Logic List Mailing Archive

PhD student position in "Algorithms for Manipulation Planning with Imperfect Parts and Inaccurate Manipulators", Utrecht (The Netherlands), Deadline: 31 May 2011

The Department of Information and Computing Sciences at
Utrecht University has a job opening for a

      PhD researcher (1,0 fte)


Job description

The research project 'Algorithms for Manipulation Planning
with Imperfect Parts and Inaccurate Manipulators' is funded
by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

Industrial automation systems must rely on simple manipulators
and modest sensing capabilities to be reliable and inexpensive.
Research of the past decade shows that systems based on such
components are amenable to systematic analysis and design.

A major obstacle to practical application is that existing
results assume perfectly-shaped parts and manipulators that
operate with infinite precision, while real parts are
manufactured to tolerances and real manipulators are subject
to errors. The goal of this project is to tackle this severe
idealization and design algorithms for planning manipulation
tasks that are guaranteed to work despite part imperfection
and manipulator inaccuracy. Taking into account these variations
asks for completely different approaches to planning and design,
employing techniques and insights from the confluence of
computational geometry, robotics, and physical modelling.

The PhD student will work in the area of Algorithmic Automation,
and will be supervised by dr. Frank van der Stappen.


Qualifications

* Master in Computer Science or in Mathematics with a minor in CS.
* Interest (and preferably background) in algorithms design.
* Interest in applications in Robotics and Automation.
* Fluency in English writing.


Terms of employment

The candidate is offered a full-time position for 4 years.
Salary starts with EUR 2.042.- per month in the first year and
increases to EUR 2.612.- gross per month in the fourth year.
The salary is supplemented with a holiday bonus of 8% and
an end-of-year bonus of 8,3% per year. In addition we offer:
a pension scheme, a partially paid parental leave, flexible
employment conditions. Conditions are based on the Collective
Labour Agreement Dutch Universities. The research group will
provide the candidate with necessary support on all aspects
of the project.


Further details

Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from:
dr. Frank van der Stappen; mail: frankst@cs.uu.nl,
tel: +31 (0)30 253 5093.
This vacancy is published on the web page:
http://www.uu.nl/EN/informationfor/jobseekers/Pages/vacancies.aspx


How to apply

Please send your application (including a letter of motivation,
curriculum vitae and contact details of at least two references)
before 31 May 2011 to email: Science.PenO@uu.nl

Please mention vacancy number 64103.