The latest edition of the ROBOPROX Women Forum grants introduces a new group of early-career researchers in robotics. Selected from diverse academic and technical backgrounds, they are beginning projects that will advance their fields over the coming months. The following profiles offer a closer look at their research focus, professional journeys, and goals for the grant period.
Rayane ROCHA
UFPB Brazil
Student, Research Assistant
09/2025 – 2/2026
Talk2Look: Neuromorphic Speech-Guided Visual Attention for Humanoid Robots
What project will you be working on?
I will be studying and working on a neuromorphic robotics project that explores how spoken language can guide visual attention in real-time. The project investigates how bioinspired spiking neural networks can enable a humanoid robot — iCub — to shift its gaze based on simple verbal commands like “look left.” The system will perform language-driven, energy-efficient, and human-like scene exploration.
What inspired you to pursue a career in STEM?
What drew me into STEM was the power of interdisciplinarity — the possibility to connect fields like neuroscience, linguistics, and computing to build systems that not only help explain what makes us human but also allow us to connect, create, and support one another. I want to develop technologies that feel meaningful, human-aware, and attuned to their environmental footprint.
What are you most looking forward to in your work and what are the biggest challenges you have faced in your research?
I’m most excited about bridging language and machines — understanding the core mechanisms that allow us to communicate and replicate them in ways that make artificial systems more intuitive and responsive. One of the biggest challenges has been navigating highly technical environments while coming from a background that is often underrepresented in such spaces.
Zuzana Jindrová
FEE CTU
Student, High School Teacher
9/2025 – 2/2026
Visual Servoing for Robust Object Tracking on Mobile Robots
What project will you be working on?
I aim to investigate active object tracking using a Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera mounted on a moving Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV). The core of the research lies in developing robust control and perception algorithms that allow the PTZ camera to maintain continuous visual focus on a moving or stationary target, despite disturbances from the vehicle’s motion and environmental challenges.
What inspired you to pursue a career in STEM?
I enjoy looking for connections, thinking through problems, and finding solutions for them. Technology allows me to develop both logical and creative thinking while contributing to projects with real-world applications.
What are you most looking forward to in your work and what are the biggest challenges you have faced in your research?
What I look forward to most is that my work can lead to something new and useful, with a practical impact. The biggest challenge, in my view, is ensuring that the resulting system works well in real environments and in demanding situations that cannot always be fully anticipated.
Denisa Mužíková
FEE CTU
Student
8/2025 – 8/2026
Enhancing Real-World Multi-Agent Path Finding for Robust Robot Fleet Coordination
What project will you be working on?
Details of Denisa’s project will be revealed soon, so stay tuned for an inside look at her upcoming work.
What inspired you to pursue a career in STEM?
Denisa’s story is on the way. We’ll be sharing what first sparked her interest in science and technology.
What are you most looking forward to in your work and what are the biggest challenges you have faced in your research?
Her thoughts on what excites her most (and the challenges ahead) will be published here shortly.