TTZ Nürnberger Land | Mobile Robotics Research Group — Prof. Dr. Christian Pfitzner

Human-Robot Interaction on the UR12e – Tic-Tac-Toe as an Interactive Demo

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Motivation

Collaborative robot arms such as the UR12e make robotics immediately tangible — especially when people can interact with them directly. A game like Tic-Tac-Toe is ideal for this: everyone knows the rules, the outcome is easy to follow, and the robot demonstrates perception, decision-making and precise motion in a single, illustrative sequence.

At the TTZ Nürnberger Land, this is to become the basis for a demonstrator that makes robotics graspable for a broad audience — at family events, open-house days and for visitor groups. At the same time, the project serves as a platform to put concepts of safe human-robot interaction into practice.

Work Packages

Perception

Camera-based detection of the board and the placed game pieces
Calibration between camera and robot coordinate frames (hand-eye calibration)

Game Logic

Implementation of the Tic-Tac-Toe logic (e.g. minimax) for move computation
Detection of game end, win, loss and draw

Robot Control

Control of the UR12e via its existing interfaces (ROS or URScript)
Grasping and safely placing the game pieces
Functional safety in collaborative operation (force/speed limiting)

Interaction & Demo

Intuitive game flow and user guidance understandable for non-experts
Robustness testing and preparation as a presentable demo
Optional outlook: conceptual extension to chess

Requirements

Programming skills in Python and/or C++
Ideally some prior exposure to robotics
Interest in computer vision, game logic and human-robot interaction
Enthusiasm for hands-on work with real robot hardware

This topic is offered as a project or bachelor’s thesis and, given a good fit, can serve as a foundation for follow-up work (e.g. extension to chess).

Supervision

Role	Name	E-Mail
Supervisor	Prof. Dr. Christian Pfitzner	christian.pfitzner@th-nuernberg.de
Co-Supervisor	M. Sc. Patrick Fußy	patrick.fussy@th-nuernberg.de

Location: TTZ Nürnberger Land / TH Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm

Commissioning and HMI Development for the Reachy Mini at TTZ Nürnberger Land

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Motivation

The Reachy Mini is one of the most accessible open-source platforms for exploring human-robot interaction. Its compact form factor, expressive head movement, and multimodal sensing (camera, microphones, speaker, antennas) make it ideal for studies and demonstrations where intuitive human-machine communication is at the forefront.

At TTZ Nürnberger Land, it is intended to serve as a lively research and demonstration platform — for technology presentations, visitor interaction, and experimental HRI research.

Work Packages

Commissioning

Assembly and setup of the hardware (Reachy Mini Wireless)
Installation and configuration of the software environment (Python, web dashboard)
Exploration of available APIs, Hugging Face Spaces, and development interfaces

Application Development

Selection and elaboration of a concrete HMI application scenario
Implementation of the interaction logic (speech, gesture, facial expression, camera feedback)
Integration of AI components (e.g. speech recognition, face detection)

Evaluation & Documentation

User study or structured evaluation of the developed application
Documentation of the system as a basis for follow-up projects at TTZ

Requirements

Basic knowledge of Python
Interest in human-robot interaction, AI, or service robotics
Creativity in designing interaction scenarios
Ideally, first experience with embedded systems, Raspberry Pi, or ROS

Depending on the focus and scope, the topic can be carried out as a project thesis, bachelor’s thesis, or master’s thesis.

Supervision

Role	Name	E-Mail
Supervisor	Prof. Dr. Christian Pfitzner	christian.pfitzner@th-nuernberg.de

Location: TTZ Nürnberger Land / TH Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm

Emergent Systems in Production

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Project Description

This 3-semester M-APR project (starting WiSe 2026/2027) compares centralised and decentralised coordination strategies for heterogeneous robot fleets in simulated and real production scenarios. The scientific contribution lies in the empirical characterisation of the transition between both coordination paradigms under varied adversarial conditions.

Structure over Three Semesters

Semester 1 — Foundations and Simulation

Literature review on decentralised coordination and multi-agent reinforcement learning
Building the ROS 2-based simulation environment (at least two agent types: mobile and stationary)
Implementation of a centralised baseline and a simple decentralised approach

Semester 2 — Comparative Study and Learning-Based Coordination

Implementation of learning-based decentralised coordination (MARL)
Systematic comparison under varied adversarial conditions (communication failure, machine failure, dynamic order changes)
Statistical evaluation and identification of transition points between coordination regimes

Semester 3 — Validation and Publication

Transfer of selected scenarios to real hardware at TTZ
Evaluation of sim-to-real transferability
Completion of master’s thesis and preparation of a conference publication (MAPR conference)

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer science, mechatronics, robotics or equivalent
Programming in C++ and/or Python
Basic knowledge of machine learning / reinforcement learning
Experience with ROS 2 and simulation (Gazebo or similar) is an advantage
Interest in multi-agent systems and production robotics

This topic can also be completed as a project or master’s thesis subject to agreement.

Supervision

Role	Name	E-Mail
Supervisor	Prof. Dr. Christian Pfitzner	christian.pfitzner@th-nuernberg.de
Co-Supervisor	Waldemar Haag	waldemar.haag@th-nuernberg.de

Location: TTZ Nürnberger Land, Lauf an der Pegnitz

Further information: TTZ Nürnberger Land · Mobile Robotics Lab

Case Study on the Use of New Technologies in Companies

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

About the TTZ Nürnberger Land

The Technology Transfer Centre Nürnberger Land aims to advance knowledge transfer from research into primarily small and medium-sized enterprises in the Nürnberger Land region. The centre maintains a broad network of companies in this region.

Your Tasks

Methodical preparation and execution of company surveys
Identification of suitable companies in the Nürnberger Land region
Conducting interviews with decision-makers
Evaluation and summarising presentation of the results
Classification of relevant technologies (AI, robotics, automation) for the sector

Requirements

Interest in case studies
Broad technical background
Communication skills
Organisational ability
Independent and goal-oriented working style

Supervision

Please send your CV and a transcript of records to:

Role	Name	E-Mail
Supervisor	Patrick Fußy	patrick.fussy@th-nuernberg.de

Handling of Flexible Materials Using Robot Arms

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Project Description

This 3-semester M-APR project (starting WiSe 2026/2027) addresses the handling of flexible materials by robot arms. The exact focus is agreed jointly and can cover hardware aspects (gripping technologies) or software/AI aspects (simulation, learning-based control). The work concludes with implementation in a real robot cell at the TTZ Nürnberger Land.

Possible Focus Areas

Hardware-oriented

Analysis of gripping principles for flexible materials (vacuum, adhesive, form-adaptive)
Development and fabrication of a specialised gripper
Experimental evaluation of reproducibility

Software / AI-oriented

Building a simulation environment for deformable objects
Model-based control or Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL)
Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models for flexible manipulation
Sim-to-real transfer and evaluation in the robot cell

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer science, mechatronics, robotics or equivalent
Programming in C++ and/or Python
Basic knowledge of machine learning
Basic knowledge of robotics
Interest in flexible material handling
Independent and goal-oriented working style
Willingness to engage with new topics

This topic can also be completed as a project or master’s thesis subject to agreement.

Supervision

Role	Name	E-Mail
Supervisor	Prof. Dr. Christian Pfitzner	christian.pfitzner@th-nuernberg.de
Co-Supervisor	M. Sc. Patrick Fußy	patrick.fussy@th-nuernberg.de

Location: TTZ Nürnberger Land, Martin-Luther-Straße 18, Lauf an der Pegnitz

Further information: TTZ Nürnberger Land · Mobile Robotics Lab

Two Days of Robotics under Competition Conditions

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On 23 and 24 February 2026, TH Nürnberg organised its first RoboCup Junior Rescue qualifying tournament at the Technology Transfer Centre Nürnberger Land (TTZ). More than 60 students in 23 teams took part. The competition served as a regional qualifying round for the German Championship, held from 10 to 14 March 2026 in Cologne.

The tournament featured rescue robotics scenarios of varying difficulty. Participants’ self-built robots had to navigate obstacles and search for simulated missing persons. The first day of competition included arrivals, test runs, and initial rounds. On the second day, two further rounds per discipline followed.

Nine of the 23 teams qualified for the German Championship in Cologne. The award ceremony took place in the presence of District Administrator Armin Kroder and the Mayor of Lauf. Several regional companies and institutions provided financial support for the event.

Source: TH Nürnberg — Original article