ARENA Lab
Autonomous Robotics & Embodied Neural Agents
Foundation Models · Embodied AI · Social Robotics
Directed by Prof. Linh Kästner
Pushing the Boundaries of Robot Intelligence
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.
Learn moreEmbodied AI
Building intelligent agents that perceive and act in the physical world through multi-modal learning and simulation.
Learn moreSocial 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.
Recent Papers
Arena-Bench 2.0: A Comprehensive Benchmark of Social Navigation Approaches in Collaborative Environments
Volodymyr Shcherbyna, Linh Kästner, Huajian Zeng, Jiaming Wang, Nhan Trinh, Zhengchen Shen, Giang Nguyen Huu Truong, Tim Lenz, Duc Anh Do, Ahmed Martban, and Eva Wiese
Arena-Rosnav 5.0: A Photorealistic ROS2 Simulation Framework for Developing and Benchmarking Social Navigation
Volodymyr Shcherbyna, Linh Kästner, Huajian Zeng, Giang Nguyen Huu Truong, Tim Lenz, Nam Truong Tran, Ahmed Martban, and Harold Soh
Arena-Rosnav 4.0: A Comprehensive ROS2 Platform for Human-Centric Navigation and AI-Enhanced Environment Generation
Volodymyr Shcherbyna, Linh Kästner, Huajian Zeng, Giang Nguyen Huu Truong, Maximilian Ho-Kyoung Schreff, Tim Lenz, Nam Truong Tran, Diego Diaz, Ahmed Martban, Jonas Kreutz, and Harold Soh
Latest from ARENA Lab
Papers accepted at ICRA 2026!
Multiple papers from ARENA Lab accepted at IEEE ICRA 2026. Congratulations to all authors!
Welcome Tuan Anh and Roman to ARENA Lab!
Tuan Anh Le joins as PhD student and Roman Sonkin as Research Assistant. Welcome to the team!
Zhengcheng Shen promoted to Postdoc
Congratulations to Zhengcheng Shen on completing his PhD and joining ARENA Lab as a Postdoctoral Researcher!
Ready to Shape the Future of Robotics?
Join a team of passionate researchers working at the intersection of AI, robotics, and human-centered design.