Connectionists: Research Associate - Robotics for Nuclear Environments

[Tony Pipe]

Research Associate - Robotics for Nuclear Environments

Salary band: £29,515 - £33,199 (Currency GBP)

Dear colleagues,

Link to full job description and information how to apply: 
https://bit.ly/2KfrjTG

The Universities of Manchester, West of England and Birmingham, in 
collaboration with the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and supported 
by Sellafield Ltd. are collaborating together on the 5-year Robotics for 
Nuclear Environments project (https://nuclearrobots.org/) to undertake 
fundamental research in Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) which will 
enable step changes to be made in the capabilities of industrial robotic 
solutions for use in the nuclear industry.

This specific post will focus on research and development of planning 
and control approaches for heterogeneous teams of multiple robots and/or 
humans, and the development of embedded online risk assessment 
strategies for such robots. The research divides into three work 
packages. Ideally, you have some experience in all three of the work 
package topics. However, we also strongly encourage candidates who have 
experience in only one of the research areas and are willing to broaden 
their research into the other areas to submit an application. The three 
work packages are as follows:

     Heterogeneous team working. This work package (WP) will analyse 
existing approaches to heterogeneous robot team working, in order to 
develop an approach providing the best balance between autonomy and 
remote human supervision.
     Human-robot team interaction. This WP will analyse the requirements 
of sensorimotor interfaces and embedded AI (cognition) for team working 
both between robots and also with human co-workers, including differing 
levels of human supervision.
     On line behaviour risk assessment. This WP will aim to design, 
implement and test a novel system for robots to be able to assess, at 
run-time, the risks associated with their own actions and the robots 
(and humans) around them in the context on their current mission tasks.


As part of this project, you will be based at the Bristol Robotics 
Laboratory (BRL) and work closely with other researchers at BRL, and the 
Universities of Manchester and Birmingham. You will be required to 
travel regularly to Manchester, Birmingham, and Cumbria for project 
meetings, and also to liaise with collaborators from industry. You will 
also be expected to travel overseas from time to time to attend 
conferences and to meet with collaborating organisations.

This project will provide the successful candidate with the ideal 
introduction into the challenges faced in deploying robotic systems in 
the nuclear industry and the size and scope of problems therein. It will 
also provide a unique opportunity to interact with engineers from both 
the supply chain and end users in the UK and Japan.

Due to the requirement for regular UK travel and occasional 
international travel - This post is not available on a job share basis.

In addition to progressive pay rates, UWE Bristol offers a wide range of 
staff benefits including:

     a generous holiday allowance of 27 Days
     up to 12.5 bank holiday/closure days per year in addition;
     flexible working;
     excellent defined benefit pension schemes;
     option to participate in the cycle to work scheme;
     family friendly policies;
     onsite nursery at our Frenchay Campus;


This post is based at our lively Frenchay campus.

Please follow this link to see the full job description and information 
for applicants for the role: https://bit.ly/2KfrjTG

If you have any queries or would like an informal discussion, please 
write an email to Manuel Giuliani at manuel.giuliani at brl.ac.uk or Tony 
Pipe at Tony.Pipe at brl.ac.uk.

UWE is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity to 
create an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved 
through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff 
from many different backgrounds who share our ambition to be a 
university recognised for the success and impact of our 
practice-oriented programmes; our strong industry networks and our 
inclusive global outlook.


-- 

Tony Pipe
Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Deputy Director: Bristol Robotics Laboratory

Bristol Robotics Laboratory
T-Building
Frenchay Campus
Bristol UK BS16 1QY
Tel: +44 (0)117 3286330