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The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute

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The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute

© SDU

The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute conducts research within robotics, software, AI, and other technologies to the benefit of society.

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Exciting opportunities in an international environment
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Odense: The world's leading robot city

Latest News

22.10.2026

DKK 7.3 million awarded to SDU researchers for projects on tissue imaging and sustainable food packaging

Two researchers from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Southern Denmark have received grants from the Independent Research Fund Denmark. Their projects aim to develop a new method for examining biological tissue and sustainable food packaging that can indicate whether food is still fresh.

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08.10.2026

New projects to strengthen engineering students’ maths skills and responsible use of AI

Two projects supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation will develop teaching at the University of Southern Denmark’s Faculty of Engineering. One will help new engineering students build their maths skills through exercises tailored to their level. The other will strengthen software engineering students’ ability to understand, check and take responsibility for code written with artificial intelligence.

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01.10.2026

Four researchers from the Faculty of Engineering receive DKK 9.7 million for bold experiments

Four researchers from the Faculty of Engineering have received a combined total of almost DKK 9.7 million from Villum Experiment for projects exploring shape-changing materials, automated software repair, new catalysts and quantum-inspired computer hardware.

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27.09.2026

When teaching and research strengthen each other

Three robotics engineering students turned a bachelor’s project into a peer-reviewed journal article. Their subsequent work has generated further research on assistive and underwater robots. For Associate Professor Saravana Prashanth Murali Babu, the projects show how teaching and research can advance together.

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25.08.2026

New hospital robot welcomes patients and shows them the way

After three years of development, a Danish-German research team has built and tested three robot prototypes at hospitals in Denmark and Germany. The humanoid robot HuGo can welcome patients, talk to them and accompany them to their destination.

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09.08.2026

Race against time to give Denmark new weapons against the Caterpillar from Hell

Drones, thermal cameras and artificial intelligence could become important tools in the future fight against the oak processionary moth. Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark are therefore heading into the field alongside municipal pest control teams to gather the knowledge needed to develop future solutions. In just a few weeks, the caterpillars will be gone for the year – along with the opportunity to study them in the wild.

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Soft robotics

25.06.2026

SDU researcher develops touch-sensitive robot skin free of electronics

Arman Goshtasbi from SDU Soft Robotics has, in his PhD, developed a tactile robot skin without any electronics on the sensing site, using fluids in silicone channels. The results was recently published in Nature Communications.

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SDU - LSP

18.06.2026

New centre for giant robots at Lindø set to push the boundaries of industrial production

On 18 June, the Centre for Large Structure Production (LSP) will open under The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute at SDU. The construction has been made possible by a donation of 90 million Danish kroner from the A.P. Møller Foundation. At the centre, researchers, students and companies will develop robot technology for the production of very large structures for, for example, ships and wind turbines.

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12.05.2026

SDU opens the door to a new AI supercomputer for local businesses

A new AI supercomputer will give companies in Sønderborg and the Danish-German border region access to advanced AI solutions, support new product development, and strengthen competitiveness. Researchers at SDU’s Centre for Industrial Software now want to work even closer with industry.

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Drones

06.05.2026

SDU and the Danish Defence to work more closely together on public safety

The first group of drone conscripts and soldiers has begun at SDU in Odense. They are to attend a drone engineering course as part of the cooperation between the SDU Drone Centre and the Danish Defence Drone Centre. Below, Rector Jens Ringsmose explains why increased cooperation with the Danish Defence is both important and relevant.

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Energy informatics

05.05.2026

AI, sensors and drones could make the district heating in your radiator cheaper

Today, district heating pipes are often replaced on the basis of age rather than knowledge of their actual condition. A new research project headed by researchers from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) aims to make maintenance smarter, which could yield both economic benefits and improvements in security of supply.

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Innovator of the month

29.04.2026

New company gives pilots and airports a better overview of airspace

Airband Solutions is one of five companies that emerged from the University of Southern Denmark in 2025. The team behind the company has developed a system that automatically provides airports and pilots with a better overview of the airspace.

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Drones

13.04.2026

New research project could extend critical battery life for drones

By rethinking the way computers work, it is possible to improve the energy efficiency of digital systems, including drones for both civilian and military use. That is precisely what researchers from the University of Southern Denmark will be working on in a major new European project.

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Drones

18.03.2026

SDU tests rescue drones in the Arctic

Together with the Alexandra Institute and the Joint Arctic Command, drone researchers from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) have tested drones for rescue operations in Greenland and collected data for AI models that can help locate people in distress.

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04.03.2026

New SDU professor receives DKK 6 million for sustainable AI

A new research grant of DKK 6 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation will strengthen research into sustainable artificial intelligence at SDU in Vejle. The project will support a PhD candidate and a postdoctoral researcher. The aim is to develop AI systems that use fewer resources and are easier for humans to understand and trust.

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Artificial intelligence

17.02.2026

SDU researchers’ algorithm could become an important step towards privacy in the age of AI

If you, as a user, want to protect your privacy, it is not enough to ask tech companies to delete your data. What the companies’ AI models have learned from that data must also be unlearned. Researchers from SDU Applied AI and Data Science have now found a way to do this without weakening model performance.

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09.02.2026

New LEGO® Chair to Lead Software Technology in Vejle

Professor Mikkel Baun Kjærgaard has been appointed LEGO® Chair at the SDU Centre for Software Technology. With this appointment, the new campus in Vejle gains a prominent profile dedicated to bridging the gap between world-class international research and the local business community in the Triangle Region.

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FUNDING

15.01.2026

SDU uses its own supercomputer to build virtual teaching labs with full ownership

The University of Southern Denmark (SDU) is now leveraging its existing supercomputer infrastructure to create virtual teaching laboratories for IT education. The initiative gives students access to high-end server environments and distributed systems while enabling SDU to keep full ownership of the teaching platform and ensure predictable, transparent use of resources.

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EU millions for Professor Rafsanjani

09.12.2025

Snake robot will navigate Unknown terrain by listening

The European Research Council has awarded a highly prestigious Consolidator Grant of two million euros (approx. 15 million DKK) to Ahmad Rafsanjani, professor of soft robotics at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), for the project “Exploring the Unexplored with a Crawling Soft Robot (METABOA).” His project aims to develop soft crawling robots and teach them to navigate complex terrains using friction — a capability that could unlock opportunities in everything from collapsed buildings to distant planets.

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Robotics

26.11.2025

New research project to bring humanoid robots to Denmark

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), together with Novo Nordisk, Harting and several other partners, aim to develop a humanoid robot capable of taking over, for instance, repetitive and hazardous tasks in industry.

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Last Updated 26.10.2026