ARENA Lab
Autonomous Robotics & Embodied Neural Agents
Infrastructures & Simulation · Social Robotics · Embodied AI
Directed by Prof. Linh Kästner
We specialize in providing infrastructures and realistic simulation for developing social robotics using foundation models, generative AI, computer vision and many more.
Interested in one of these topics? Reach out to us
NEWS from ARENA
- 14 OctPEDS accepted at IEEE RA-L, to be presented at ICRA 2027! (opens in a new tab)
- 09 OctPaper accepted at NeurIPS 2026! (opens in a new tab)
- 01 OctARENA Lab at IROS 2026 in Pittsburgh (opens in a new tab)
- 10 Jul3 papers accepted at IROS 2026!
- 05 JulLinh leading organizing team for IROS 2026 Social Navigation Workshop (opens in a new tab)
- 01 JulWelcome Diego Diaz — incoming PhD student (2027)
- paperPaper accepted at NeurIPS 2026!"Change-Robust Online Topological Memory for Long-Term Relocalization and Semantic Navigation" by Jiaming Wang, Jizhuo Chen, Diwen Liu, Atharva Ghotavadekar,… (opens in a new tab)
- eventARENA Lab at IROS 2026 in PittsburghThe lab presented two papers at IEEE/RSJ IROS 2026 in Pittsburgh: D3D-GEN, robot-aware domain-grounded 3D world generation for social robotics (Duc Anh Do an… (opens in a new tab)
- paper3 papers accepted at IROS 2026!Three papers from ARENA Lab have been accepted at IEEE/RSJ IROS 2026.
- workshopLinh leading organizing team for IROS 2026 Social Navigation WorkshopLinh Kästner is leading the organizing committee for the Social Navigation Workshop at IROS 2026. (opens in a new tab)
Our latest works and projects from ARENA Lab
Our newest papers on social navigation, simulation and embodied AI. Browse every publication with its code, videos and datasets.
NeurIPS 2026Change-Robust Online Topological Memory…
IEEE RA-L + ICRA 2027PEDS
IEEE/RSJ IROS 2026GROVESee ARENA in Action
From hospital corridors to warehouses and panic-flow crowds — robots trained on the Arena platform deployed across the scenarios that matter.
Last-mile delivery in busy hospital corridors
A learning-based planner navigates hospital corridors among nurses, patients, and medical equipment — trained entirely in our photorealistic Arena simulator before sim-to-real deployment.
- Trained in Arena 5.0 photorealistic simulation
- Socially-compliant policy with crowd modelling
- Sim-to-real with zero hand-tuning per site
Developing Social Robotics That Work With and For Humans
Our research spans foundation models, embodied AI, and social robotics — from perception and planning to real-world deployment.
Foundation Models
Vision-Language-Action models enabling robots to understand instructions, reason about scenes, and act in the real world.
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Embodied AI
Building intelligent agents that perceive and act in the physical world through multi-modal learning and simulation.
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Social Robotics
Robots that navigate safely and interact naturally with humans in dense, dynamic social environments.
Learn moreSimulation & Digital Twins
Photorealistic simulation environments for training, evaluating, and deploying autonomous robot behaviors.
Learn moreHow to Join ARENA Lab
Explore Topics
Browse our research areas and find what excites you.
Review Positions
Check available positions matching your background.
Complete Screening
Submit a short technical assessment relevant to the role.
Join the Team
Start contributing to cutting-edge robotics research.
Join Our Team
PhD Student (External)
External PhD evaluated on publication count, part or full-time, earning degree with prestigious partner universities.
Postdoctoral Researcher
Lead independent research projects, collaborate with international teams, and contribute to grant proposals. Opportunity to establish yourself as a leading researcher.
Research Intern / Student Assistant
Participate in semester projects or 3-12 months paid internships. Work alongside experienced researchers, contribute to publications at top conferences.
Master Thesis – Generative World Models
Explore generative world models for robot navigation. Investigate how learned world models enhance planning and decision-making.
Student Developer – ARENA Platform
Contribute to the ARENA simulation platform. Develop features, fix bugs, improve documentation.
Ready to Shape the Future of Robotics?
Join a team of passionate researchers working at the intersection of AI, robotics, and human-centered design.