PhD Studentship - Theory of Mind and Intention Reading in Human-Robot Interaction

How to apply: www.rainz-cdt.ac.uk

The studentship will cover full tuition fees at the Home student rate and a maintenance grant for 4 years, starting at the UKRI minimum of £19,237 pa which may increase with indexation each year. The Studentship also comes with access to additional funding in the form of a research training support grant which is available to fund conference attendance, fieldwork, etc.

Funding for this RAINZ studentship is provided by EPSRC and BAE Systems. 

This studentship is offered by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training IN Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for Net Zero (RAINZ CDT) which is a partnership between three of the UKs leading universities (University of Manchester, University of Glasgow and University of Oxford).

Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) is an essential enabling technology for the Net Zero transition in the UK’s energy sector. However, significant technological and cultural barriers are limiting its effectiveness. Overcoming these barriers is a key target of this CDT. The focus of the CDT’s research projects will be how RAS can be used for the inspection, maintenance, and repair of new infrastructure in renewables (wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, hydrogen) and nuclear (fission and fusion), and to support the decarbonization of existing maintenance and decommissioning of assets.

We are seeking ambitious scientists and engineers who are keen to acquire new skills and have a desire to help increase use of RAS to help decarbonise the energy sector. You will become a pioneer and leader in this increasingly important area of science and engineering.

RAINZ_CDT

Year 1: You will spend the first year of the CDT at the University of Manchester undertaking taught MSc studies and research training. You must achieve an average of 65% or higher in your MSc taught assessments to be considered for progression to the PhD studies.

Note: you will not graduate with an MSc. If you meet the progression criteria, you will transition directly onto the PhD.

Years 2 – 4: You will move to your host institute (University of Manchester, University of Glasgow, or University of Oxford) to undertake your PhD research, which will be complimented with a comprehensive cohort training and employability development programme.

About this Project.

Year 1 MSc Course: MSc AI

Year 2 – 4 PhD Location: University of Manchester

Research Abstract: Interaction between people and robots, be this physical interaction (e.g. object handover, joint tool use, rehabilitation robots) or social interaction (e.g. joint problem solving) requires the robot's understanding of the human user's intention and goal. In psychology, we call this capability 'Theory of Mind', i.e. the representation of the other agent's mental states, preferences, and their intentions. Machine learning methods have been recently proposed to model intention reading and artificial Theory of Mind capabilities in robots. This project will use the latest deep learning methods to model the robot's capability to read and recognise the goal and intention of users to support human-robot collaboration in constrained environments.

Applicants should have a First or strong Upper Second-class honours degree (2:1 with 65% average), or international equivalent, in a Computer Science degree with a minimum of 50% Computer Science content. 

Applications should be made through the RAINZ CDT website: www.rainz-cdt.ac.uk, where you can also find further information about the CDT. Informal enquiries can be made by emailing rainz@manchester.ac.uk.

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