Internship: Robot-Assisted Toothbrush IMU Validation

Philips; Eindhoven; On-site; EUR 5,600 - 7,800; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Housing compensation

Travel compensation

Paid holidays per internship term

Job summary

Philips Oral Healthcare in Eindhoven offers an internship for a MSc student or final-year BSc candidate in robotics-related fields. You will build and validate a repeatable IMU testing protocol for toothbrushes using a 6-DOF robot arm, OptiTrack, and toothbrush IMUs.

You will commission the Jetson/ROS 2 workflow, calibrate coordinate frames, and design tests to quantify motion replay accuracy and cross-brush similarities. English required.

Qualifications

• MSc student or final-year BSc in Robotics, Mechatronics, Mechanical/Electrical/Biomedical Engineering, Applied Physics, Computer Science or Data Science.
• Python programming and confidence working in Linux.
• Basic linear algebra, 3D rotations and signal-processing skills.
• Affinity with hands-on experiments and systematic validation.

Responsibilities

• Commission the Jetson/ROS 2 robot and OptiTrack workflow and implement safe trajectory replay.
• Define the brush-head TCP and calibrate robot, OptiTrack, marker and IMU coordinate frames.
• Design static and dynamic tests: ±X/±Y/±Z orientations and motions, plus roll/pitch/yaw at several speeds.
• Synchronise OptiTrack and IMU data; quantify replay accuracy, repeatability and cross-brush similarity.
• Deliver reusable software, a validated protocol and a technical report.

Skills

Python

Linux

3D rotations

Signal processing

Education

MSc or final-year BSc in Robotics, Mechatronics, Mechanical/Electrical/Biomedical Engineering, Applied Physics, Computer Science or Data Science

Tools

SeeedStudio reBot Arm B601-RS

OptiTrack motion capture

ROS 2

Jetson/ROS 2 robot

Job description

Job Title Internship: Robot-Assisted Toothbrush IMU Validation Job Description

Start Date: January/February 2027 Duration: minimum 6 months Type: Internship Weekly Presence: 40h (minimum 32h) Location: Eindhoven

Internship: Robot-Assisted Toothbrush IMU Validation

Different toothbrushes use inertial measurement units (IMUs) to characterise brushing motion. To compare their measurements fairly, each brush should undergo the same physical motion. In this assignment, you will develop a repeatable test bench combining a 6-DOF robot arm (SeeedStudio reBot Arm B601-RS), OptiTrack motion capture system and toothbrush IMU sensors. Human brushing trajectories, recorded at 120 Hz as position and orientation data, will be transformed into safe robot trajectories and replayed. OptiTrack will independently measure the reproduced motion, enabling quantitative comparison of robot accuracy, repeatability and IMU responses across toothbrushes. Your challenge: Build and validate a measurement protocol that separates true motion differences from sensor effects such as axis conventions, offset, scale, noise, filtering and timing.

Your team: You will work in the R&D department of Philips Oral Healthcare in Eindhoven, alongside experts in sensors, data science, robotics and oral healthcare. The project combines hands-on experimentation, software development and quantitative signal analysis. Your role: Commission the Jetson/ROS 2 robot and OptiTrack workflow and implement safe trajectory replay. Define the brush-head TCP and calibrate robot, OptiTrack, marker and IMU coordinate frames. Design static and dynamic tests: ±X/±Y/±Z orientations and motions, plus roll/pitch/yaw at several speeds. Convert recorded poses and quaternions into continuous, limit-checked robot trajectories. Synchronise OptiTrack and IMU data; quantify replay accuracy, repeatability and cross-brush similarity. Deliver reusable software, a validated protocol and a technical report. You're the right fit if: MSc student or last year BSc in Robotics, Mechatronics, Mechanical/Electrical/Biomedical Engineering, Applied Physics, Computer Science or Data Science. Python programming and confidence working in Linux. Basic linear algebra, 3D rotations and signal-processing skills. Affinity with hands-on experiments and systematic validation. ROS 2, robot arms, OptiTrack or IMU experience is a plus. Good written and spoken English. Independent, safety-conscious and collaborative.

How we work together We believe that we are better together than apart. For our office-based teams, this means working in-person at least 3 days per week. Onsite roles require full-time presence in the company’s facilities. Field roles are most effectively done outside of the company’s main facilities, generally at the customers’ or suppliers’ locations. Monthly full-time allowance between €500 - €700 gross, depending on your education level. If you need to relocate to The Netherlands specifically for the internship there will be a different allowance. Part-time internships receive the allowance pro-rata. Housing compensation, in case of relocating to the vicinity of the office, €300,- net if location is in the vicinity of Amsterdam, €255,- net for all other Philips locations. To be eligible, your usual home-work travel distance needs to be more than 50 km or 1.5 hours of travel time (one way). Afterwards, you need to provide the rental contract from your (new) landlord. Travel compensation, if you are not eligible for a free public transport (OV chipkaart - student travel product); you can receive max. €192,- net depending on your location. Paid holidays per internship term.

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