Research Overview

The Physical Intelligence Department, founded by Prof. Metin Sitti, started its research activities in the fall of 2014 at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. Our department aims to understand the principles of design, locomotion, control, perception, and learning of single and large numbers of small-scale mobile robots made of smart and soft materials as our physical intelligence platforms. The intelligence of such robots would dominantly come from their physical design, materials, and control more than, or in addition to, their computational perception, learning, and control. Such physical intelligence methods are indispensable at the small scale, especially since small-scale mobile robots are inherently limited in computation, actuation, powering, perception, and control capabilities.