Trinatronics 2026 Offers Genuine Support for the Young and Old | Offenburg University of Applied Sciences

A group of young people are standing on a stage in front of a screen, explaining a yellow device that is sitting on a table in front of them — Clement Czelaga, Anna Trefzer (from the right), and Ethan Hoareau (third from the left) from Hochschule Offenburg presented their project, Arm Assist, alongside their French teammates.

The eleventh edition of Trinatronics was once again organized by TriRhenaTech—the alliance of universities of applied sciences in the Upper Rhine region, of which Hochschule Offenburg is a member. This year, a total of 35 students from eight universities in Germany, France, and Switzerland—including eight students majoring in Mechatronik und Autonome Systeme and Biomechanik at Hochschule Offenburg— took on the challenge of developing, in international teams over two months and with 800 euros for materials, a mechatronic system relevant to society and the economy in the fields of robotics, manufacturing automation, autonomous systems, automotive mechatronics, Medizintechnik, or similar areas. The eight teams recently presented their results at Europa-Park, which offer genuine support for both young and old.

For example, Mechatronik und Autonome Systeme students Anna Trefzer, Clement Czelaga, and Ethan Hoareau, together with students from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA) in Strasbourg, developed a device as part of the Arm-Assist project to assist with physical therapy for people whose arm and hand grip strength is limited due to age, an accident, or a stroke. Mechatronik und Autonome Systeme student Louis Krause-Weber and Biomechanik student Donovan Salvi, together with students from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs Sud-Alsace (ENSISA) in Mulhouse and the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, created the Robot XS 200, which assists frail and elderly people in locating and retrieving objects—such as dropped keys or pens—and responds to voice commands. And mechatronik und autonome Systeme students Lukas Haas, Ruben Roos, and Marcellino Saadeh, together with students from INSA, presented the dream of many parents and children: their Autonomous Sorting Robot, an autonomous robot that collects LEGO bricks and sorts them by color and type.

In the end, however, it wasn’t enough to secure one of the top two spots or prize money from the German-French Upper Rhine Business Club (CAFA-RSO): The trinational jury, composed of representatives from business and academia, honored the “Exoskelett” and “Asian Hornet Hunter” projects by two groups from the trinational mechatronics program at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University in Lörrach, and the University of Haute-Alsace in Mulhouse. Prof. Prof. Dr. Christian Wetzel, who oversees the Trinatronics competition at Hochschule Offenburg, was nevertheless very satisfied with his team’s performance: “With eight participants in three groups, we had a strong showing this time, and the students handled the challenges of the tight deadline, the international teams, and the complexity of EU funding regulations very well. In doing so, they proved that they are up to the task of real-world working conditions.” As a reward, everyone received a day of free admission to Europa-Park and got a behind-the-scenes look at the amusement park.

Trinatronics Competition

The Trinatronics Competition is an initiative within the INTERREG project TrinTEd and is co-funded by the TriRhenaTech universities.

Six students are standing on a stage around a small robot and a laptop on the floor in front of them — College students Louis Krause-Weber and Donovan Salvi (from left) with their teammates and the Robot XS 200.

Six young people are standing on a stage in front of a screen, explaining a box-shaped vehicle that is sitting on a table in front of them — Marcellino Saadeh, Lukas Haas, and Ruben Roos (from right) presented the Autonomous Sorting Robot alongside their teammates.