FAPS ranks among Europe’s best in the Neura Robotics Challenge

A team from the FAPS chair of ESI member Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Franke, consisting of research assistants Gabriela García and Sagni Majumdar as well as five master’s students from the M.Sc. Electromobility program, reached the final of the Neura Robotics Challenge and took fifth place.

The team was the only finalist team in the humanoid robotics category. Their project focused on developing a system that enables humanoid robots to understand and respond to German Sign Language (DGS). In doing so, they addressed an industrial-level challenge: bridging the communication gap for people who do not communicate verbally.

The final took place on October 1, 2025, as part of AI Palooza and brought together the best university teams from across Europe. In this high-caliber competition, the FAPS team was awarded €15,000 in prize money and will also receive a robot from Neura Robotics on loan for one year to further advance research in the field of social and assistive robotics.

Participants included Gabriela García, Sagni Majumdar, and electric mobility students Cristo Floyd Cheeran, Saran K. S., Baranidharan Kalimuthu, Vishal Vilas Shendge, and Sainath Rakesh Nimmagadda.

Category: News