Eggenberger Award for Jasan Zughaibi

Pneumatically actuated soft robotic systems show promise for a variety of applications. They are characterized by low weight and inherent compliance due to the soft materials deployed, allowing for close human-robot collaboration. In his Master’s thesis “Design, Modeling and Control of a Spherical Soft Robotic Arm for Pick-and-Place Applications”, Jasan Zughaibi designed a soft robotic arm and the control algorithms for fast and reliable object manipulation.

Jasan uses design-optimization techniques and other systematic tools for the mechanical design of the system. He introduces an analytical control allocation strategy that simplifies the modeling and control and enables the simultaneous control of position and stiffness. A robust feedback controller was developed which stabilizes the system for large variations in the payload, allowing to manipulate payloads that are up to three times heavier than the robot arm itself. The control system is augmented with an iterative learning control scheme, enabling trajectory tracking of agile manoeuvres. To view the robot arm in action, see this video about Jasan Zughaibi's research.

Jasan Zughaibi joins the Center for Learning Systems (CLS) as a doctoral fellow from June 1, 2022 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Brad Nelson (Professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, D-MAVT, ETH Zurich) and co-supervised by Dr. Michael Mühlebach (Head of the Learning and Dynamical Systems Group, MPI-IS Tübingen). For his doctoral research, Jasan will continue his research in the field of soft robotics, developing intelligent control algorithms for magnetically actuated continuum robots.

The Hans-Eggenberger-Foundation awards this prize, which includes financial support for a follow-on project, annually to outstanding young scientists for research at Bachelors, Masters or doctoral level. Rewarded are projects which feature electronics or electrical engineering in an interdisciplinary context. In receiving this prize, Jasan follows in the footsteps of CLS faculty member Professor Marco Hutter, who was awarded the prize in 2009 for his Master Thesis “Hopping with an Articulated Robotic Leg”. Jasan shares the 2022 prize with one other student and his work was rewarded with CHF 5,000.

Jasan Zughaibi 's work was previously awarded with ETEL Master Award 2021. The award is presented annually for the best Master’s thesis in mechatronics at the Departments of Mechanical and Process Engineering as well as Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. It is donated by ETEL S.A. and endowed with CHF 3,000. Jasan shared the 2021 award with Yaohui Huang, also supervised by Professor Raffaello D’Andrea.

Adapted from ETH News item: Eggenberger Award for Jasan Zughaibi