[robocup-worldwide] Two fully funded PhD studentships at the Institute for Systems and Robotics (IST, University of Lisbon)

[Rodrigo Ventura]

(please redistribute; apologies for cross-postings)

Dear all,

Applications are invited for two fully funded PhD studentships at the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR), Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon, Portugal.

These studentships are part of the FCT project Human-aware Service Robots for Domestic Environments (HARODE), which is focused on the research problems of deploying autonomous robots in domestic environments to perform tasks: integrating human-robot interaction; decision-making under uncertainty; perception; (4) navigation; and object manipulation.

Each studentship will be assigned, according to candidate’s preference, to one of the following topics:

(1) semantic mapping, that is, the problem of perceiving and representing relevant aspects of a physical environment, such as locations of certain objects and of humans to interact with, as well as of dynamic obstacles (e.g. closed doors and moved furniture). In this studentship, it is expected to explore the capabilities of an onboard omnidirectional camera system and to develop methodologies and algorithms for the core computer vision tasks (namely: image segmentation, object recognition, and person detection).

(2) human-aware planning and execution, comprising the problem of performing tasks where close human involvement is expected, while being capable of detecting and coping with uncertain perception and unexpected events. We expect to follow a probabilistic planning approach, combining sequential decision-theoretic methods with domain representations based on probabilistic logic programming.

The experimental part of the work will proceed in close contact with the SocRob at Home team (http://socrob_at_home.isr.tecnico.ulisboa.pt), with regular participation in international scientific robot competitions, such as RoboCup and RoCKIn.

These studentships will be supervised by Prof. Rodrigo Ventura and by Prof. Pedro Miraldo, both faculty at IST and researchers at the Intelligent Robots and Systems group of ISR (http://welcome.isr.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/projects_cat/irsg/).

The research will be conducted at the Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR/IST), home to more than 40 PhDs and part of the LARSyS (Laboratory for Robotics and Engineering Systems - http://www.larsys.pt). ISR/IST is engaged in a new generation of research challenges pushing the frontiers of knowledge, while offering world-class doctoral training with top universities (e.g. dual/joint degrees with MIT, EPFL, CMU) and fueling the collaboration with industry. ISR/IST develops state-of- the-art engineering solutions and projects with a clear societal impact, and has a long track record of participation in EU and other international projects. ISR/IST hosts 5 groups working in Robotics and Information Processing, Systems and Control Theory, Signal Processing, Computer Vision, Optimization, Intelligent Systems and Biomedical Engineering. (http://www.isr.tecnico.ulisboa.pt).

Requirements: the candidates are expected to have a MSc of equivalent degree with strong background in robotics, artificial intelligence, and computer science. Good programming skills are also expected. The working language is English, so good written and oral communication skills are also required.

Application:
	Deadline: 15-May-2016
	Duration: 3 years (full time)
	Starting date: July, 2016
	Place: ISR/IST - Alameda campus, Lisbon, Portugal

To request further information and to apply, send an email to rodrigo.ventura (at) isr.tecnico.ulisboa.pt as soon as possible. Please include a CV, a statement of interest, and any supporting documents you may consider helpful.

Best regards,

Rodrigo Ventura
Institute for Systems and Robotics
Instituto Superior Técnico
Lisbon, Portugal
http://users.isr.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/~yoda