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Key research areas

Space robotics

Spaceflight is the incitement to develop advanced robotic systems within the Robotics and Mechatronics Center (RMC). Robots play a dominant role in the exploration and conquest of our outer space. Compared to human beings they can adapt much better to the extreme condi-tions encountered in free space and on celestial bodies like moons, planets or even asteroids. This enables robots perfectly to set up robotic outposts and hence to pioneer the interplanetary manned space flight. RMC has a long tradition in space robotics research and developments, specifically in near-Earth or orbital applications. Outstanding examples of great success are: ROTEX (1993), GETEX (1998) and ROKVISS (2003-2010). Worldwide, RMC has currently the most experience on this space robotics area.

Terrestrial assistive robotics

One of the main goals of the highly intergrated robotic systems that are developed at the Robotics and Mechatronics Center is a seamless, semiautonomous integration with man, in which "soft robotics", i.e. the compliant and safe behaviour of a robotic system is central. These principles are key in the development of assistive and prosthetic devices. Novel, bimanual mobile production assistants will play a prominent role in developed countries production processes, while elderly care is of ever increasing importance. In this Key Research Area we study and approach these princinples from a human biological point of view.

Medical assistance systems

In the interdepartmental research area of Medical Assistance Systems, findings in space and service robotics are reinterpreted and transferred to the field of medicine. Core technologies like efficient drives, mechatronics, telerobotics, sensors and planning systems are relevant to space applications as well as to technical systems in medicine. These technologies are researched and applied to the two main topics: medical robotics and active implants.

Flying robots

The key research area Flying Robots covers the three main domains of the Robotics and Mechatronics Center – Aeronautics, Space Robotics, and Optical Information Systems – in order to exploit synergies in the development of robotics technologies for autonomous flying platforms. The spectrum of our work ranges from low-level control and sensor data processing to mission planning and execution. We have been working on general problems for autonomous systems taking into account special issues related to flying platforms and their applications.