Connectionists: PhD position - Robotics and Interactive ML

Thu Jul 16 05:05:09 EDT 2020

Robotics & Interactive Machine Learning Ph.D. Student Position @ TU Darmstadt

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The Intelligent Autonomous Systems Lab (IAS) in cooperation with the
Center for Cognitive Science at the Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt) is seeking for a Ph.D. student with a strong interest in one or more of the following research topics:

* Interactive Robot Skill Learning and Learning from Demonstration * Interactive Reinforcement Learning
* Human-Robot and Human-AI Interaction

The Ph.D. student will work in a highly interdisciplinary team of young researchers
who work on the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and cognitive science.
The overall goal is hereby to develop interactive AI methods for robot skill learning
and automated data processing that benefit, learn and improve through direct interaction with users. Such direct interaction with humans and AI systems can potentially facilitate broader access to robot learning and AI methods to society and may additionally increase performance as well as acceptance of such systems.

Please relate clearly to the research topics and your past experience in robotics and Machine Learning in your Research Statement.
Note that we favor heavily PhD students with real robot experience.

Outstanding students and researchers from the areas of robotics and robotics-related areas including machine learning, control engineering or computer vision are welcome to apply. The candidates are expected to conduct independent research and at the same time contribute to the research topics listed above.

ABOUT THE APPLICANT

Ph.D. position applicants need to have a Master's degree in a relevant field
(e.g., Robotics, Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics & Optimization, Math and Physics). Expertise in working with real robot systems (including e.g. programming in ROS and
sensor data processing) and strong interest or past experience to work in an
interdisciplinary team is a big plus.

THE POSITION

The position is for a 36 month contract.
Payment will be according to the German TVL payment scheme.

HOW TO APPLY?

All complete applications submitted through our online application system found at

https://www.ias.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/Jobs/Application <https://www.ias.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/Jobs/Application>
will be considered. The deadline for applications is 15.08.2020.
The position is planned to start between Oktober 2020 and March 2021 depending on the candidate's availability.
Ph.D. applicants should provide at least a research statement,
a PDF with their CV, degrees, and grade-sheets, and two references
who are willing to write a recommendation letter.
Please ensure to include your date of availability for starting the Ph.D. position.

Please, after submitting the application, send a quick notification with subject line
“Ph.D. student applicant <your name>” to Dr. Dorothea Koert (koert at ias.tu-darmstadt.de <mailto:koert at ias.tu-darmstadt.de>) and include your application number in the e-mail.

ABOUT IAS AND CENTER FOR COGNITIVE SCIENCE

The Intelligent Autonomous Systems (IAS) institute of TUDa (https://www.ias.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/ <https://www.ias.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/>) is considered one of the strongest robot learning groups in Europe with expertise ranging from the development of novel machine learning methods (e.g., novel reinforcement learning approaches, policy search, imitation learning, regression approaches, etc.) over semi-autonomy of intelligent systems (e.g., shared control, interaction primitives, human-collaboration during manufacturing) to fully autonomous robotics (e.g., robot learning architectures, motor skill representation acquisition & refinement, grasping, manipulation, tactile sensing, nonlinear control, operational space control, robot table tennis). IAS members are well-known researchers both in the machine learning and the robotics community. The lab collaborates with numerous universities in Germany, Europe, the USA, and Japan as well as companies such as ABB, Honda Research, Franka Emika, and Porsche Motorsport.
The Centre for Cognitive Science (https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/cogsci/ccs/index.en.jsp <https://www.tu-darmstadt.de/cogsci/ccs/index.en.jsp>) at Technische Universität Darmstadt unites faculty members across multiple disciplines, who joined forces in the scientific study of adaptive, intelligent behavior in humans and machines. At the Centre of Cognitive Science researchers work towards a computational-representational understanding of human perception, cognition, and action through a tight integration of artificial intelligence and cognitive science. TU Darmstadt is one of the preeminent research universities in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotics in Germany and Europe. Research is hereby driven by the belief that cognitive science can help to drastically improve future interaction with and explainability of artificial intelligence.
The IAS lab and the Centre for Cognitive Science are located in the city center campus of TU-Darmstadt close to the beautiful Herrngarten park.

ABOUT TU DARMSTADT

TU Darmstadt is one of the top technical universities in Germany, and is well known for its research and teaching. It was one of the first universities in the world to introduce programs in electrical engineering and it is Germany's first fully autonomous university. More
information can be found on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technische_Universit%C3%A4t_Darmstadt <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technische_Universit%C3%A4t_Darmstadt>
ABOUT DARMSTADT

Darmstadt is well known high-tech center with important activities in space craft operations (e.g., through the European Space Operations Centre, the European Organization for Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites), chemistry, pharmacy, information technology, biotechnology, telecommunications and mechatronics, and consistently ranked among the top high-tech regions in Germany. Darmstadt's important centers for arts, music and theatre allow for versatile cultural activities, while the proximity of the Odenwald forest and the Rhine valley allows for many outdoor sports.

The 33,547 students of Darmstadt's three universities constitute a major part of
Darmstadt's 140,000 inhabitants. Darmstadt is located close to the center of Europe.
With just 17 minutes driving distance to the Frankfurt airport (closer than Frankfurt itself),
it is one of best connected cities in Europe. Most major European cities can be reached within less than 2.5h from Darmstadt. 
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