17 November: FYI -- PhD funding, Plymouth
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Aldebaran AI-Lab
Ph.D. Student Opportunities
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Early-Stage Researcher
(Cognitive and Developmental Robotics – APRIL ITN)
The H2020 APRIL project aims at the establishment of the first
European Industrial Doctorate in “Applications of Personal Robotics
for Interaction and Learning” (APRIL) to train the next generation of
researchers and engineers for the emerging field of personal
robotics. APRIL is the result of the internationally leading,
strategic synergies of Plymouth University’s Centre for Robotics and
Neural Systems (CRNS) and AI-Lab of Aldebaran Robotics.
Established in 2005, Aldebaran is a SoftBank Group company. Aldebaran
has 450 employees and is headquartered in France with offices in
China, Japan and the United States. For almost 10 years, Aldebaran has
been driving technology into a new world by designing humanoid robots
and has become the worldwide leader in humanoid robotics.
Our robots (NAO, Pepper, Romeo) are used in more than 70 countries in
various fields, such as research, education, retail, care, tourism or
entertainment.
For the future, Aldebaran has embraced the ambitious goal of
developing humanoid robots for everyone. Aldebaran believes that in
coming years robots will positively impact our lives to the same
extent as PCs and mobile devices did during the past 3 decades. Robots
will change the way we learn, work and communicate.
The Artificial Intelligence group (AI Lab) is the fundamental research
unit of Aldebaran and focuses on developmental robotics. Our goal is
to make progress in the understanding and modeling of the mechanisms
of development and learning in robots.
Five ESR students will be employed in APRIL, two at Aldebaran Paris
and three at Plymouth University, UK. The balanced experience of each
ESR student in terms of both the academic and the industrial
experience (18 months stay at Aldebaran Paris + 18 months at Plymouth
University) and additional short secondments and specialised
complementary training in six associate partners sites, will entrench
their entrepreneurship ethos for cross-sectorial careers as future
robotics research and engineering leaders in academia and industry.
All ESR students will enrol in the Plymouth University Graduate School
PhD programme.
Aldebaran will hire 2 ESRs for the following projects:
ESR1 PhD Project: Schema Development for Sensorimotor Control
ESR2 PhD Project: Deep learning of hierarchical and abstract concepts
Applicants for the post should have a very good first degree in a
computer science, or robotics, or cognitive science
discipline. Applicants with a relevant Masters degree would be
particularly welcome. A strong background in machine learning and good
programming skills are a plus.
The positions are fixed term for a duration of 3 years, with salary
and benefits defined in accordance with the Marie Skłodowska-Curie
rules for Early Stage Researchers.
Three additional ESR positions will be advertised by Plymouth University.
The following conditions apply:
Mobility Rule: at the time of recruitment by Aldebaran, the candidate
must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work,
studies, etc.) in France for more than 12 months in the 3 years
immediately prior to the reference date. Compulsory national service
and/or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account.
Cross-sectorial appointment: The ESR will be hired by Aldebaran for 36
months. The first 18 months will be spent at the Aldebaran AI-Lab (in
Paris, France), whilst the second 18 months will be spent at Plymouth
University (in Plymouth, UK). Short placements to associate partners
will also be required.
Applications should be sent via email to applyAPRIL@aldebaran.com
, along with a CV, and should provide
two referees.
This is a full-time position on a fixed-term basis for 36 months
starting 1 April 2016.
The closing date for applications is 13 December 2015.
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