Connectionists: PhD Positions on Robotics & Neuroscience

[Giulio Sandini]

9 PhD Positions (if you are truly interested in contributing to an interdisciplinary environment)
Within the doctoral School on Bioengineering and Robotics the curriculum "Cognitive Robotics, Interaction and Rehabilitation Technologies" offers interdisciplinary training at the interface between robotics and neuroscience. The general objective of the program is to form scientists and research technologists capable of dealing with multidisciplinary projects involving aspects of engineering, technology and life-sciences.

The PhD themes offered this year by the "Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences" (RBCS) department of IIT (www.iit.it/rbcs<http://www.iit.it/rbcs>) are focusing on the SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF ACTION AND INTERACTION by addressing the study of the embodied and cognitive interaction between humans and machines and its technological and social outcomes.
In RBCS we are merging top-level neuroscience research and top-level robotics research by sharing fundamental scientific objectives arising from the study of:

*       goal-directed action

*       speech recognition and language

*       the foundations of physical and social interaction

*       the exploitation of sensory and motor rehabilitation.
RBCS is where the iCub humanoid robot is used to investigate the language of embodied, human-human and human-robot communication and it is also the place where studies of how visual, haptic and tactile integration develops in normal as well as sensory-impaired children.
RBCS is where technologies for robotic rehabilitation devices are developed and tested in joint labs established in clinical environments such as the "Giannina Galsini" pediatric hospital, and the "Istituto Chiossone" for blind and low vision children in Genova, and the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL) in Volterra.
The ideal candidates are students with a higher level university degree willing to invest extra time and effort in blending into a multidisciplinary team composed of neuroscientists, engineers, psychologists, physicists working together to investigate brain functions and realize intelligent machines, rehabilitation protocols and advanced prosthesis. Some of the themes proposed offer the students the possibility of participating in international collaborations through EU supported exchange of researchers within dedicated Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions.
Application deadline: 10 June 2015, 12pm Italian time
General Scientific Information: giulio.sandini at iit.it<mailto:giulio.sandini at iit.it>
Administrative Information: Ilaria.dallorto at iit.it<mailto:Ilaria.dallorto at iit.it>
See below the information about individual themes.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications must be submitted online, instructions for applicants are available here:

http://phd.dibris.unige.it/biorob/index.php/how-to-apply

(Cognitive Sciences, Interactive and Rehabilitation Technologies)



The full description of the individual themes is available here:

http://www.iit.it/images/phd-xxxi/RES.THEMES.COGNIROB.INTER.pdf)


LIST OF THEMES PROPOSED BY IIT-RBCS
(of the 13 themes only 9 will be assigned to the 9 best applicants)

1.     ASSESSMENT OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO ENHANCE RESIDUAL SENSORY ABILITIES
(Contacts:  luca.brayda at iit.it<mailto:luca.brayda at iit.it>  , fabrizio.leo at iit.it<mailto:fabrizio.leo at iit.it> )

2.     SIMULTANEOUS MULTIMODAL FORCE AND MOTION ESTIMATION
(Contacts: francesco.nori at iit.it<mailto:francesco.nori at iit.it> )

3.     FAST AND ROBUST WHOLE-BODY MOTION WITH VARIABLE STIFFNESS ACTUATORS
(Contacts: francesco.nori at iit.i<mailto:francesco.nori at iit.i> t, luca.fiorio at iit.it<mailto:luca.fiorio at iit.it> )

4.     SECOND-PERSON MOTOR COGNITION: HANDS IN INTERACTION
(Contacts: cristina.becchio at unito.it<mailto:cristina.becchio at unito.it> )

5.     NEURAL AND MOTOR BASES OF SOCIAL INTERACTION
(Contacts: thierry.pozzo at iit<mailto:thierry.pozzo at iit> ; alberto.inuggi at ii.it<mailto:alberto.inuggi at ii.it> ; alessandro.dausilio at iit.it<mailto:alessandro.dausilio at iit.it> )

6.     MULTISENSORY INTEGRATION AND CROSS-MODAL COMMUNICATION
(Contacts: monica.gori at iit.it<mailto:monica.gori at iit.it> )

7.     AUGMENTED SENSORIMOTOR INTERACTION
Contacts: alessandro.dausilio at iit.it<mailto:alessandro.dausilio at iit.it> ; leonardo.badino at iit.it<mailto:leonardo.badino at iit.it> ; luciano.fadiga at iit.it<mailto:luciano.fadiga at iit.it> )

8.     MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN HUMAN-ROBOT INTERACTION
(Contact: alessandra.sciutti at iit.it<mailto:alessandra.sciutti at iit.it> )

9.     SPEAKING IN CONCERT
(Contacts: leonardo.badino at iit.it<mailto:leonardo.badino at iit.it> , alessandro.dausilio at iit.it<mailto:alessandro.dausilio at iit.it> , luciano.fadiga at iit.it<mailto:luciano.fadiga at iit.it> )

10.  THE CONTROL AND REPRESENTATION OF ARTICULATED OBJECTS: INSIGHTS FROM ROBOTS
(Contacts: gabriel.baud-bovy at iit.it<mailto:gabriel.baud-bovy at iit.it>  , francesco.nori at iit.it<mailto:francesco.nori at iit.it> )

11.  CONTROL AND REPRESENTATION OF ARTICULATED OBJECTS: HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN SIGHTED AND BLIND ADULTS AND CHILDREN
(Contacts: gabriel.baud-bovy at iit.it<mailto:gabriel.baud-bovy at iit.it>  , monica.gori at iit.it<mailto:monica.gori at iit.it> )

12.  MODELING OF THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING PROPRIOCEPTION FOR REHABILITATION
(Contacts: valentina.squeri at iit.it<mailto:valentina.squeri at iit.it> , jacopo.zenzeri at iit.it<mailto:jacopo.zenzeri at iit.it> )

13.  DEVELOPMENT OF A RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTING DATA SCIENCE IN AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ENVIRONMENT
(Contacts: marco.jacono at iit.it<mailto:marco.jacono at iit.it> , elisa.molinari at iit.it<mailto:elisa.molinari at iit.it> , alessandro.bruchi at iit.it<mailto:alessandro.bruchi at iit.it> )



--

Prof. Giulio Sandini

Director Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Via Morego, 30 - 16163 Genova Italy

http://www.iit.it/rbcs
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