Thesis Project: AI as an Engineering Aid for Legacy Robot Controllers

About the role

Sandvik Coromant, a supplier of metal-cutting tools and tooling systems, is offering a thesis project in Gimo, Sweden, on using AI as an engineering aid when modernizing legacy Adept/V+ robot installations. It is a proof-of-concept study of how much of the manual groundwork in such migrations AI can take off engineers' hands, covering analysis, documentation, code drafts and test generation. The project lasts about 20 weeks, corresponds to 30 credits and starts at the beginning of 2027; upon completion and approval of the thesis, Sandvik offers lump-sum compensation.

Key responsibilities

• With your supervisor, select one small, well-defined part of a V+ application and establish a measurable reference behavior (motions, I/O, sequence logic).
• Use two or three AI tools to interpret and explain the V+ code, then assess their accuracy against the reference behavior.
• Generate functional and technical documentation with AI support and compare it with manual documentation.
• Produce first-draft code for the target platform and generate test cases and verification criteria, documenting failure patterns.
• Verify the reviewed code against a simplified kinematic 3D model and summarize the measured AI contribution per area, including estimated time and cost savings.
• Recommend how Sandvik should use AI support in future modernizations and what is needed to scale the method.

Required profile

• Final-year Master's or Bachelor's student in automation, mechatronics, electrical or computer engineering or a related field.
• Systematic and critical approach, comfortable measuring and documenting results.
• Good communication skills in English or Swedish.

Required skills

• Basic knowledge of PLC programming and/or industrial robotics.
• Interest in simulation and virtual commissioning; experience with CAD or 3D simulation is an advantage.
• Experience with AI tools for software development is a plus.

Applications must be submitted online by 20 November 2026 with a resume and cover letter in English.