Born in Rome, Prof. Lorenzo Masia graduated from “Sapienza” University of Rome in mechanical engineering; he completed his doctorate as a young scientist at the Università degli Studi di Padova and spent two years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After working at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), the Nanyang Technology University of Singapore, the Dutch University of Twente, and his last position at the University of Heidelberg, the expert in wearable robotics and assistive technology joined TUM six months ago in October 2024 as Professor and chair in “Intelligent Bio-Robotic Systems”.
Prof. Achim Lilienthal has been at TUM for two and a half years and heads the Chair of “Perception for Intelligent Systems”. He previously worked at the University of Örebro in Sweden, where he founded the Mobile Robot and Olfaction Lab, earning him the nickname ‘professor robonose’ for his work with gas-sensitive robots. Lilienthal is an expert in multimodal perception using, e.g., radar, gas sensing, and eye-tracking. He combines scientific expertise with an entrepreneurial spirit for applications in mobile robot navigation, environmental monitoring, and spatial human-robot interaction.
TUM Campus Garmisch-Partenkirchen, KI.Fabrik, Robotics Institute Germany: The key projects of MIRMI
Masia and Lilienthal take on a broad portfolio of topics. While Masia coordinates at the TUM Campus Garmisch-Partenkirchen where the Geriatronics research group researches and develops care robotics and all the initiatives in assistive technology, Lilienthal heads the MIRMI lighthouse project KI.Fabrik at the German Technology Museum (Deutsches Museum). Both are topics that are supported by the Hightech Agenda Bayern.
MIRMI is also the coordinator of the Robotics Institute Germany, in which 14 universities and research institutions from all over Germany work together on robotics projects. This initiative is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The decision-maker and co-spokesperson of the RIG is Prof. Angela Schoellig, also a member of the MIMRI board, who came with a Humboldt professorship from Toronto, Canada to Munich and who is responsible for the topics Industry & International.
Prof. Eckehard Steinbach and Prof. Daniel Rixen complete the MIRMI board. They are responsible for start-ups and infrastructure as well as education and training. Robo.innovate, for example, supported by Prof. Steinbach, brings together founders, start-ups, researchers, industry, and investors to promote innovative and intelligent robotics development. The ‘Hackathon Champion’ and two other teams were recently honored at a hackathon organized by robo.innovate. Under the direction of Prof. Rixen, a graduate program for doctoral students was created specifically tailored to robotics – a milestone in educating future roboticists.
Embodied AI is the primary topic
The Robotics and AI institute MIRMI focuses on intelligent robotic solutions capable of perceiving and interpreting the environment as well as selecting and carrying out purposeful actions. The range of applications includes autonomous driving (mobility), environmental monitoring (environment), robots for care and rehabilitation (health), and robotic solutions to relieve and assist people on the job (work). MIRMI develops robots (physical bodies) as well as intelligent perception and control algorithms, which are integrated into ‘embodied AI’ that can interact purposefully, safely, and efficiently in its environment and with people.
‘Automation and production are the backbone of the German economy,’ says roboticist Lilienthal. ‘Correspondingly, intelligent, AI-based automation and robotics are key future technologies for Germany. Due to huge advances in “digital AI,” intelligent robotics and automation, i.e., “embodied AI,” will significantly change the world in the next five to ten years. Germany can play a leading role in this field, building on the outstanding international position of robotics made in Germany. MIRMI, embedded in the prosperous and vibrant technology hub in Munich, is committed to this goal. The researchers at MIRMI address key challenges facing our society (e.g., labor shortage and the aging society), develop new technical solutions, and contribute to positive, future-oriented dynamics in Germany and Europe.’
Masia stands for a generation of networkers who believe in team playing and for whom interdisciplinarity is the key to success. ‘After the visionary and strong rise of MIRMI under Prof. Haddadin, my mission is consolidating and strengthening the institute. I believe in the synergistic activities among colleagues, who are capable of coordinating together, sharing MIRMI resources, and supporting the young researchers and professors’ says the professor: ‘In the future, it will be important for us to keep an even closer eye on ensuring that research ideas become not only prototypes, but we impact in business models that later prove themselves in real life and provide TUM and Germany with technological independence.’
Text: Andreas Schmitz