The aim of this project is to design and carry out a comprehensive experimental study to evaluate different levels of intelligence in a pneumatic shoulder exoskeleton. The student is to conduct experiments with different users and various movement tasks in the laboratory, record and analyse system data, upper limb data and user feedback, compare the performance of the intelligence levels, and finally provide concrete proposals for optimising the control parameters, the structure of the intelligence levels and the exoskeleton’s assistance behaviour.

• Investigation and analysis of the technical design of the pneumatic shoulder exoskeleton and the existing intelligence levels
• Design of a scientific experimental protocol for evaluating the system in the laboratory
• Definition of suitable movement tasks for comparing intelligence levels, including tasks involving tools or workpieces
• Definition of evaluation criteria for system performance, including reduction in muscle activity, user comfort, perceived level of assistance, naturalness of movement, sense of safety, system latency, pressure stability and user preference
• Investigation of differences in system performance between different users and assessment of the need for user-dependent or movement-task-dependent settings

• Assessment of the state of the art regarding gluteal insufficiency and medical/therapeutic exoskeletons
• Musculoskeletal simulation to determine a potential application of an exoskeleton for patients with gluteal muscle weakness
• Design of an exoskeleton prototype for the treatment of patients with gluteal insufficiency

• Assessment of the state of the art regarding industrial activities to be supported by exoskeletons and human simulation
• Definition of suitable use cases for biomechanical load reduction through exoskeletons
• Design of a simulation method using human musculoskeletal models to determine the required support curve of exoskeletons for various industrial tasks, depending on the target optimisation criterion

• Assessment of the state of the art
• Design and construction of a workstation for integrating an exoskeleton, smart hand tools and a digital assistance system
• Facilitating an environment for the collection, processing and utilisation of data from sub-partners

• Analysis of the current state of the art in methods for estimating ground reaction forces without the use of force plates
• Development of an approach for determining ground reaction forces and centres of pressure using simulations of the musculoskeletal system
• Verification of the estimated values using experimental data
• Evaluation of applicability for static and dynamic tasks in laboratory and industrial contexts

Currently, an innovative small-scale production plant for processing high-purity critical raw materials
in continuous operation (24/7) without any significant plant control. However, this must be monitored manually
to ensure safe operation. Due to the varying properties of the raw materials and the initial states of the metal oxides used for processing, this must be automated for quality and economic
reasons. A basic concept for practical implementation and integration into the
overall process and plant operation is already in place.
Tasks:

• Evaluation of the measurement, control and automation concept for practical integration into the
  production plant
• Selection of suitable measurement and automation tools and, where applicable, visualisation options
• Integration and programming into the existing system and process landscape
• Development of a future interface for subsequent robot automation and, where applicable, further
  subsequent steps

• Literature review on existing finite element models of the glenohumeral joint and on modelling approaches for shoulder ligaments and capsular structures
• Development or adaptation of a simplified finite element model of the shoulder joint, focusing on selected ligament structures
• Definition of suitable material models, boundary conditions and load cases for investigating ligament loading
• Analysis of ligament elongation, stress distribution, elongation and force behaviour for selected arm positions and load scenarios

• Comparison of modelling and simulation workflows in OpenSim and AnyBody.
• Investigation of methodological differences in the integration and simulation of exoskeletons.
• Analysis and comparison of simulation results (e.g. joint moments, muscle forces or motion sequences).
• Evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of both programmes in terms of accuracy, usability and areas of application.

• Literature review on spider kinematics, drive concepts for artificial spiders, brainstorming (e.g. inspiration from BionicWheelBot)
• Derivation of inverse kinematics
• Modelling/simulation of movements with simple obstacles
• Equilibrium problem, distribution of forces

• Literature review on open-source robotic arms/cobots
• Model comparison in terms of capabilities, effort, further development, etc.
• Component selection, 3D printing, possibly geometric adaptation (CAD design)
• Control programming
• Assembly, testing, optimisation for user-friendliness
• Documentation of results

• Literature review on alternatives available on the market
• Concept development of extruder
• CAD design, component selection, 3D printing
• Control programming
• Assembly, testing
• Documentation of results

Humanoid industrial robots are intended to operate in dynamic environments where full autonomy
is often insufficient and full manual control is inefficient. In such environments, shared autonomy offers a promising approach by combining autonomous robotic capabilities with human supervision and
intervention. A key challenge is deciding when the robot should act autonomously, when it should
request the operator’s assistance, and when it should switch to a safer or more controlled mode. This is
particularly relevant for humanoid robots such as the Unitree G1, which are capable of performing complex tasks
but must remain reliable, interpretable and safe in industrial scenarios.
The work will focus on the
design, implementation and evaluation of a switching framework using ROS 2 and the Unitree G1
platform or a similar experimental setup. The work should include:

• Defining levels of autonomy for industrial humanoid operation
• Identification of relevant switching conditions such as uncertainty, task status and error cases
• Design of a decision-making logic for autonomy transitions
• Implementation of the control framework in ROS 2
• Integration with the Unitree G1 software stack
• Testing in representative industrial task scenarios
• Evaluation using performance- and intervention-related metrics