Robotics, Vision, and Controls Talks Fall 2025

September - December 2025

This semester explored embodied intelligence, resilient autonomy, soft robotics, robotic materials, and health sensing. Hybrid sessions were held on Fridays at ETH Zurich (HG G5 unless noted) with Zoom access, and most in-person talks included an apéro.

Featured Talks

Prof. Dr. Dino Accoto - KU Leuven, Belgium

“Designing Human-Robot Synergies for Socio-Economic Impact” • December 12, 2025

Embodied intelligence and structural design to balance automation with human labor in socio-economic contexts. In person; apéro at ETH - Einstein & Zweistein.

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**Speaker Bio:** Professor of Biomechatronics and MOVU Robotics Chair at KU Leuven; co-founded multiple robotics companies; research in human-robot interaction and agile automation.

Prof. Dr. Kostas Alexis - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

“Unified Resilient Autonomy across Robot Configurations” • December 5, 2025

A common autonomy architecture that transfers across aerial, aquatic, and ground robots, tested in extreme environments. In person; apéro at ETH - Polysnack.

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**Speaker Bio:** Professor at NTNU and Director of the Norwegian Centre for Embodied AI; leads the Autonomous Robot Lab and DARPA SubT-winning Team CERBERUS.

Prof. Dr. Cosimo Della Santina - TU Delft, Netherlands

“From Rigid Mechanics to Soft Intelligence: Controlling What We Cannot Fully Actuate” • November 28, 2025

Model-based control strategies for highly underactuated soft robotic systems. In person; apéro at Openlab Day - ETH Turbinenhalle.

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**Speaker Bio:** Associate Professor at TU Delft and Guest Scientist at DLR; research on elastic and soft robotic systems and motor intelligence.

Swiss Robotics Day - Lausanne

“Swiss Robotics Day” • November 14, 2025

National gathering for the Swiss robotics community. All-day community event at SwissTech Convention Center, Ecublens.
Event site

Prof. Dr. Robert Shepherd - Cornell University, USA

“Autonomous Materials for Increased Agility and Endurance in Robots” • November 7, 2025

Distributed sensing, actuation, and energy in robots using redox flow batteries, microscale combustion, and bioelectronic interfaces. In person; apéro at ETH - ML Turbinenhalle.

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**Speaker Bio:** John F. Carr Professor at Cornell; leads the Organic Robotics Lab; co-founder of LLume and MAV-Unlimited.

Prof. Dr. Chelsea Finn - Stanford University, USA

“Developing Generalist Robots” • October 31, 2025

Data, architectures, and evaluation for robotic foundation models with long-term memory and generative world models. Zoom-first; no apéro.

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**Speaker Bio:** Assistant Professor at Stanford; co-founder of Physical Intelligence; work on robot learning, meta-learning, and foundation models.

Prof. Dr. Hedan Bai - ETH Zurich, Switzerland

“Multifunctional, Adaptive, and Sustainable Robotic Materials Towards General Utility” • October 17, 2025

Light-enabled tactile sensing, vitrimers for self-healing and reconfigurable robots, and soft robotic bioelectronics. In person; apéro at ETH - ML Turbinenhalle.

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**Speaker Bio:** Assistant Professor leading the Robotic Materials Lab at ETH Zurich; research on multifunctional soft materials and translational robotic devices.

Prof. Dr. Carmel Majidi - Carnegie Mellon University, USA

“Soft-Matter Engineering for Robotics and Wearables” • October 10, 2025

Soft sensors, circuits, and transducers using elastomers, liquid metal, and LCEs for deformable robots and wearable electronics. Zoom-first; no apéro.

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**Speaker Bio:** Clarence H. Adamson Professor at CMU; leads the Soft Machines Lab; work on multifunctional soft materials for robotics and HCI.

Prof. Dr. Graham Kerr - Queensland University of Technology, Australia

“Developing Health Sensor Technologies: Lessons from Ageing and Neurodegenerative Disease” • October 3, 2025

Wearable and nearable health sensing for predictive diagnostics and optimizing treatments, informed by ageing and neurodegenerative studies. In person; apéro at ETH - ML Turbinenhalle.

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**Speaker Bio:** Professor at QUT; leads the Movement Neuroscience Research Program; develops biomarkers, prediction algorithms, and wearable tech.

Prof. Dr. Tania Patino - Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands

“Molecular Nanorobots: Programming Motility and Cell Interactions Towards Precision Medicine” • September 19, 2025

DNA-based molecular nanorobots with programmable propulsion and targeted cell interactions; single-particle tracking in biological environments. In person; apéro at ETH - HG Polysnack.

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**Speaker Bio:** Assistant Professor at TU/e and ICMS; research on molecular nanorobots for diagnostics, drug delivery, and immunomodulation.

Semester Statistics

Total Talks: 9
Institutions Represented: 9
Countries: 6 (Belgium, Norway, Netherlands, Switzerland, USA, Australia)

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