List of current offers (click link or see below for details)



OFFER 1: Several Open PhD positions: Human-Robot Interaction for Collaborative Assembly

The Institut Pascal, CNRS laboratory at Clermont-Ferrand (France), opens several PhD positions for highly motivated candidates interested in completing a PhD thesis on robotics.

Positions will start in October 2015 and will be based on contracts of 3 years. The retained candidates will work in the research team MACCS (http://maccs.univ-bpclermont.fr/) and will obtain a PhD degree by the University Blaise Pascal.

The research to be developed will be based in the design and implementation of new techniques for human-robot collaborative tasks based on shared manipulation of industrial products. Several main lines will be developed:

  • Planning of coordinated sequences of actions to be performed by human operators and robotic manipulators in order to assemble industrial products in an intuitive and efficient way.
  • Real-time detection of human intention during the collaboration of human operators with robots in order to adapt the robots' trajectories conveniently.
  • Multi-sensory control of robotic manipulators based on the combination of visual, force and tactile information.

All these techniques will be tested in the bi-arm platform available at the lab composed by two Kuka LWR arms, a Shadow hand and a Barrett hand equipped with tactile sensors and several types of cameras (such as Kinect).

Requirements:

  • A Master degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics or other related areas.
  • Strong background in mathematics and programming, specially in C++.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills in English.

Desired experience:

  • Previous experience and knowledge in one or more of the following areas: computer vision, robotics, machine learning and control theory.
  • Previous experience on programming ROS (Robot Operating System) software and using Linux operating system.
  • Previous experience on programming with OpenCV and PCL libraries and using Kinect cameras.

The candidates should send their candidatures via email at youcef.mezouar@ifma.fr, including: (1) their CVs, (2) motivation letter, (3) transcripts of previous university degrees (unofficial are enough now), (4) previous research publications (if existing) and (5) contact information of 2 or 3 people who could serve as references.

Candidatures should be sent before the 31-08-2015. Selected candidates will be contacted later for Skype interviews in order to fill positions before the end of September 2015.



OFFER 2: One Open PhD position: Motion planning of multiple robotic systems for plane stripping

Laboratory: Institut Pascal, CNRS/UBP/IFMA, Clermont-Ferrand (France)

Profile: robotics, mechanical, control and electrical engineering

Employment contract : PhD Scholarship (3 years starting in october 2015)

Contact: sebastien.lengagne@univ-bpclermont.fr / youcef.mezouar@ifma.fr

Description:

The Institut Pascal, CNRS/UBP/IFMA laboratory at Clermont-Ferrand (France), opens a PhD position for highly motivated candidates interested in completing a PhD thesis on robotics.

Positions will start in October 2015 and will be based on contracts of 3 years. The retained candidates will work in the research team MACCS (http://maccs.univ-bpclermont.fr/) and will obtain a PhD degree by the University Blaise Pascal.

This PhD is part of a French project that consists in stripping planes using one to four robotic systems composed of a mobile platform holding a crane. The stripping tool is connected to the crane via an industrial robot manipulator. The mobile platform and the crane will be moved manually.

The goal of this PhD is to optimize the trajectory of the whole robotic systems in order to optimally strip the plane. The optimal trajectory must take into account the physical limits of the robotic systems such as joint position and torque limits, collision and self-collision avoidance. The trajectory must also take into account the flexibilities of the mechanical structure and the possible error in manual control of the mobile platform and of the crane.

Two research lines can be considered. The first one will be based on supervised learning techniques.

The second one will involve optimization techniques based on a 3D model of the planes.

Requirements:

  • A Master degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics or other related areas.
  • The successful candidate should have a strong background in robotics, optimization techniques and C/C++ programming. Experience in Learning Techniques and Interval Analysis would be appreciated.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, basic level of French, creative, inquiring mind, persevering, ability to work in a team.

The candidates should send their candidatures via email at youcef.mezouar@ifma.fr and sebastien.lengagne@univ-bpclermont.fr, including: (1) their CVs, (2) motivation letter, (3) transcripts of previous university degrees (unofficial are enough now), (4) previous research publications (if existing) and (5) contact information of 2 or 3 people who could serve as references.

Candidatures should be sent as soon as possible and in any case before August 31th 2015. Selected candidates will be contacted later for interviews.