Connectionists: PhD Position in Humanoid Perception for Manipulation

[Gustavo Adolfo Casañ Núñez]

*Call for a PhD position in Humanoid Perception for Manipulation at Jaume I
University (UJI), Spain*
-----------------------

The UJI Robotic Intelligence Laboratory (RobInLab) (http://robinlab.uji.es)
offers a PhD programme through the UJI School for Doctoral Studies. One
fully funded 3-year sponsored PhD is available in Castellon starting
October 1, 2017 on the topic of perception for robotic manipulation in
real-world applications.  Deadline is July 15, 2017.

Research project
-----------------------

The candidate will join the vibrant team of the project RoboPicker, led by
Prof. Angel P. del Pobil, and will be funded through the Santiago Grisolia
Program of Valencia Regional Government, that only grants these
studentships to the best selected projects.

The overall objective of the project is to attain a breakthough in full
human-like robotic manipulation in real-world situations. For the project
we take inspiration from the Amazon Robotic Challenge (
https://www.amazonrobotics.com/#/roboticschallenge (link is external)
<https://www.amazonrobotics.com/#/roboticschallenge>), in which RobInLab
participates in 2017. Reasons for the difficulty of this challenge arise
from the fact that manipulation is conducted in a real environment, with
several objects inside a restricted space, with poor visibility,
accessibility, maneuverability and manipulability. Also, the objects
involved are ordinary items of disparate forms and sizes.

In this context, the successful candidate will be expected to pursue
his/her own research goals, according to his/her background and interests,
among the different topics involved in the project, namely: object
recognition, pose recognition, vision for grasp planning, sensor-based
compliant manipulation, multimodal task execution, error detection and
recovery, etc. Bio-inspired approaches pertaining to active perception and
multimodal sensorimotor coordination will be encouraged.

The research work will be carried out on two humanoid platforms: UJI's
Tombatossals Humanoid Torso and Re-think Robotics Baxter, mounted on a
mobile base.

Requirements
-------------------

This studentship is intended for brilliant young graduates with outstanding
performance, and fulfilling the requirements for admission to a PhD
programme, typically holding a Master degree in Computer Vision, Robotics,
Mechatronics, or a related discipline relevant to the project. An
additional background and/or interest in computational neuroscience or
interdisciplinary bio-inspired research will be a plus. Excellent
programming skills are essential along with the ability to develop software
on robots (including ROS). The ideal candidate should be self‐motivated
with good writing and communication skills in English.

Employment
-----------------

We offer a very challenging full-time position for 3 years in an inspiring
multidisciplinary and international environment. We also provide excellent
facilities for professional and personal development, holiday allowances
and a number of additional benefits. Your main responsibility will be to
carry out research, but you will be offered the opportunity to acquire some
teaching experience as well.

Successful applicants will be awarded an annual bursary of 22,192 euros
which amounts to a minimum annual gross salary of 16,800 €, after deducting
social costs, plus 1600 € for travel expenses the first year. Students are
expected to complete their PhD dissertation within the three year period.
The expected start date is October 1, 2017 but a delay of no more than two
months can be granted if necessary.

Application
---------------

Eligibility.- Additional requirements. The candidate should:

1- Hold an undergraduate academic degree (BSc), or equivalent in your
country, in engineering, computer science or a related scientific field, by
a non-Spanish institution, and have finished these studies in the period
from 01/30/2014 to 01/30/2017.

2 -  Hold the Master degree required for admission to the PhD programme at
the date the contract will be signed, i.e. November 1, 2017 at the latest.

3- Possess a knowledge of Spanish or English, at the level of conversation,
suitable for the development of the research work.

4- Not be in possession of a PhD degree

5- Not having obtained a scholarship from the Santiago Grisolia Program
before

Applications should include:

a)    Cover letter with personal data (nationality, date of birth, gender,
current address)

b)    Copy of valid passport or Spain resident card

c)    Official academic transcript including the name of obtained degrees
(both MSc and BSc), showing courses taken and grades achieved together with
dates, as well as the maximum and minimum scores and score required for
passing a course. An official translation into English or Spanish is
required if the original is in another language (French, Italian or German
are acceptable)

d)    A detailed CV in English or Spanish.

e)    Proof of adequate knowledge of English or Spanish

f)    Names of two references or recommendation letters.

The candidate should submit the above documents to <robinlab at uji.es (link
sends e-mail) <robinlab at uji.es>> as soon as possible but

no later than      >>>>>>   JULY 15, 2017 <<<<<<

Please include the above documents as a SINGLE PDF file with your name and
include - “PhD Application” in the subject-line. Please meet this deadline,
even if you do not have all the documents, since missing files can be
provided later.

For more information, please address your inquiries to Prof. Angel P. del
Pobil at <robinlab at uji.es (link sends e-mail) <robinlab at uji.es>>

About UJI RobInLab
---------------

RobInLab has 25 years experience in RTD activities and a strong record of
participation in funded European, national and regional projects, as well
as with companies and private foundations. RobinLab has a strong research
line in robotics that was initiated in 1991 and today involves a team of 7
full-time researchers, who are also involved in the Erasmus Mundus Master
Programme in Advanced Robotics. Their activities emphasize research and
development in the areas of cognitive and service robotics, including
motion planning, active learning, multisensory grasping and manipulation,
control architectures, neuro-robotics, visual and tactile perception,
social and developmental robotics. The group has been very active in
benchmarks and performance evaluation in robotics research. RobinLab has
participated in various European funded projects such as GUARDIANS,
EYESHOTS and GRASP. It has established itself as a renowned and highly
competitive research organization within the Robotics community, being one
of the founding members of the EURON Network of Excellence. RobInLab offers
a multidisciplinary and international environment, currently with students
from 8 different nationalities. It is one of the 16 teams selected to
compete at the Amazon Robotics Challenge to be held in Nagoya with Robocup
2017.

Jaume I University is situated in Castellon, a city on the Mediterranean
coast of Spain between Valencia and Barcelona, it seeks to maintain a
principle of open competition (on the basis of merit) to appoint the best
candidate, and provides equal opportunity for all candidates, and equally
encourage both genders to apply, as well as candidates with disabilities.

Professional perspectives
---------------

Professional perspectives for our students are excellent. Former UJI
RobInLab PhD alumni include winners and finalists of the European PhD
George Giralt Award and Robotdalen Scientific Award, as well as recipients
of Marie Curie Fellowships. They followed their careers as postdocs at
prestigious universities such as the Imperial College London, University of
Leeds, University of Hertfordshire, University of Plymouth, Hong kong
University of Technology, or companies such as Willow Garage. Books based
on their thesis and subsequent work have been published by Springer in
series such as STAR or COSMOS. Currently they pursue their professional
careers at companies such as Google in California, INTEL in Portland, The
Shadow Robot Company, or with academic positions at Radboud University
in The Netherlands or Middlesex University (U.K.)
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