Student Projects
Currently, the following student projects are available. Please contact the responsible supervisor and apply with your CV and transcripts.
If you are looking for a Master internship HST/BWS or would like to carry out a Studies on Mechatronics project in our group, please contact the assistant working on, or closest to, the research topic you are interested in.
Guiding blind alpine skier by an appropriate auditory system
This work continues the prototype development that has already begun, so that testing can then take place on the ski slopes in the autumn.
Keywords
alpine sport, parathletes, auditory cues
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Semester Project , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-07-07 , Earliest start: 2026-06-27 , Latest end: 2027-03-31
Applications limited to Department of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering , Department of Health Sciences and Technology , Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts Wolf Peter
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Development and Documentation of a MyoShirt Upper-Limb Exosuit Prototype
In collaboration with the Maugeri Clinical Institute in Milan, we are preparing a pilot clinical study involving patients with upper-limb impairments. The study aims to evaluate the use of the MyoShirt upper-limb exosuit in supporting functional movements and activities of daily living in a clinical setting.
Keywords
Myoshirt, Exosuit, Design
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Semester Project
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Published since: 2026-07-07 , Earliest start: 2026-09-01 , Latest end: 2026-12-31
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts KhalilianMotamed Bonab Ali
Topics Engineering and Technology
Further Development of User Interface for a wearable exosuit
In the frame of the newly funded 12-24 months project with Cerebral Stiftung, we are aiming to develop a new version of the MyoShirt upper-limb exosuit, aiming to assist children and adults in different daily-life activities. The target group shall not be determined by the kind of lesion or disease, but by the typical symptoms that the person shows. The device should be lightweight or carried by the wheelchair, easy to don and doff, bring a clear functional benefit and accepted to be used by the persons with impairments. Development and testing of the exosuit will be done with our partners at the Kinderspital Zürich in Affoltern am Albis.
Keywords
myoshirt, exosuit, design, control
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Semester Project
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Published since: 2026-07-06 , Earliest start: 2026-08-01 , Latest end: 2026-12-31
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts KhalilianMotamed Bonab Ali
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Refinement and Optimization of a Wheelchair-Integrated MyoShirt Upper-Limb Exosuit
In the frame of a newly funded project with the Cerebral Stiftung, we are developing a new version of the MyoShirt upper-limb exosuit to assist children and adults with upper-limb weakness in different daily-life activities. The target group is not defined by a specific lesion or disease, but by functional symptoms such as reduced arm strength, limited arm elevation, and difficulty performing activities of daily living. The device is wheelchair-integrated and designed to support shoulder and elbow movements, with future iterations considering distal joint support. Ease of donning and doffing, user acceptance, functional benefit, and reliable assistance during daily-life movements are key design goals. Development and testing of the exosuit will be carried out in close collaboration with our clinical partners at Kinderspital Zürich in Affoltern am Albis. An initial prototype of the new MyoShirt has already been developed as part of ongoing work. The goal of this thesis is to build upon this foundation and work toward a refined second prototype. The student will analyze the current system, define clear technical objectives for improvement, optimize the mechanical design and control performance, and validate the refined system with healthy participants.
Keywords
Myoshirt, Exosuit, Optimization, Control, Design
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-07-06 , Earliest start: 2026-08-17 , Latest end: 2027-03-31
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts KhalilianMotamed Bonab Ali
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Clinical Protocol Development and User-Centered Evaluation of the MyoShirt Upper-Limb Exosuit
In the frame of a newly funded project with the Cerebral Stiftung, we are developing a new version of the MyoShirt upper-limb exosuit to assist children and adults with upper-limb weakness in different daily-life activities. The target group is not defined by a specific lesion or disease, but by functional symptoms such as reduced arm strength, limited arm elevation, and difficulty performing activities of daily living. The device is wheelchair-integrated and designed to support shoulder and elbow movements, with future iterations considering distal joint support. Ease of donning and doffing, as well as user acceptance and functional benefit, are key design considerations. Development and testing of the exosuit will be carried out in close collaboration with our clinical partners at Kinderspital Zürich in Affoltern am Albis. The goal of this Master thesis is to develop the study protocol for a pilot evaluation of the MyoShirt, prepare and submit the ethics application at ETH Zurich, and, after approval, conduct a pilot study with patients and a focus group with clinicians. The project will help us understand how the device is perceived by clinical experts, how it performs with end users, and how it should be refined in the next development iterations.
Keywords
Soft, Exosuit, Clinical Study, Myoshirt
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-07-06 , Earliest start: 2026-09-01 , Latest end: 2027-03-31
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts KhalilianMotamed Bonab Ali
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Contact forces in climbing
Instrumentation for measuring contact forces on the boulder wall used by hand surgeons at Balgrist University Hospital
Keywords
rock climbing, bouldering, biomechanical analysis
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Semester Project , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-06-26 , Earliest start: 2026-08-15 , Latest end: 2027-01-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , [nothing]
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts Wolf Peter
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Spectator experience 2.0: Visualisation of the climbers’ remaining energy reserves
To provide spectators at climbing competitions with additional information, this project aims to assess whether oxygen saturation in the forearm muscles can indicate imminent failure.
Keywords
rock climbing, physiology, media
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Internship , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-06-26 , Earliest start: 2026-08-17 , Latest end: 2027-03-15
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts Wolf Peter
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
(Master Thesis / Internship) - Personalized Low Latency Interactive AI
We are seeking one highly motivated student to join our innovative project focused on developing a cutting-edge voice recognition and personalization platform for wheelchair users. This project aims to deliver low-latency, context-aware, and personalized AI interactions in noisy, multi-user environments using edge devices powered by NVIDIA Orin. The system leverages advanced models and distilled LLMs, combined with biosignal tracking, to provide asynchronous interactions that are well-organized and accessible to doctors, while ensuring user privacy.
Keywords
Voice recognition, AI personalization, low latency, SLMs and distilled LLMs, Edge-Computing, audio processing
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Semester Project , Internship , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-06-22 , Earliest start: 2026-04-01 , Latest end: 2026-12-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , CSEM - Centre Suisse d'Electronique et Microtechnique , CERN , Berner Fachhochschule , IBM Research Zurich Lab , Hochschulmedizin Zürich , University of Zurich , Zurich University of Applied Sciences , Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts Paez Diego, Dr.
Topics Engineering and Technology
Connecting AI Agents and Controllers for Instructing Rehabilitation Robots
We are looking for a motivated student to contribute to the integration of our LLM-based voice control interface into a robot. Ultimately, we are targeting exoskeletons for rehabilitation therapy. This work will focus on a demonstration robot, likely a Novint Falcon haptic system. You will build Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers (or similar) to integrate with both robot controllers and the AI and you will help handle the connection to the server where we are hosting the LLM.
Keywords
rehabilitation, therapy, exoskeleton, LLM, MCP, integration, robot, interface, voice control
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-06-18 , Earliest start: 2026-06-22 , Latest end: 2026-12-31
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts von Max-Ole
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Does Haptic Feedback Help You Learn? Evaluating Vibrotactile Feedback for Fine Motor Skill Acquisition
On touchscreen devices, vibration is usually just an alert, which aims at communicating information but also feels disruptive. However vibration coupled to your movement feels like the texture or resistance of the surface you are exploring with your finger. We are looking for a motivated student to investigate whether this kind of vibration feedback, which feels like material properties of a surface can help people learn fine motor skills faster and retain them better?
Keywords
motor learning, vibrotactile feedback, touchscreen, haptics, fine motor skill, skill acquisition, human-computer interaction.
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-06-10 , Earliest start: 2026-06-15 , Latest end: 2027-01-15
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , University of Zurich , ETH Competence Center - Competence Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and Science (RESC)
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts Sabnis Nihar
Topics Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Connecting an AI Voice Interface to a Rehabilitation Robot
We have developed an LLM-based voice interface for rehabilitation robots and are looking for a student to help connect it to a clinical exoskeleton. You will build an auto-clicker that reads the robot's user interface and performs actions automatically, enabling the AI assistant to control the robot through its existing software. The project combines AI, software engineering, automation, and rehabilitation robotics.
Keywords
rehabilitation, therapy, exoskeleton, LLM, integration, certification, robot, interface, voice control
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-06-05 , Earliest start: 2026-07-06 , Latest end: 2027-01-31
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts von Max-Ole
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Master Thesis: Development of a Customized Knee Orthosis for Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) presents a significant challenge in healthcare, necessitating innovative solutions to alleviate pain, enhance mobility. This thesis documents the research and development journey of an OA knee orthosis within the Spinal Cord and Artificial Intelligence Lab (SCAI-Lab) at ETH Zurich. This thesis is a close collaboration between the ORTHO-TEAM Group and the SCAI-Lab at ETH Zurich. The collaboration offers a unique exchange of expertise and resources between industry and academia. Together, we aim to make meaningful progress in the field of and empower students to make valuable contributions to their academic pursuits.
Keywords
Osteo Arthritis, Orthosis, Biomechanics, AI, Medical Data, Healthcare
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Master Thesis , ETH Zurich (ETHZ)
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Published since: 2026-06-04 , Earliest start: 2026-08-01 , Latest end: 2027-02-28
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne , Empa , University of Basel , University of Berne , Zurich University of Applied Sciences , Università della Svizzera italiana , Hochschulmedizin Zürich , Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts , Institute for Research in Biomedicine , CSEM - Centre Suisse d'Electronique et Microtechnique
Organization Spinal Cord Injury & Artificial Intelligence Lab
Hosts Paez Diego, Dr. , Paez Diego, Dr.
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Human Communication Framework and Therapists' Needs for Instructing Rehabilitation Robots
This work will focus on the human side of human-machine-interaction. We are looking for a motivated student to contribute to the conceptualization of our voice control interface. We are targeting exoskeletons for rehabilitation therapy and wish to make them easier to control. To do so, we must understand the needs of the physio-therapists. We must identify their expectations towards robot interfaces and how they usually communicate with their patients to convey their intentions. As part of this project, you will interview clinicians, join them during therapy sessions, and formalize the findings.
Keywords
communication, intention, psychology, rehabilitation, therapy, robot, exoskeleton, AI, interface, voice control
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Semester Project , Internship , Bachelor Thesis , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-06-03 , Earliest start: 2026-06-07 , Latest end: 2026-11-30
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts von Max-Ole
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Journalism, Librarianship and Curatorial Studies , Information, Computing and Communication Sciences , Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences , Studies in Human Society
Evaluation of Biomechanical Models Built Using Lokomat Robotic Data
A semester project or internship opportunity with the Sensory-Motor Systems Lab at ETH Zürich. This work will support ongoing work in the EU TAILOR MSCA Doctoral Network which aims to optimise and elevate robotic gait rehabilitation interventions. The work will specifically focus on the evaluation of the quality and capacity of human biomechanical models that are built from data exported from the Lokomat during robotic rehabilitation sessions. The overarching goal is to reduce the extent to which a robot's presence interferes with how a therapist assesses a patient and provide novel metrics to aid in clinical decision making. *Supervision will be remote from September to December 2026 due to a scheduled international research stay of the main supervisor*
Keywords
OpenSim, Biomechanical Modelling, Lokomat, Rehabilitation Robots
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Semester Project , Internship , Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-06-02 , Earliest start: 2026-07-06 , Latest end: 2027-02-28
Organization Sensory-Motor Systems Lab
Hosts Thirlwell Florence
Topics Medical and Health Sciences , Engineering and Technology
Social VLA for Socially-Aware Robot Navigation in Human-Centered Environments
This project aims to develop a Social Vision-Language-Action framework for robot navigation in crowded and human-centered environments. Unlike conventional navigation methods that mainly optimize collision avoidance and goal reaching, the proposed system will explicitly reason about human social interactions, group formations, pedestrian intent, personal space, and socially acceptable passing or yielding behaviors.
Keywords
Social navigation; Vision-Language-Action models; socially-aware robotics; human-robot interaction; robot navigation; crowd-aware navigation; trajectory generation; social reasoning; robot learning; embodied AI.
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-06-02 , Earliest start: 2026-09-07 , Latest end: 2027-04-30
Organization Spinal Cord Injury & Artificial Intelligence Lab
Hosts Alyassi Rashid , Alyassi Rashid , Alyassi Rashid
Topics Engineering and Technology
ROS2 Robot Systems and Autonomous Navigation (Student Internship)
Develop the core software and autonomy stack for a new mobile robot platform using ROS2. The project focuses on robot localization, autonomous navigation, system integration, and remote robot operation, with an emphasis on building a reliable and extensible robotics platform for future research and real-world deployment.
Keywords
ROS2, Mobile Robotics, Autonomous Navigation, Localization, SLAM, Path Planning, Robot Systems
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Internship
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Published since: 2026-05-06 , Earliest start: 2026-05-03 , Latest end: 2026-10-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich , University of Zurich
Organization Spinal Cord Injury & Artificial Intelligence Lab
Hosts Alyassi Rashid , Alyassi Rashid
Topics Engineering and Technology
Constrained Reinforcement Learning for Robot Navigation
This project proposes a Constrained Reinforcement Learning (CRL) framework for social robot navigation that explicitly enforces safety, smoothness, and social-distance constraints. Unlike traditional reward-based RL, the approach integrates multiple constraints and a safety filter to ensure robust and human-compliant navigation across varying crowd conditions.
Keywords
Constrained Reinforcement Learning (CRL) Social Navigation Robot Navigation Safety Constraints Human-Aware Navigation
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-05-05 , Earliest start: 2026-09-01 , Latest end: 2027-04-30
Organization Spinal Cord Injury & Artificial Intelligence Lab
Hosts Alyassi Rashid , Alyassi Rashid , Alyassi Rashid
Topics Engineering and Technology
Learning-based Mapping for Robot crowd-aware Navigation
Learning-based crowd mapping predicts global crowd density and flow from sparse robot observations, enabling crowd-aware global planning beyond local perception. The approach integrates multi-modal priors (e.g., calendars via LLMs) to capture temporal patterns and is validated in simulation and real-world navigation tasks.
Keywords
SLAM Crowd mapping Robot navigation Global planning LLMs Spatio-temporal modeling
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-05-05 , Earliest start: 2026-09-01 , Latest end: 2027-03-31
Organization Spinal Cord Injury & Artificial Intelligence Lab
Hosts Alyassi Rashid , Alyassi Rashid , Alyassi Rashid
Topics Engineering and Technology
Reinforcement Learning for Crowd-Aware Robot Navigation
This project focuses on improving RL-based social navigation by creating a simulation framework with diverse and realistic human behaviors. Current RL methods often train on simplified crowds where all pedestrians behave similarly, which limits generalization in real-world environments.
Keywords
RL, Robot Navigation
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Master Thesis
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Published since: 2026-05-05 , Earliest start: 2026-09-01 , Latest end: 2027-03-31
Applications limited to ETH Zurich
Organization Spinal Cord Injury & Artificial Intelligence Lab
Hosts Alyassi Rashid , Alyassi Rashid , Alyassi Rashid
Topics Engineering and Technology
Your own project ideas?
It is always possible to find a project for motivated students with own ideas in the fields of assistive healthcare technologies , augmented feedback in motor learning, and sports engineering. Please send an email to the indicated contact person of our current research pillars that most closely matches your idea.