Student Projects
Currently, the following student projects are available. Please contact the responsible supervisor and apply with your CV and transcripts.
In case you have project ideas related to any of these projects, take the opportunity and propose your own project!
We also offer Master Thesis and or exchange semesters at reknown universities around the world. Please contact us in case of interest!
Studies on Mechatronics
We offer students also to conduct their Studies on Mechatronics at our lab. In general, we recommend to do the Studies on Mechatronics in combination with the Bachelor Thesis, either as prepartory work the semester beofre or as extended study in parallel. If you want to do it independently, yiou can find prroposed projets also in the list below. Please directly apply with corresponsponding supervisor.
VR in Habitat 3.0
Motivation: Explore the newly improved Habitat 3.0 simulator with a special focus on the Virtual Reality Features. This project is meant to be an exploration task on the Habitat 3.0 simulator, exploring all the newly introduced features focusing specifically on the implementation of virtual reality tools for scene navigation. The idea is to extend these features to self created environments in Unreal Engine that build uppon Habitat
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Semester Project
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Published since: 2024-11-06 , Earliest start: 2024-01-08
Applications limited to University of Zurich , Swiss National Science Foundation , ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Organization Computer Vision and Geometry Group
Hosts Blum Hermann , Bauer Zuria, Dr. , Sun Boyang , Zurbrügg René
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Diffusion Navigation for ANYmal - Semester Project, Master Thesis
Navigation of ANYmal using Diffusion Policy including real-world experiments and deployment. References [1] Reuss, Moritz, et al. "Goal-conditioned imitation learning using score-based diffusion policies." RSS 2023 [2] Shah, Dhruv, et al. "ViNT: A foundation model for visual navigation." CoRL 2023 [3] Sridhar, Ajay, et al. "Nomad: Goal masked diffusion policies for navigation and exploration." 2024 (ICRA). IEEE, 2024.
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-10-31 , Earliest start: 2024-10-31 , Latest end: 2024-12-31
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Frey Jonas
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences
Development of a navigation system for a small legged robot at Marius Hills skylight
The goal is to develop and design the concept for a Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) subsystem that enables a small-scale legged robot to navigate on the lunar surface.
Keywords
GNC; Legged Robot, Autonomy, Space Robotics
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-10-29 , Earliest start: 2024-12-01
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Kolvenbach Hendrik
Topics Engineering and Technology
End-to-End Robot Path Planning from RGB Images
Description: In this project, we aim to enable robots to plan and navigate directly from RGB images, inspired by the way humans can interpret a scene and plan a path using just visual information. While traditional robotics solutions rely on expensive sensors like LiDAR to create accurate 3D maps for planning, this project will explore a more cost-effective approach. We will use a Model Predictive Path Integral (MPPI) planner to generate optimal trajectories by evaluating thousands of possible paths and selecting the best one based on cost. These predicted 3D trajectories can be projected back onto the 2D image space, creating a labeling system for training a neural network. The goal is to train a model that, given an RGB image and a goal, can predict the optimal trajectory in real time, enabling end-to-end planning from pixels to goal. Additionally, we will explore the use of large-scale internet video data combined with Structure-from-Motion (SfM) to generate the necessary supervision for training. We also aim to investigate different representations for the robot's goal, such as a specific 3D location, a pixel coordinate, or an image showing the destination.
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-10-18 , Earliest start: 2024-10-18 , Latest end: 2024-12-31
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Frey Jonas
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology , Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences
Autonomous Multi-Task Excavation with Transformers
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: 2024-10-11 , Earliest start: 2024-11-01 , Latest end: 2025-08-31
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Werner Lennart , Egli Pascal Arturo , Terenzi Lorenzo , Nan Fang , Zhang Weixuan
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
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: 2024-09-27 , Earliest start: 2024-10-07
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Vogel Dylan
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Live Limited View Dynamic Gaussian Splatting
In this project we seek to reconstruct 3D Gaussian Splatting scenes and capture motion as it happens.
Keywords
Robotics, Computer Vision, Radiance Fields, Gaussian Splatting
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-09-24 , Earliest start: 2024-09-24 , Latest end: 2025-04-30
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Patil Vaishakh
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Learning Diverse Behaviors: Diffusion Meets RL
This thesis will tackle the challenge of multi-modality in robot learning by integrating diffusion models into reinforcement learning (RL). The project is in collaboration with Prof. Gerhard Neumann from KIT (https://alr.iar.kit.edu/21_65.php)
Keywords
reinforcement learning, diffusion policies, robotics
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-09-23 , Earliest start: 2024-09-23
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Mittal Mayank
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences
Enhancing ANYmal State Estimation with Visual Features
The goal of this project is to select and deploy a visual odometry frontend, and to incorporate the resultant visual factors within an existing multi-sensor fusion state estimation pipeline. The solution would be deployed and tested on an ANYmal robot to demonstrate the advantages of fusing visual information. See attached documents for further information. Please email us directly if you are interested in this semester project.
Keywords
Visual Odometry, SLAM, Visual Features, State Estimation
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Semester Project
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Published since: 2024-09-20
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Patel Manthan , Talbot William
Topics Engineering and Technology
Reinforcement Learning for Control of Shape-Shifting Robot Legs
We are working toward robots that transform their shape adapt to new tasks and environments. This project will entail developing control policies in simulation and deploying them on hardware, with the goal of controlling a quadruped that can change the shape of its legs to accomplish new and useful tasks (see attached image a).
Keywords
autonomy, shape morphing, quadruped robot, adaptation, manipulation, deep learning, reinforcement learning, simulation, transformer
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-09-13 , Earliest start: 2024-08-01 , Latest end: 2025-05-01
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Vogel Dylan , Baines Robert
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Model-Based Reinforcement Learning in Robotics
This thesis opportunity focuses on applying model-based reinforcement learning (MBRL) to the arm control of the autonomous walking excavator HEAP. The project aims to leverage the superior sample efficiency and performance of MBRL in high-dimensional continuous control tasks. The work will involve implementing state-of-the-art MBRL algorithms in a simulation environment, evaluating their performance, and, upon successful validation, conducting real-world experiments.
Keywords
Reinforcement learning; Model-based RL; Construction robotics
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-09-10 , Earliest start: 2024-06-30 , Latest end: 2025-07-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Nan Fang , Li Chenhao
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Reinforcement Learning for Excavation Planning
We aim to develop a reinforcement learning-based global excavation planner that can plan for the long term and execute a wide range of excavation geometries. The system will be deployed on our legged excavator.
Keywords
Keywords: Reinforcement learning, task planning
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-09-03 , Earliest start: 2024-11-01 , Latest end: 2025-06-30
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Terenzi Lorenzo
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Reinforcement Learning for Particle-Based Excavation in Isaac Sim
We want to train RL agents on our new particle simulator, accelerated on the GPU via warp in Isaac sim.
Keywords
particle simulation, omniverse, warp, reinforcement learning
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-09-03 , Earliest start: 2024-07-01 , Latest end: 2025-02-28
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Egli Pascal Arturo , Mittal Mayank , Terenzi Lorenzo
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Terrain Neural Scene Reconstruction for RL
In this project, our goal is to build a practical solution for reconstructing 3D earthworks scenes using incomplete point cloud data. We plan to train an encoder-decoder neural network that can accurately recreate the missing parts of the scene. However, our main emphasis lies in creating powerful latent representations that will enable us to train reinforcement learning agents for digging tasks.
Keywords
LIDAR, 3D reconstruction, Isaac gym, deep learning, perception, reinforcement learning
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-09-03 , Earliest start: 2023-02-20 , Latest end: 2023-09-30
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Höller David , Terenzi Lorenzo
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Sample Efficienct Reinforcement Learning for Particle-Based Excavation
We want to train RL agents on our new particle simulator, accelerated on the GPU via warp in Isaac sim.
Keywords
Keywords: particle simulation, omniverse, warp, reinforcement learning
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-09-03 , Earliest start: 2024-07-15 , Latest end: 2025-03-01
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Terenzi Lorenzo
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
Multiagent RL in Terra
We want to train multiple agents in the Terra environment, a fully end-to-end GPU-accelerated environment for RL training.
Keywords
multiagent reinforcement learning, jax, deep learning, planning
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2024-09-03 , Earliest start: 2024-07-15 , Latest end: 2025-03-01
Organization Robotic Systems Lab
Hosts Terenzi Lorenzo
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences
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: 2024-08-27
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
Student Theses in Industry
We have a large number of industry partners who search for excellent students to conduct their student theses at the company or at ETH but in close collaboration with them (joint supervision by industry and ETH).
Ammann Group (Switzerland)
The Ammann Group is a worldwide leader in the manufacture of mixing plants, machinery, and services in the construction industry, with core competence in road construction and landscaping as well as in the transport infrastructure.
We are collaborating with Ammann to automate construction equipment
Maxon (Switzerland)
Maxon develops and builds electric drive systems that are among the best in the world. Their drive systems can be found wherever extreme precision and the highest quality standards are indispensable – on Earth, and on Mars.
Shunk (Germany)
Legged Wheel Chair
This project aims at extending a dynamic simulation and locomotion controllers for a robotized wheelchair able to handle difficult terrains including stairs. This project will prepare the prototype phase coming next.
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Note on plagiarism
We would like to suggest every student, irrespective of the type of project (Bachelor, Semester, Master, ...), to make himself/herself familiar with ETH rules regarding plagiarism