Prof. Dr. Knut Graichen

Chair of Automatic Control

Our research focuses on the model & control design, analysis, and optimization of dynamical systems from different domains including robotics and human-machine interaction. It is also important for us to bring control and AI related research into practice by closely cooperating with industry, for instance from the automotive domain, robotics and process automation.

Research projects

  • Cooperative manipulation with dual-arm robots at the payload limit (headed bei Dr. Andreas Völz)
  • Kinesthetic teaching and predictive control of interaction tasks in robotics
  • Distributed model predictive control of nonlinear systems with asynchronous communication

  • Energy-Efficient Electro-Photonic Integrated Circuits for High-Performance Computing

    (Third Party Funds Group – Overall project)

    Term: 1. April 2025 - 31. March 2028
    Funding source: Bayerische Forschungsstiftung
  • Prototypical development of an Aceton / Isopropanol hydrogen storage system for stationary seasonal energy storage

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 1. February 2025 - 31. March 2028
    Funding source: Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft
  • Advanced monitoring and optimization for robotic strain wave gears

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 1. November 2024 - 30. April 2026
    Funding source: Industrie
  • Receding horizon time-optimal path parameterization for robotic manipulators

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 1. July 2024 - 31. December 2025
    Funding source: Industrie
  • Optimized Reinforcement Architecture for Complex Energy Management

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 1. July 2024 - 30. June 2027
    Funding source: Industrie
  • Development of an innovative camera-based framework for collision-free human-machine movement

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 1. February 2024 - 31. January 2026
    Funding source: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE)
  • OXO-LOHC: Autotherme und ultratiefe Wasserstoff-Freisetzung aus LOHC

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 1. November 2023 - 31. October 2028
    Funding source: Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft
  • Model predictive flight control

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 1. August 2023 - 31. July 2026
    Funding source: Industrie
  • Robust energy-based control of MMC/HVDC systems

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 15. June 2023 - 31. December 2026
    Funding source: Industrie
  • Hardware architecture, automatic control, autonomy functionality, and developer community: Modular learning control and planning for mobile professional operation vehicles

    (Third Party Funds Group – Sub project)

    Overall project: POV.OS - Hardware and software platform for mobile professional operation vehicles
    Term: 1. January 2023 - 31. December 2025
    Funding source: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE)
  • Formulation of dispersed systems via (melt) emulsification: Process design, in situ diagnostics and regulation

    (Third Party Funds Group – Sub project)

    Overall project: Autonome Prozesse in der Partikeltechnik - Erforschung und Erprobung von Konzepten zur modellbasierten Führung partikeltechnischer Prozesse
    Term: 1. January 2023 - 31. December 2025
    Funding source: DFG / Schwerpunktprogramm (SPP)
    The aim of this project is the automated production of liquid-liquid disperse systems via melt emulsification, whereby in this process emulsification takes place at elevated temperature. The products obtained after cooling are dispersions of spherical nanoparticles or microparticles. Within the scope of this project, a melt emulsification device for the automated production of product particles with a well-defined particle size distribution (PSD) will be further developed. The PSD has a significant influence on the subsequent product properties, such as flow behavior or drug release kinetics. The PSD of the products is determined by the complex interaction of competing mechanisms. These are, in particular, droplet breakup in a rotor-stator device as a result of shear and elongation stress, as well as coalescence and further ripening, which in turn depend on the system composition, i.e. the emulsifier used (type, concentration) and the dispersion phase (viscosity, volume fraction). Therefore, for a better process understanding and an active process control, possibilities for in situ determination of the PSD are urgently required. In this project, a novel fiber-coupled measurement system based on broadband elastic light scattering is developed for in situ measurement of the PSD. The system will be validated on reference particle systems and applied to the emulsification process. Furthermore, a hybrid process model is developed, which is the basis for the design of a model predictive control of the process. The model predictive control in combination with the in situ measurement will provide the possibility for an active process control and the production of emulsions with predefined properties and a simultaneous optimization of the process time.
  • Predictive and learning control methods

    (Third Party Funds Group – Sub project)

    Overall project: AGENT-2: Agent-based data-driven modeling for stochastic and self-adjusting control of building energy systems
    Term: 1. November 2022 - 31. October 2025
    Funding source: Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWE)
    To achieve climate targets, CO2 emissions in the building sector have to be significantly reduced. However, the integration of renewable energy sources increases the complexity of building energy systems and thus the requirements for the operation strategy. Model-based and predictive controllers are necessary for efficient operation. However, due to the high complexity of the energy systems, the development, implementation, and commissioning are very complex leading to high costs, which is why model predictive and optimization-based control strategies are rarely used in practice so far. The goal of the AGENT-2 project is to develop a self-adjusting and self-learning model-predictive control concept that reduces the implementation and commissioning effort and thus increases the applicability of efficient operating strategies in practice. The control concept to be developed is based on distributed agents, each of which learns the system behavior of a subsystem and controls the subsystem. This is based on the findings and the framework developed in the previous project AGENT. The operation of the overall system is achieved by the interaction oft h e self-learning agents with each other. Thus, a self-adjusting and scalable control strategy for building energy systems is created. The self-learning control strategy is compared with state-of-the-art concepts in simulations and tested in practical operation in two demonstration buildings. The findings will be generalized and possibilities for the transfer into practice will be investigated. The project thus contributes to increasing the efficiency of building operation and to reducing the costs of controller implementation and commissioning.
  • Robust Planning and Control using Probabilistic Methods

    (Third Party Funds Group – Sub project)

    Overall project: Verbundprojekt MANNHEIM-AUTOtech.agil: Architektur und Technologien zur Orchestrierung automobiltechnischer Agilität
    Term: 1. October 2022 - 30. September 2025
    Funding source: Bundesministerium für Forschung, Technologie und Raumfahrt (BMFTR)

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

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