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Research Fellows for Robot Manipulation, Teleoperation and Machine Learning (2 Posts) (Fixed Term)

School of Computer Science

Location:  Lincoln
Salary:   From £33,199 per annum
This post is full time and fixed term until 31st March 2021.
Closing Date:   Friday 19 April 2019
Interview Date:   Friday 10 May 2019
Reference:  COS631

We are looking to recruit two Postdoctoral Research Fellows with research profiles in robotics, robot learning, tele-operation and shared control, robot perception, robot grasping, robot motion planning  to join our growing robotics research team.

The successful candidates will work within the CHIST-ERA funded HEAP project (and related projects), which is a European consortium that investigates robotic sorting of unstructured heaps of unknown objects. The consortium consists of the University of Lincoln (leading), TU Wien (Markus Vinze), IDIAP in Switzerland (Jean-Marc Odobez), INRIA Nancy (Serena Ivaldi) and IIT in Italy (Lorenzo Natale). Our team will investigate novel robot manipulation and machine learning algorithms that can learn from human guidance and shared control. Robotic heap sorting is of interest for many applications, such as nuclear decommissioning, recycling and manufacturing. The work will also be highly aligned with the National Center for Nuclear Robotics (NCNR) where Lincoln is a core partner. In addition, there is an opportunity to work in a related EU project on robot perception and manipulation of objects for pharmaceutical warehouse applications. We offer excellent opportunities to develop a strong individual research portfolio while being engaged in impactful and exciting research solving real-world problems of great societal need. Moreover, you will have access to state-of-the-art research robot equipment consisting of cutting-edge robot arms. 

We are looking to recruit postdoctoral researchers with relevant experience and/or a keen interest in a number of research areas, including (but not limited to):

- Robot Grasping and Manipulation

- Teleoperation and Shared Control

- Robot Vision and Perception

- Learning from Demonstrations

- Reinforcement Learning

- Learning from Human Feedback

You will be placed at the centre of this exciting project, collaborating closely with other researchers and universities, taking a leading role in the research, development, integration and orchestration of the overall system, with a focus on algorithm development and software development.

Applicants should have or expect to soon obtain, a PhD in a relevant area. You must have excellent mathematical and coding skills (C++/Python, ROS). This opportunity allows you to engage in international collaboration within an ambitious team, to work with state-of-the-art robotic hardware and software, and to benefit from excellent support to produce and disseminate original research contributions in the leading international conferences and journals.

You will also contribute to the University's ambition to achieve international recognition as a research intensive institution and will be expected to design, conduct and manage original research in the above subject areas as well contribute to the wider activities of the Lincoln Centre for Autonomous Systems (L-CAS). Evidence of authorship of research outputs of international standing is essential, as is the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team, including excellent written and spoken communication skills. Opportunities to mentor and co-supervise PhD students working in the project team will also be available to outstanding candidates.

Informal enquiries about the post can be made to Prof. Gerhard Neumann (email: gneumann@lincoln.ac.uk), Dr. Ayse Kucukyilmaz (AKucukyilmaz@lincoln.ac.uk) and Dr. Nicola Bellotto (nbellotto@lincoln.ac.uk). 

Further details:

• Job Description and Person Specification