Have you noticed that computers can show beautiful images and play clear sounds, but they don't let you physically touch digital items? What if you could feel the texture of clothing or the brush strokes of a famous art piece on your smartphone? Led by Katherine J. Kuchenbecker, the MPI-IS Haptic Intelligence department is working to invent new technologies for generating realistic haptic sensations on touchscreens. We are interested in investigating human touch sensation, understanding the electro-mechanical properties of the fingertip, and designing new haptic interfaces based on this knowledge.

We are looking for a:
Student Research Assistant (m/f/div) for artificial muscle fabrication and characterization

Roles & Responsibilities

The student assistant position is paid hourly and will allow the student to gain hands-on experience with hardware systems, as well as to be exposed to ongoing robotics research. The position and tasks can be adjusted the interest of the candidate. Selected candidates can start working as soon as they are hired.

Possible tasks include:

• Fabrication of film based soft actuators.
• Characterization of the actuators in experiments
• Performing simulations of bio-mimetic artificial muscle systems
• Processing of experimental and simulation data

Education & Experience

We are looking for talented students who are pursuing a Master of Science in engineering cybernetics (Kybernetik), biomedical engineering (Medizintechnik), mechanical engineering (Maschinenbau), mechatronics (Mechatronik), material science (Materialwissenschaften), electrical engineering (Elektrotechnik), physics (Physik) or related fields to support our research as student assistants (Hi Wis) and to shape the future of robotics with us.

Applicants should

• have high motivation.
• be pursuing a master’s degree.
• be currently enrolled in a German university.
• want to work in an international and interdisciplinary research group.
• have good oral and written communication skills in English.
• be able to work on site at the Max-Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany.

We are especially interested in applicants who have experience in

• engineering drawing (2D CAD) and designing experiments
• rapid prototyping techniques (3D CAD, CNC, laser cutting, 3D printing).
• experimental data acquisition and processing (Matlab)
• performing simulation ins Matlab/Simulink

Our offer:
Master students holding a Bachelor’s degree will be paid 13,65€ per hour, maximum 20 hours per week. The job will start as soon as possible. An initial contract will be offered for three months with the possibility to be extended for a longer period of time.

We offer a modernly equipped workplace, a strongly international working environment, as well as the affiliation to a daycare center for young children.

Application:
Please upload your application including a resumé in English or German and a cover letter in English to our application system ().

For further questions please contact Malte Hendrickson at .

The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. The Max Planck Society strives for gender equality and diversity. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in its workforce in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.

Closing date for applications:
15.10.2024