News & Awards

Social Foundations of Computation News 24-04-2025 Florian Dorner, Vivian Nastl, Moritz Hardt: ICLR 2025 Oral with the paper "Limits to Scalable Evaluation at the Frontier: LLM as Judge Won’t Beat Twice the Data"

Social Foundations of Computation News 24-04-2025 Ricardo Dominguez-Olmedo, Florian Dorner, Moritz Hardt: ICLR 2025 Oral with the paper "Training on the Test Task Confounds Evaluation and Emergence"

Haptic Intelligence News 18-03-2025 RIG hosts first German Robotics Conference MPI-IS scientists showcase their research on soft robotics and haptic intelligence Robotics Institute Germany (RIG), founded with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), successfully hosted the first German Robotics Conference (GRC) at the Nuremberg Convention Center on March 13-15. This significant event brought together about 500 participants, including leading scientific minds based in Germany, prominent industry pioneers, and 15 current employees from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. Jonathan Fiene Katherine J. Kuchenbecker Birgül Akolpoglu Yijie Gong Felix Grüninger Moaaz Hudhud Mughrabi Florian Hartmann

Physical Intelligence News 17-03-2025 Magnetic microalgae on a mission to become robots Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems developed a single-cell green microalgae coated with magnetic material. This miniature robot was put to the test: would the microalgae with its magnetic coating be able to swim through narrow spaces and, additionally, in a viscous fluid that mimics those found in the human body? Would the tiny robot be able to fight its way through these difficult conditions? The team's research has now been published in the journal Matter. Metin Sitti Birgül Akolpoglu Saadet Baltaci

News 10-03-2025 RIG internships high in demand at MPI-IS in Stuttgart As soon as it was announced, the internship program of the newly founded Robotics Institute Germany attracted more than 450 applications for internship positions at the Stuttgart site of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. Buse Aktaş Birgül Akolpoglu

Robotic Materials News 06-03-2025 Artificial Muscles for Tremor Suppression Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, the University of Tübingen and the University of Stuttgart under the Bionic Intelligence Tübingen Stuttgart (BITS) collaboration developed a biorobotic arm that can mirror human tremors, such as those experienced by individuals that live with Parkinson's disease. Artificial muscles on either side of the forearm contract and relax to suppress the involuntary shaking of the wrist and hand. The researchers see their biorobotic arm not only as a platform for other scientists in the field to test new ideas in exoskeleton technology. The arm also serves as a test bed to see how well artificial muscles known as HASELs can one day become the building blocks of wearable devices. The vision is to one day develop a sleeve that tremor patients can comfortably wear to be able to better cope with everyday tasks such as holding a cup. Alona Shagan Christoph Keplinger

Empirical Inference News 06-03-2025 Neural network deciphers gravitational waves from merging neutron stars in a second Machine learning method could revolutionize multi-messenger astronomy Binary neutron star mergers emit gravitational waves followed by light. To fully exploit these observations and avoid missing key signals, speed is crucial. In a study to be published in Nature on March 5, 2025, an interdisciplinary team of researchers presents a novel machine learning method that can analyze gravitational waves emitted by neutron star collisions almost instantaneously – even before the merger is fully observed. A neural network processes the data and enables a fast search for visible light and other electromagnetic signals emitted during the collisions. This new method could be instrumental in preparing the field for the next generation of observatories. Maximilian Dax Bernhard Schölkopf Jakob Macke

Haptic Intelligence Award 03-03-2025 Postdoc Yarden Sharon wins a 6,000 EUR stipend from the Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (CNV) Foundation Yarden Sharon

Robust Machine Learning News 25-02-2025 From research to startup: Polybot receives order for AI-based harvesting robotics The harvesting robot project Polybot is supported by the Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (Deutsche Agentur für Sprunginnovation: SPRIND) with a seven-month validation grant of approximately 220,000 euros. This funding will help the team to prepare the transition from scientific research to founding a start-up company. The project, which has so far been supported by the Tübingen AI Center at the University of Tübingen, the ELLIS Institute Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, combines top-level research with practical application and strengthens Tübingen as an innovation location within the Cyber Valley. Martin Kiefel Bernhard Schölkopf Wieland Brendel

Biomimetic Materials and Machines News 20-02-2025 A miniature swimming robot inspired by marine flatworms EPFL and MPI-IS engineers have developed a versatile swimming robot that nimbly navigates cluttered water surfaces. Inspired by marine flatworms, the innovative device offers new possibilities for environmental monitoring and ecological research. Florian Hartmann

Haptic Intelligence Robotic Materials Press Release 07-01-2025 Electrohydraulic Wearable Devices Create Unprecedented Haptic Sensations Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems invented compact wearable devices that deliver rich, expressive, and pleasant tactile sensations that go far beyond the buzzing vibrations of today’s consumer devices. The team just published their findings in Advanced Science. Natalia Sanchez-Tamayo Zachary Yoder Philipp Rothemund Giulia Ballardini Christoph Keplinger Katherine J. Kuchenbecker

Haptic Intelligence Appointment 01-01-2025 Rachael Bevill Burns becomes an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville Rachael Burns

Human Aspects of Machine Learning Award 01-01-2025 The research program "Item Discovery for Psychological Testing Using Large Language Models" led by Tom Sühr, receives generous funding from the 2025 MPI-IS Grassroots program. The research aims at developing new methods for psychological test design, using large language models. The research program "Item Discovery for Psychological Testing Using Large Language Models" led by Tom Sühr, receives generous funding from the 2025 MPI-IS Grassroots program. The research aims at developing new methods for psychological test design, using large language models. The project is an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional cooperation with Zhijing Jin and Bernhard Schölkopf from the Empirical Inference department and Augustin Kelava, from the Methods Center of the University of Tübingen. Samira Samadi, Tom Sühr and Lalitha Sivakumar from the Human Aspects of Machine Learning group, will join the efforts. Tom Sühr Samira Samadi Zhijing Jin Bernhard Schölkopf

Algorithms and Society 18-12-2024 Invited talk MPG

Empirical Inference Award 14-12-2024 Zhijing Jin receives two Best Paper Awards at workshops at NeurIPS 2024: Pluralistic Alignment Workshop and Workshop on Causality and Large Models. Zhijing Jin

Robotic Materials Organizational Leadership and Diversity News 12-12-2024 Diversity and inclusion accelerate the pace of innovation in robotics Diverse and inclusive teams are not merely a moral imperative but also a catalyst for scientific excellence in robotics, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems point out in a study. The team now published an article in which they outline how a scientific community can benefit if its leadership fosters an environment of diversity and inclusion, and propose a leadership guide for roboticists to help reap these benefits. Daniela Macari Ksenia Keplinger Christoph Keplinger

Empirical Inference Award 12-12-2024 Luigi Gresele won the ELLIS PhD Award 2024, for his thesis on identifiability in representation learning and causal inference. Luigi Gresele

Social Foundations of Computation News 11-12-2024 Ricardo Dominguez-Olmedo, Moritz Hardt, Celestine Mendler- Dünner: NeurIPS 2024 Oral with the paper "Questioning the Survey Responses of Large Language Models"

Social Foundations of Computation News 11-12-2024 Vivian Nastl, Moritz Hardt: Spotlight Poster at NeurIPS 2024 for the paper "Do Causal Predictors Generalize Better to New Domains"

Bioinspired Autonomous Miniature Robots Appointment 11-12-2024 Wenqi Hu becomes Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong

Robotic Materials Award 06-12-2024 Daniela Macari wins the 2024 Gender Equality Award of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. Daniela Macari

Organizational Leadership and Diversity Award 06-12-2024 GEP Prize

Rationality Enhancement Appointment 03-12-2024 Dr. Felso Valkyrie Felso successfully defended her dissertation Valkyrie Felso

News 15-11-2024 Schülerinnen und Schüler beim Bundeswettbewerb Künstliche Intelligenz geehrt Algorithmen für eine intelligente Ampelschaltung, scharfe Mikroskopbilder und gegen Bienensterben – Bundespräsident Steinmeier tauscht sich mit Finalisten in Tübingen aus Bernhard Schölkopf Wieland Brendel

Algorithms and Society 12-11-2024 Guest lecture Celestine holding a guest lecture at the ETH AI seminar on law and economics

Physical Intelligence News 07-11-2024 3D robot navigation could enable multi-site medical procedures Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany, developed a novel method for deploying several magnetic miniature robots which can easily navigate through a 3D matrix resembling a network of blood vessels. This new method could one day enable the simultaneous treatment of multiple locations in hard-to-reach areas of the human body, which is currently unattainable with conventional tools. This innovative approach could significantly reduce procedure time and increase the effectiveness of minimally invasive therapies. Chunxiang Wang Tianlu Wang Li Mingtong Rongjing Zhang Metin Sitti

Algorithms and Society 01-11-2024 Anna joining the group Anna will join for an internship

Empirical Inference Award 22-10-2024 Annalena Kofler receives Best Poster Award at the 2nd Tübingen Women in Machine Learning workshop.

Rationality Enhancement Appointment 22-10-2024 Dr. Amo Victoria Amo

News 15-10-2024 Forty years of robotics research showcased at ICRA@40 The fortieth anniversary of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA@40) took place from September 23 to 26 and showcased everything from robot design and control to AI tools and materials. The robotics community decided to celebrate this anniversary by holding a special conference in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The aim of the gathering was to look back at the robotic innovations that have shaped our past and to look forward to the technologies that will define the future of this research field. 82 distinguished faculty speakers from around the world took the stage to deliver short talks about their vision of robotics research. Among them was Katherine J. Kuchenbecker, Director of the Haptic Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS).

News 10-10-2024 Funded Ph.D. Positions at the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems The Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and the Universities of Stuttgart and Tübingen collaborate to offer an interdisciplinary Ph.D. program, the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems (IMPRS-IS). IMPRS-IS will accept its ninth generation of doctoral researchers in spring of 2025. Katherine J. Kuchenbecker Leila Masri Sara Sorce Pannapa Huayhangtong

Haptic Intelligence Award 09-10-2024 Yarden Sharon and Vani Sundaram are selected for the MPG workshop Sign Up! Yarden Sharon Vani Sundaram

Haptic Intelligence Award 03-10-2024 Doctoral student Nataliya Rokhmanova is selected to attend "Rising Stars in Mechanical Engineering" held at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), USA Nataliya Rokhmanova

Human Aspects of Machine Learning Award 01-10-2024 Omri Ben-Dov received the ELSA mobility grant for a research visit in the university of Copenhagen Omri received the ELSA mobility grant for a research visit in the university of Copenhagen to work with Amartya Sanyal Omri Ben-Dov

Learning and Dynamical Systems Award 01-10-2024 Best Paper Award: UNSURE Workshop MICCAI Best Paper Award: UNSURE Workshop MICCAI Michael Muehlebach

Haptic Intelligence Appointment 01-10-2024 David Gueorguiev becomes Independent Scientist at UCLouvain, Belgium David Gueorguiev

Empirical Inference Appointment 01-10-2024 Dieter Büchler is now Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta, Canada. Furthermore he was nominated for the CIFAR AI chair and part of Amii. Dieter Büchler

Algorithms and Society 01-10-2024 Haiqing joining the group

Physical Intelligence Appointment 01-10-2024 Mengmeng Sun became Assistant Professor at National University of Singapore, Singapore. Mengmeng Sun

Empirical Inference Appointment 01-10-2024 Michel Besserve is now Professor for Artificial Intelligence at the TU Braunschweig, Germany. Michel Besserve

Physical Intelligence Appointment 01-10-2024 Mingchao Zhang became the Presidential Assistant Professor at National University of Singapore. Mingchao Zhang

Perceiving Systems Award 25-09-2024 Sai Kumar Dwivedi and Peter Kulits receive Outstanding Reviewer Awards, ECCV 2024.

Algorithms and Society 24-09-2024 Keynote talk Presenting our work on the use of LLMs in Social Science Research at the Cornell Thought Summit on the Future of Survey Science.

Robotic Materials Appointment 19-09-2024 Christoph Keplinger joins the Editorial Advisory Board of Advanced Robotics Research Christoph Keplinger

Haptic Intelligence Award 19-09-2024 Doctoral student Bernadett Kiss wins an honorable mention for the prize for best poster presentation at the 2024 IMPRS-IS Boot Camp Bernadett Kiss

Haptic Intelligence Award 19-09-2024 Doctoral student Iris Andrussow wins the prize for best poster presentation at the 2024 IMPRS-IS Boot Camp Iris Andrussow

Robotic Materials News 18-09-2024 Hexagonal electrohydraulic modules shape-shift into versatile robots Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart combined soft artificial muscles with a rigid, magnetic exoskeleton to create building blocks for fast-moving reconfigurable robots. Ellen Rumley Zachary Yoder Ingemar Schmidt Philipp Rothemund Christoph Keplinger

Neural Capture and Synthesis Award 13-09-2024 VMV 2024 Best Paper Honorable Mention VMV 2024 Best Paper Honorable Mention for the work Controllable Action-aware Manifold for 3D Motion Synthesis, a collaboration with the group of Christian Theobalt (MPI-I). Balamurugan Thambiraja Christian Theobalt

News 09-09-2024 Artificial muscles propel a robotic leg to walk and jump Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems have developed a robotic leg with artificial muscles. Inspired by living creatures, it jumps across different terrains in an agile and energy-efficient manner. The CLS team was led by Robert Katzschmann, Soft Robotics Lab at ETH Zurich and Christoph Keplinger at MPI-IS. Their doctoral students Thomas Buchner and Toshihiko Fukushima are the co-first authors of the team’s publication team has now reported on an their animal-inspired musculoskeletal robotic leg in Nature Communications. (Image: Thomas Buchner / ETH Zurich und Toshihiko Fukushima / Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme).

Physics for Inference and Optimization Appointment 01-09-2024 Caterina De Bacco

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