Idiap/EPFL (Switzerland): 3 PhD positions in perception, robot skill learning and HRI

The Perception and Activity Understanding group (Jean-Marc Odobez, http://www.idiap.ch/~odobez/) and the Robot Learning and Interaction group (Sylvain Calinon, http://calinon.ch) at the Idiap Research Institute (http://www.idiap.ch) seek 3 PhD candidates for a Swiss NSF funded project aiming to study robot skills acquisition through active learning and social interaction strategies (ROSALIS, see below). The 3 PhD students will collaborate together, with 3 axes of research:
1) skill learning (Calinon)
2) perception (Odobez)
3) interaction modeling (Odobez+Calinon).
The preferred axis/axes of research must be mentioned in the application.
The project will start in early 2018, but positions can start earlier. The ideal PhD candidate should hold a MS degree in computer science, engineering, physics or applied mathematics. S/he should have a background in statistics, linear algebra, signal processing and programming. The positions are for 4 years, provided successful progress, and should lead to a dissertation. The selected candidates will become doctoral students at EPFL provided acceptance by the Doctoral School at EPFL (http://phd.epfl.ch/applicants). Annual gross salary ranges from 47,000 CHF (first year) to 50,000 CHF (last year).
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, a detailed CV, and the names of three references (or recommendation letters) through the Idiap online recruitment system: http://www.idiap.ch/education-and-jobs/job-10222.
Interviews will start on *September 1st, 2017*. Late applications will be treated depending on whether positions have been filled or not.
---
About ROSALIS:
Most efforts in robot learning from demonstration are turned toward developing algorithms for the acquisition of specific skills from training data. While such developments are important, they often do not take into account the social structure of the process, in particular, that the interaction with the user and the selection of the different interaction steps can directly influence the quality of the collected data. In ROSALIS, we propose to rely on natural interactions for skill learning, involving queries about the skills, and demonstrations made by both the human and the robot to show what it has learned.
The research will advance on several fronts. First, for skills representation, the robot learners will require an appropriate level of plasticity, allowing them to adapt, refine or freeze a skill primitive currently being learned. Furthermore, active learning methodologies will be developed, relying on heterogeneous sources of information (demonstrations, feedback labels, properties), allowing to make hypotheses about the skill invariants and to suggest demonstrations or queries. Secondly, to allow natural interactions, we will design perception algorithms to provide a higher level understanding of people behaviors and intentions, including gaze information and multimodal action recognition and segmentation. The different mechanisms will be integrated for modeling the interaction, implying the coordination (selection, timing) of the different interaction units.
We target applications of robots in both manufacturing (with Baxter and Franka robots) and home/office environments (with the Pepper robot), both requiring re-programming in an efficient and personalized manner.
---
About Idiap:
Idiap is an independent, not-for-profit, research institute recognized and funded by the Swiss Federal Government, the State of Valais, and the City of Martigny. Idiap offers competitive salaries and conditions at all levels in a young, high-quality, dynamic, and multicultural environment. Idiap is an equal opportunity employer and is actively involved in the "Advancement of Women in Science" European initiative. The Institute seeks to maintain a principle of open competition (on the basis of merit) to appoint the best candidate, provides equal opportunity for all candidates, and equally encourage both genders to apply.
Idiap is located in the town of Martigny in Valais, a scenic region in the south of Switzerland, surrounded by the highest mountains of Europe, and offering exceptional quality of life, exciting recreational activities, including hiking, climbing and skiing, as well as varied cultural activities. It is within close proximity to Lausanne and Geneva. Although Idiap is located in the French part of Switzerland, English is the official working language. Free French lessons are also provided on a complimentary basis.
For frequently asked questions (FAQs) about living in Switzerland, please go to http://www.idiap.ch/en/faq