PhD student in Intelligent agents that learn from their past experiences

Information about the position
Embodied Artificial Intelligence is a multidisciplinary area that requires the cooperation of different fields such as computer science, engineering, robotics and dynamical systems.  This PhD thesis will develop a novel learning algorithm to allow high-level intelligence, such as problem-solving and reasoning to be applied to real-world physical systems, e.g. robots. Mainly, this work will be focused on investigating learning methods on the semantic aspects of intelligence to develop general purpose solutions for robotic applications.

The goal of this PhD thesis is to develop compact and flexible model representations to allow robots the transference of their past experiences to current situations. These compact models should be human-readable to provide adequate feedback to the person interacting with the intelligent agent, e.g. a robot. This feedback should provide information to users, in an efficient form, about possible hazardous situations and potential errors, by predicting ahead-of-time the actions performed by either a human or a robot to infer their potential consequences. Thus, the communication between the users and the robots should be meaningful and bi-directional.

The position is with the Mechatronics group at Chalmers, where a team of PhD students, post-docs and senior researchers is working on semantic-based methods and advanced decision-making algorithms in the area of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The group is a part of the Department of Electrical Engineering (E2), which to a large extent deals with the modeling and development of efficient systems for extracting and processing information. For more information on E2, see also www.chalmers.se/E2/.

Major responsibilities
Your main responsibility as a PhD student is to pursue your own scientific studies and to develop your abilities and knowledge within the research fields covered by the project. You are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research verbally at scientific conferences and in written journal articles. The position also includes certain departmental duties, typically in form of teaching, corresponding to about 20% of working hours.

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

Qualifications
By the starting date, the applicant should have a Master of Science degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering,  Applied Math or in a related discipline. A successful applicant should have a strong background in machine learning methods and robotics as well as be familiar with reasoning methods and tools. Programming skills in C++ are strongly required and knowledge in ROS (Robot Operating System), Python, Unity, and Prolog  are welcome. A genuine interest and curiosity in the subject, excellent oral and written English communication skills are needed.

The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English. Swedish is not a requirement but if you have an interest in learning Swedish, Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Our offer to you
Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the dynamic city of Gothenburg. 
Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20200507 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as pdf-files, as below:

CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name, Ref. number)
• CV
• Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
• Two references that we can contact.

Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name, Ref. number)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities)
• Describe your future goals and future research focus

Other documents:
• Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
• Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, eg. TOEFL test results.

Please use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form. The files may be compressed (zipped).

Application deadline: 15 December, 2020



For questions, please contact:
Assis. Prof. Karinne Ramirez-Amaro, Systems and Control, e-mail: karinne@chalmers.se 
Prof. Jonas Sjöberg, Systems and Control, e-mail: jonas.sjoberg@chalmers.se, 772 1855

*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. ***