Research Associate

Full time: 35 hours per week

Fixed term: until 30^th 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 in to 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.

For more information on the Goal 3 of the Moonshot programme check: Moonshot Programme Goal 3

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).

The salary for this post is £40,247 to £47,874 per annum.

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.

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