PhD position in Biohybrid Robotics — ETH Zürich

Application process

• The Soft Robotics Lab within the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at ETH Zurich is inviting applications for an open doctoral position.
• We are looking for an excellent researcher to join and advance our research efforts in the fabrication and control of biohybrid robots.
• Our lab's goal is to build, model, and control robots in a fundamentally different way, so that they become more flexible, dexterous, capable, and adapt better to their environment.
• On the biohybrid side, the lab has recently demonstrated 3D-bioprinted muscle-tendon interfaces with enhanced force transmission (Science Advances, 2025) and sensor-embedded muscle enabling closed-loop proprioceptive control (Advanced Intelligent Systems, 2025), work that has been featured in ETH press and international robotics media.
• Project background The frontier of research in soft robotics aims at replacing classic soft materials used for actuators with biological ones (muscle) to take advantage of the innate adaptability, energy efficiency, and softness of biological systems.
• While a few years ago these biohybrid robots (bio-bots) could be considered a matter for science fiction, recent work has demonstrated fish-like swimming bio-bots, caterpillar-like walking bio-bots, and even pick-and-place biological machines powered by engineered muscle tissue.
• Within this research area, the SRL designs, fabricates, and characterizes muscle-driven biohybrid robots.
• Muscle constructs are produced using hydrogel casting, micro-molding, and light- and extrusion-based bioprinting, then actuated through electrical stimulation and analyzed via motion tracking.