, 3D-3D Image Registration, Image Analysis, Image Processing, Python, Computational
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-11 , Earliest start: 2025-04-01 , Latest end: 2026-01-31
Organization Müller Group / Laboratory for Bone Biomechanics
Hosts Lindenmann Sara
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Differential Particle Simulation for Robotics
This project focuses on applying differential particle-based simulation to address challenges in simulating real-world robotic tasks involving interactions with fluids, granular materials, and soft objects. Leveraging the differentiability of simulations, the project aims to enhance simulation accuracy with limited real-world data and explore learning robotic control using first-order gradient information.
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-10 , Earliest start: 2025-01-01 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Nan Fang , Ma Hao
Topics Engineering and Technology
PCB design for CNT-FET Gas Sensor Array
In our project, the objective is to detect nitrogen dioxide gas (NO2) through Carbon Nanotube (CNT) gas sensor array by repeatedly measuring the transfer characteristics of the CNT-FETs (Field Effect Transistors) in the array. However, achieving sensor recovery poses a challenge, necessitating the application of high voltage pulses at regular intervals to heat the channel and desorb gas molecules (self-heating). Our current measurement mode face challenges in independently controlling and tuning the voltages for each device. This project aims to develop a new PCB design that addresses these challenges.
Keywords
carbon nanotube, CNTFET, PCB design, electronics
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-10 , Earliest start: 2024-11-10 , Latest end: 2025-06-01
Organization Chair of Micro and Nanosystems
Hosts Gentili Cristina
Topics Engineering and Technology
Wearable kirigami antenna for motion monitoring
The aim of the project is to develop a simple method for fabrication of kirigami-inspired laser-cut or molded antennas on flexible substrates. This technology will enable advancements in wearable electronics for wireless communication and sensing applications.
Keywords
wearable, flexible electronics, kirigami, laser cutting, 3D printing, antenna design, conductivity, wireless communication
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-09 , Earliest start: 2025-03-24 , Latest end: 2026-08-31
Organization Biomedical and Mobile Health Technology Lab
Hosts Kateb Pierre
Topics Engineering and Technology
Soft Robot Under Ultrasound Actuation
Soft robotics has gained significant attention in recent years due to its ability to perform delicate and adaptive tasks that traditional rigid robots cannot achieve. Among various actuation methods, ultrasound-driven soft robots present a promising avenue for non-contact and precise control in liquid environments. These robots have potential applications in biomedical fields, microfluidics, and underwater exploration. The integration of ultrasound as an actuation mechanism enables efficient propulsion, controlled deformation, and complex locomotion patterns.
Keywords
ultrasound-driven soft robots
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-07 , Earliest start: 2025-03-10 , Latest end: 2025-09-10
Organization Acoustic Robotics for Life Sciences and Healthcare (ARSL)
Hosts Zhong Chengxi
Topics Engineering and Technology , Physics
Development of intelligent lab-on-a-chip devices for high-throughput cell manipulation and microrobot production
Microfluidic devices can be employed in biological research as lab-on-a-chip (LoC) and organ-on-a-chip (OoC) systems. These platforms enable precise in-situ cell manipulation within a highly controlled environment. In the project, we aim to develop an intelligent LoC/OoC device featuring a flexible smart “switch”, for massive production of biohybrid microrobots and high-throughput cell manipulation and drug testing.
Keywords
Lab-on-a-chip, organ-on-a-chip, magnetic microrobot, cell manipulation
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-05 , Earliest start: 2025-03-10 , Latest end: 2025-12-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , Empa , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , University of Basel , University of Berne , University of Fribourg , University of Geneva , University of Lausanne , University of Lucerne , University of St. Gallen , University of Zurich , Zurich University of Applied Sciences , Zurich University of the Arts , Hochschulmedizin Zürich , Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Organization Multiscale Robotics Lab
Hosts Zhu Jiawei
Topics Engineering and Technology , Biology
Novel Winch Control for Robotic Climbing
While legged robots have demonstrated impressive locomotion performance in structured environments, challenges persist in navigating steep natural terrain and loose, granular soil. These challenges extend to extraterrestrial environments and are relevant to future lunar, martian, and asteroidal missions. In order to explore the most extreme terrains, a novel winch system has been developed for the ANYmal robot platform. The winch could potentially be used as a fail-safe device to prevent falls during unassisted traverses of steep terrain, as well as an added driven degree of freedom for assisted ascending and descending of terrain too steep for unassisted traversal. The goal of this project is to develop control policies that utilize this new hardware and enable further climbing robot research.
Keywords
Robot, Space, Climbing, Winch, Control
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Semester Project , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-03-05 , Earliest start: 2024-10-07
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Vogel Dylan
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Beyond Value Functions: Stable Robot Learning with Monte-Carlo GRPO
Robotics is dominated by on-policy reinforcement learning: the paradigm of training a robot controller by iteratively interacting with the environment and maximizing some objective. A crucial idea to make this work is the Advantage Function. On each policy update, algorithms typically sum up the gradient log probabilities of all actions taken in the robot simulation. The advantage function increases or decreases the probabilities of these taken actions by comparing their “goodness” versus a baseline. Current advantage estimation methods use a value function to aggregate robot experience and hence decrease variance. This improves sample efficiency at the cost of introducing some bias. Stably training large language models via reinforcement learning is well-known to be a challenging task. A line of recent work [1, 2] has used Group-Relative Policy Optimization (GRPO) to achieve this feat. In GRPO, a series of answers are generated for each query-answer pair. The advantage is calculated based on a given answer being better than the average answer to the query. In this formulation, no value function is required. Can we adapt GRPO towards robot learning? Value Functions are known to cause issues in training stability [3] and a result in biased advantage estimates [4]. We are in the age of GPU-accelerated RL [5], training policies by simulating thousands of robot instances simultaneously. This makes a new monte-carlo (MC) approach towards RL timely, feasible and appealing. In this project, the student will be tasked to investigate the limitations of value-function based advantage estimation. Using GRPO as a starting point, the student will then develop MC-based algorithms that use the GPU’s parallel simulation capabilities for stable RL training for unbiased variance reduction while maintaining a competitive wall-clock time.
Keywords
Robot Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Monte Carlo RL, GRPO, Advantage Estimation
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-05
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Klemm Victor
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences
Magnetic microrobots for targeted therapies
Recent advancements in medical robotics have significantly enhanced precision and innovation in healthcare, indicating a new era of minimally invasive procedures that reduce patient complications and discomfort. In particular, the development of robots constructed from materials with elastic moduli similar to soft biological tissues offers substantial promise for biomedical applications, as their inherent mechanical compliance improves safety during procedures. This project aims to fabricate double-compartment, soft, tether-free magnetic microrobots and to investigate their locomotion strategies. Critical parameters, including shape and magnetic anisotropy, will be examined in detail. Finally, the prototypes will be loaded with a model drug and evaluated in vitro using a silicone model.
Keywords
Nanoparticles, Iron Oxide, Hydrogel, Magnetic Navigation, Anisotropy
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2025-03-04 , Earliest start: 2025-03-09 , Latest end: 2025-08-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Multiscale Robotics Lab
Hosts Pustovalov Vitaly
Topics Engineering and Technology , Earth Sciences , Chemistry
Synthesis of a novel monomer for polymeric materials with on-demand degradation and enhanced durability
Plastic waste and the resulting environmental pollution are major challenges of our time. One of the problems is the mismatch of degradability and durability in plastics. Single use plastics like packaging material should be easy to degrade to facilitate recycling after use. However, these single use plastics are often very stable and hard to recycle. Performance plastics need to last during their lifetime without significant decrease in material properties, but aging in these materials eventually leads to material failure and replacement. Both situations generate plastic waste. Therefore, we want to synthesize a material that can degrade on-demand and experiences enhanced durability on longer timescales to satisfy the needs of single use plastics and performance plastics, respectively.
Keywords
Organic and polymer chemistry, novel monomer, degradability and durability
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-04 , Earliest start: 2025-04-01
Organization Macromolecular Engineering Laboratory
Hosts Söll Carolina
Topics Engineering and Technology , Chemistry
Deep Learning-Based Blood Smear Scanning System for Automated White Blood Cell Classification
This project aims to develop a deep learning-powered microscope capable of imaging and classifying various white blood cell (WBC) subtypes from blood smears
Keywords
machine learning, white blood cell classification, deep learning, microscopy, image processing
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-04 , Earliest start: 2025-03-01
Organization Biochemical Engineering (deMello Group)
Hosts Aslan Mahmut
Topics Engineering and Technology
Deep Learning of Residual Physics For Soft Robot Simulation
Incorporating state-of-the-art deep learning approaches to augment conventional soft robotic simulations for a fast, accurate and useful simulation for real soft robots.
Keywords
Soft Robotics, Machine Learning, Physical Modeling, Simulation
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-02 , Earliest start: 2025-03-01 , Latest end: 2026-03-01
Organization Soft Robotics Lab
Hosts Michelis Mike , Katzschmann Robert, Prof. Dr.
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Volumetric Bucket-Fill Estimation
Gravis Robotics is an ETH spinoff from the Robotic Systems Lab (RSL) working on the automation of heavy machinery (https://gravisrobotics.com/). In this project, you will be working with the Gravis team to develop a perceptive bucket-fill estimation system. You will conduct your project at Gravis under joint supervision from RSL.
Keywords
Autonomous Excavation
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-02-28 , Earliest start: 2025-01-01 , Latest end: 2026-01-01
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Egli Pascal Arturo
Topics Engineering and Technology
Leveraging Human Motion Data from Videos for Humanoid Robot Motion Learning
The advancement in humanoid robotics has reached a stage where mimicking complex human motions with high accuracy is crucial for tasks ranging from entertainment to human-robot interaction in dynamic environments. Traditional approaches in motion learning, particularly for humanoid robots, rely heavily on motion capture (MoCap) data. However, acquiring large amounts of high-quality MoCap data is both expensive and logistically challenging. In contrast, video footage of human activities, such as sports events or dance performances, is widely available and offers an abundant source of motion data. Building on recent advancements in extracting and utilizing human motion from videos, such as the method proposed in WHAM (refer to the paper "Learning Physically Simulated Tennis Skills from Broadcast Videos"), this project aims to develop a system that extracts human motion from videos and applies it to teach a humanoid robot how to perform similar actions. The primary focus will be on extracting dynamic and expressive motions from videos, such as soccer player celebrations, and using these extracted motions as reference data for reinforcement learning (RL) and imitation learning on a humanoid robot.
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-02-25
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Organization ETH Competence Center - ETH AI Center
Hosts Li Chenhao , Kaufmann Manuel , Li Chenhao , Li Chenhao , Kaufmann Manuel , Li Chenhao
Topics Engineering and Technology
Learning Agile Dodgeball Behaviors for Humanoid Robots
Agility and rapid decision-making are vital for humanoid robots to safely and effectively operate in dynamic, unstructured environments. In human contexts—whether in crowded spaces, industrial settings, or collaborative environments—robots must be capable of reacting to fast, unpredictable changes in their surroundings. This includes not only planned navigation around static obstacles but also rapid responses to dynamic threats such as falling objects, sudden human movements, or unexpected collisions. Developing such reactive capabilities in legged robots remains a significant challenge due to the complexity of real-time perception, decision-making under uncertainty, and balance control. Humanoid robots, with their human-like morphology, are uniquely positioned to navigate and interact with human-centered environments. However, achieving fast, dynamic responses—especially while maintaining postural stability—requires advanced control strategies that integrate perception, motion planning, and balance control within tight time constraints. The task of dodging fast-moving objects, such as balls, provides an ideal testbed for studying these capabilities. It encapsulates several core challenges: rapid object detection and trajectory prediction, real-time motion planning, dynamic stability maintenance, and reactive behavior under uncertainty. Moreover, it presents a simplified yet rich framework to investigate more general collision avoidance strategies that could later be extended to complex real-world interactions. In robotics, reactive motion planning for dynamic environments has been widely studied, but primarily in the context of wheeled robots or static obstacle fields. Classical approaches focus on precomputed motion plans or simple reactive strategies, often unsuitable for highly dynamic scenarios where split-second decisions are critical. In the domain of legged robotics, maintaining balance while executing rapid, evasive maneuvers remains a challenging problem. Previous work on dynamic locomotion has addressed agile behaviors like running, jumping, or turning (e.g., Hutter et al., 2016; Kim et al., 2019), but these movements are often planned in advance rather than triggered reactively. More recent efforts have leveraged reinforcement learning (RL) to enable robots to adapt to dynamic environments, demonstrating success in tasks such as obstacle avoidance, perturbation recovery, and agile locomotion (Peng et al., 2017; Hwangbo et al., 2019). However, many of these approaches still struggle with real-time constraints and robustness in high-speed, unpredictable scenarios. Perception-driven control in humanoids, particularly for tasks requiring fast reactions, has seen advances through sensor fusion, visual servoing, and predictive modeling. For example, integrating vision-based object tracking with dynamic motion planning has enabled robots to perform tasks like ball catching or blocking (Ishiguro et al., 2002; Behnke, 2004). Yet, dodging requires a fundamentally different approach: instead of converging toward an object (as in catching), the robot must predict and strategically avoid the object’s trajectory while maintaining balance—often in the presence of limited maneuvering time. Dodgeball-inspired robotics research has been explored in limited contexts, primarily using wheeled robots or simplified agents in simulations. Few studies have addressed the challenges of high-speed evasion combined with the complexities of humanoid balance and multi-joint coordination. This project aims to bridge that gap by developing learning-based methods that enable humanoid robots to reactively avoid fast-approaching objects in real time, while preserving stability and agility.
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-02-25
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Organization ETH Competence Center - ETH AI Center
Hosts Li Chenhao , Li Chenhao , Li Chenhao , Li Chenhao
Topics Engineering and Technology
Learning Real-time Human Motion Tracking on a Humanoid Robot
Humanoid robots, designed to mimic the structure and behavior of humans, have seen significant advancements in kinematics, dynamics, and control systems. Teleoperation of humanoid robots involves complex control strategies to manage bipedal locomotion, balance, and interaction with environments. Research in this area has focused on developing robots that can perform tasks in environments designed for humans, from simple object manipulation to navigating complex terrains. Reinforcement learning has emerged as a powerful method for enabling robots to learn from interactions with their environment, improving their performance over time without explicit programming for every possible scenario. In the context of humanoid robotics and teleoperation, RL can be used to optimize control policies, adapt to new tasks, and improve the efficiency and safety of human-robot interactions. Key challenges include the high dimensionality of the action space, the need for safe exploration, and the transfer of learned skills across different tasks and environments. Integrating human motion tracking with reinforcement learning on humanoid robots represents a cutting-edge area of research. This approach involves using human motion data as input to train RL models, enabling the robot to learn more natural and human-like movements. The goal is to develop systems that can not only replicate human actions in real-time but also adapt and improve their responses over time through learning. Challenges in this area include ensuring real-time performance, dealing with the variability of human motion, and maintaining stability and safety of the humanoid robot.
Keywords
real-time, humanoid, reinforcement learning, representation learning
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-02-25
Organization ETH Competence Center - ETH AI Center
Hosts Li Chenhao , Li Chenhao , Li Chenhao , Li Chenhao
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Acoustic Standing Waves for Particle Manipulation in Air
Acoustic standing waves can be used to manipulate physical objects in both gas and liquid environments. This project investigates their effects on particle flow and selectivity in air, considering various particle sizes and weights. Through modeling, simulations, and experimental validation, we aim to characterize the selectivity of these waves and develop a compact driver circuit for practical implementation. The student will work closely with Honeywell engineers on test setups, electronic designs, and prototyping. A successful outcome may lead to a subsequent R&D phase or PhD project in a collaboration with Honeywellto further develop these findings.
Keywords
Acoustics, Standing Waves, Particle Manipulation, Flow Control, Electronics
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2025-02-25 , Earliest start: 2025-02-25 , Latest end: 2025-09-30
Organization Acoustic Robotics for Life Sciences and Healthcare (ARSL)
Hosts Medany Mahmoud
Topics Engineering and Technology , Physics