Technische Universität Dortmund

The Chair of Control Systems Engineering at the Institute for Robotics Research at TU Dortmund conducts research on automated, connected, and sustainable mobility as well as service robotics in both fundamental and application-oriented topics. The innovative research process begins with the idea, continues with scientific analysis and synthesis, and ends in the engineering context with feasibility and/or a prototype. The scientists contribute their ideas, skills, and experiences to public and bilateral research and development projects. In the themes of future mobility, our research focuses on scene description, situation prediction including trajectory prediction, and decision-making in maneuver planning regarding the movement behavior of the EGO vehicle and other traffic participants. In situation prediction and maneuver planning, the behavior and the physical and psychological state of the driver, passengers, and pedestrians are also studied and taken into account in the overall planning for automated driving. In service robotics, the cooperation between humans and robots is the focus of our research. We develop concepts and methods for model predictive real-time trajectory planning and control in shared workspaces. In lightweight robotics, we design models and controls for flexible robotic arms. The research work is oriented towards concrete questions, which are also evaluated in x-in-the-loop simulation and finally in prototype trials, to address questions that go beyond scientific verification and validation from the perspective of application and technical realization. In the field of automated driving, methods from machine and deep learning as well as artificial intelligence are increasingly being used – in all development areas, from perception to trajectory planning and control. In addition to developing the latest algorithms in this area, we also have the necessary hardware and the latest technical requirements to apply these methods with maximum efficiency quickly to new challenges. Another focus is on the development and application of forward-looking methods for the systematic derivation and development of requirement-compliant solutions, ensuring that the overall system is not overlooked.