Ten students from the United States and Canada conducted research at the Institute of Assembly Technology and Robotics (match) at Leibniz University Hannover from 20 May to 31 July 2026.
Eight of them participated in the Summer Engineering Research Program (SERP), an English-language research programme at Leibniz University Hannover for bachelor’s and master’s students in engineering and the natural sciences.
Two of the students came to Hannover through the DAAD’s RISE Germany programme, which arranges internships at German research institutions for bachelor’s students from North America, the United Kingdom, or Ireland.
Exchange offered insight into research
The participants were Olivia Cai, Yuvraj Singh, Alex Cancino Magaña, Sophie Dubé, Ben Krotonsky, Maria J. Nunning, Henry Zhu, Maxwell Fancher, Junho Yoon and Conner Andrews. Together with their supervisors, they addressed current questions in robotics and automation.
Their topics ranged from air-based feeding systems and origami-inspired soft actuators to the detection of falling workpieces, AI-supported robotic systems and applications for Apple Vision Pro. The stay gave the students an opportunity to experience research under real laboratory conditions and develop solutions of their own. At the same time, they contributed fresh perspectives as well as useful data, models and software components to their supervisors’ ongoing research.
Current projects in robotics and automation
Ben Krotonsky, Maria J. Nunning and Henry Zhu developed and tested algorithms for a system that reorients workpieces with targeted pulses of air. Their work is intended to make the prototype more flexible and reliable when handling parts with different geometries and sizes from one to eight centimetres.
Under the supervision of Karina Guadalupe Velázquez Flores, Alex Cancino Magaña and Sophie Dubé investigated origami-inspired pneumatic actuators. Material properties, curing times, payload tests and nonlinear finite-element models provide foundations for future simulations and designs. When Sophie Dubé’s first material model failed to fit the experimental data, switching models brought simulation and reality into alignment. Alex Cancino Magaña changed how earlier simulations were handled and achieved convergence even at extreme parameter values.
Conner Andrews and Junho Yoon worked on concepts that enable robots to detect falling parts, predict their trajectories and catch them in mid-air. Conner Andrews condensed his scripts into a graphical user interface. Junho Yoon saw how a colleague’s perspective on the workflow exposed the source of a stubborn coordinate-system error.
Olivia Cai developed an agentic artificial intelligence software pipeline for simple pick-and-place tasks with a dual-arm robot. In her final week, she used methods from computer vision and linear algebra to make a robot arm assemble a puzzle. Yuvraj Singh developed an Apple Vision Pro application designed to place machine telemetry and warnings directly in an operator’s field of view. He also found a technical solution to restrictions affecting access by third-party applications.
New perspectives for supervisors
The results support ongoing research beyond the summer. Karina Guadalupe Velázquez Flores can reuse the material and payload data in future simulations and in the design and validation of similar soft robotic structures. The students supervised by Dasha Maria Shieff produced algorithms and experimental results for the further development of the air-based feeding system. “I think I learn a lot from my students,” says Dasha Maria Shieff, referring both to their research insights and to the international exchange.
The value for supervisors is not limited to the additional results. Defining a project for a limited period requires clear goals, interfaces and success criteria. Questions can expose implicit assumptions, while new perspectives can help resolve persistent problems. For research staff, supervision also offers an opportunity to gain experience in project leadership, feedback and working in English in an international setting.
This potential depends on the basics: hardware and software ready for use, a well-bounded task, early access to the robotic systems and short feedback loops. Supervision requires time at the outset. When prepared well, however, it can produce reusable code, experimental data, better-documented procedures and new research questions. Karina Guadalupe Velázquez Flores would supervise visiting students again and regards the stay as beneficial for everyone involved.
Research experience and international exchange
For the students, the summer meant taking responsibility for open research questions. Conner Andrews learned to work more independently and persevere through obstacles. Yuvraj Singh valued the creative freedom and advises future participants to speak openly with their supervisors and ask for help early. Olivia Cai followed a “fail fast and fail often” approach: test ideas early, learn from setbacks and avoid trying to perfect the first version.
The exchange also extended beyond the laboratory. Sophie Dubé especially remembers daily lunches at which a cohort working on different projects discussed technical questions together. Alex Cancino Magaña left Hannover wanting to learn more languages so that he could exchange ideas with more people in his field. The research stay thus combined concrete contributions to ongoing projects with hands-on research experience and international collaboration – benefiting both the students and the researchers supervising them at match.
