Phd Fellow in Sensor Systems in Soft Robotics - Genova, Italia - Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Azienda verificata

Genova, Italia

2 settimane fa

Inviato da:

Piero Bianchi

Reclutatore di talenti per beBee

Descrizione

PhD fellow in Sensor systems in soft robotics
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In order to be admitted into the ARC program, the minimum requirements are
- a Masters-level degree, which broadly corresponds to a 4/5-year undergraduate MSc/MChem/Meng-style degree or to a postgraduate Masters in the British system, or to a second level University degree in Italy;
- where English is not the applicant's first language, a valid IELTS (International English Language Testing System) certificate. The minimum acceptable score is an overall 6.5, with no less than 6.0 in any of the four categories

One PhD fellow position
will be available from November 1st 2023 in the Soft BioRobotics Perception research group led by Dr.

Lucia Beccai.

Title of the project: 1. Distributed tactile sensing and proprioception for elephant-trunk inspired soft manipulators

Background_: The elephanttrunk is an amazing organ that inspires the design and development of totally new versatile manipulators capable of both strong and delicate tasks in different environments, dry or wet. Currently, we are addressing the challenge to develop highly compliant, yet strong and reliable soft continuum grippers inspired from the trunk. In this endeavor sensing and perception are fundamental to enable the robots to both sense the outer world and to perceive their own movements in space. Tactile sensing is crucial for control in realworld scenarios; it needs to be distributed throughout the manipulator and operate while the robot performs large deformations in different directions. Moreover, tactile sensing is essential for skilled tasks (e.g., sorting of objects based on surface texture, object shape etc.), and interaction with humans and the environment.

A variety of deformable sensing technologies are available today, but there is still a gap to develop distributed systems that:
(i) can be fully integrated with the actuation strategy facilitating the robot movements; (ii) do not dramatically increase the complexity of the robot (with wiring and electronics); and (iii) are robust enough to cope with real and hostile environments keeping high deformability.

Main Supervisor:
Lucia Beccai ( Soft BioRobotics Perception )

Essential expertise_:
MSc degree in electrical or electronic engineering, nanotechnology, or equivalent
Engineering experience in the domain of soft robotics and soft sensing
Previous experience in tactile sensor and skin design
Previous experience in design and test of electronic systems for sensing signals' conditioning
Desirable expertise_:
Proved experience in CAD and FEM tools, in particular Comsol Multiphysics Previous knowledge of programming skills
Previous experience in test of tactile soft sensors

How to apply. Prospective students must submit using the online form the following documents

2page CV, which includes studies, expertise and achievements.
1page research statement, which includes the choice of a project from the list above and a justification of the choice. Only if robustly justified, the student may signal their interest also for a second project, but there is no guarantee that this will be taken into account by the selection panel.
A transcript of undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
A valid IELTS certificate, obtained no more than two years before the proposed registration date.
Contact details of two referees.

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia is an Equal Opportunity Employer that actively seeks diversity in the workforce.

Please note that the data that you provide will be used exclusively for the purpose of professional profiles' evaluation and selection, and in order to meet the requirements of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia.

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Primary Location GENOVA

Job PhD Fellow

Organization Soft BioRobotics Perception

Job Posting Sep 5, 2023, 7:17:54 AM