Research Associate

University of Edinburgh; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000

Job description

Grade UE07: £40,247 to £47,874 per annum

School of Informatics / CSE

Full time: 35 hours per week

Fixed term: until 30th November 2025

The School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh invites applications for a Research Associate to work on the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) grant Hierarchical Motion Planning Framework for Realizing Long-Horizon Tasks, as part of the Moonshot Programme.

Hierarchical Motion Planning Framework for Realising Long-horizon Task

Having robots collaborating alongside humans and assisting them in daily life activities, such as tidying up, is extremely challenging. Robots need to reason about how to split such complex tasks into simpler subtasks, while being able to safely and robustly accomplish each of the individual subtasks. For instance, picking up the target object, then moving it to the front of the shelf, opening the shelf door, and finally successfully placing the object inside the shelf. Additionally, robots also need to be able to adapt their movements to unpredictable and dynamic changes, such as humans moving around, and to unexpected object properties, including the object turning out to be heavier or softer than anticipated.

In this project, in collaboration with Waseda University in Japan and under the auspices of The Alan Turing Institute, we develop learning and motion planning methods for realising long-horizon tasks that are adaptable and generalisable to objects of various properties.

We use the example of stacking several boxes with different hidden properties, such as mass or even the contents, that require the robot to change the high level (long-horizon) plan, as well as the robot motion itself -- such as how fast it should move.

This project directly contributes to the Goal 3 of the Moonshot programme: Realisation of AI robots that autonomously learn, adapt to their environment, evolve in intelligence and act alongside human beings, by 2050.

The Opportunity

The postholder will support the Principal Investigator in achieving the goals of the project, under their direction.

• Undertaking a specific role in the research project under supervision
• Taking responsibility for some elements of the planned research
• Planning and carrying out a work programme appropriate to the research activity
• Developing own research portfolio in related areas
• Contributing to the writing of research grants
• Contributing to dissemination and publication of personal and/or research teams findings as appropriate.
• Contribute to learning and teaching through activities such as project supervision, tutoring and marking (limited to no more than 5% on an annualised basis).

Your skills and attributes for success:

• PhD degree in robotics or related field
• Research expertise in robotic manipulation, task and motion planning, learning from demonstration.
• Track record of research publications in high-quality conferences and journals
• Excellent programming skills in ROS and Python.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team, to meet deadlines, and to report on project progress
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly, orally and in writing
• Ability to provide guidance and support to junior project members.

The successful candidate will be required to closely engage with a network of Japanese project partners, as well as assist the University of Edinburgh team to navigate Japanese language and culture.

Application Information

Please ensure you include the following documents in your application:

• CV
• Cover letter

Contact details for informal enquiries: Sethu Vijayakumar [e-mail]

As a valued member of our team you can expect:

• A competitive salary
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, competitive pension schemes, staff discounts, and family-friendly initiatives.

Championing equality, diversity and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 3rd January 2025.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.

About Us

As a world-leading research-intensive University, we are here to address tomorrow's greatest challenges. Between now and 2030 we will do that with a values-led approach to teaching, research and innovation, and through the strength of our relationships, both locally and globally.

About the Team

Informatics is the study of how natural and artificial systems store, process and communicate information. Research in Informatics promises to take information technology to a new level, and to place information at the heart of 21st century science, technology and society. The School enjoys collaborations across many disciplines in the University, spanning all three College, and also participates as a strategic partner in the Alan Turing Institute and, with Heriot-Watt University, in the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics.

The School provides a fertile environment for a wide range of studies focused on understanding computation in both artificial and natural systems. It attracts students around the world to study in our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and currently has approximately 1000 undergraduate students, 320 MSc students and 350 PhD students. Informatics is one of seven schools in the College of Science and Engineering, at the University of Edinburgh. It is recognised for the employability of its graduates (demand exceeds supply), its contributions to entrepreneurship, and the excellence of its research.

We aim to ensure that our culture and systems support flexible and family-friendly working and recognise and value diversity across all our staff and students.