Nihar Sabnis

Nihar Sabnis joined the SMS Lab in May 2026 as an ETH Postdoctoral Fellow supported by the ETH Postdoctoral Fellowship. His research focuses on developing embodied vibrotactile feedback technologies for motor learning, with the goal of enhancing the acquisition, retention, and transfer of motor skills. In particular, he investigates how motion-coupled vibrotactile feedback can be integrated into the human sensorimotor loop such that the feedback becomes perceptually attenuated and is experienced as embodied during movement. To achieve this, his work combines the development of tactile rendering algorithms, sensing and actuation technologies, and human-in-the-loop tactile interfaces, alongside conducting user studies to evaluate motor learning in lab-based and real-world contexts.

Prior to joining ETH Zurich, Nihar completed his PhD in Computer Science at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, where his research focused on designing embodied material and force experiences through motion-coupled vibrotactile feedback. During his PhD period, he was also a visiting researcher at KAIST in South Korea. He obtained his MSc degree in Biomechanical Design from Delft University of Technology, where he worked on vibrotactile feedback for movement modulation and completed an industrial internship in the field of haptics. Before moving to Europe, Nihar completed his Bachelor's of Mechanical Engineering in 2018 at the Savitribai Phule Pune University in his home city of Pune in India.

Nihar’s long-term research vision is to advance embodied technologies for motor learning by bridging haptics, human perception, and motor learning. He aims to translate fundamental research into impactful applications for sports training, rehabilitation, and education, while contributing to the development of embodied motor learning as an emerging interdisciplinary research field. He is also actively engaged in science outreach and technology education initiatives. Besides being a researcher, Nihar plays competitive badminton, loves hiking, playing chess, and studying Vedanta (core branch of Indian philosophy).