Italy Job Openings

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Open positions in “Efficient multimodal neuromorphic perception for human-robot interaction”

Genoa

October 7, 2024

Open positions in “Efficient multimodal neuromorphic perception for human-robot interaction”
- (2300004P)

Commitment & contract: Post Doc for one/two years
Location: Genoa, Italy
ABOUT US
At IIT we work enthusiastically to develop human-centered Science and Technology to tackle some of the most pressing societal challenges of our times and transfer these technologies to the production system and society. Our Genoa headquarters are strictly interconnected with the other 11 centers around Italy and two outstations based in the US. We promote excellence in basic and applied research such as neuroscience and cognition, humanoid technologies and robotics, nanotechnology, materials for a truly multidisciplinary scientific experience.
YOUR TEAM

The research activities will be carried out under the supervision of Dr. Chiara Bartolozzi and Dr. Gaurvi Goyal. You b wille working in a multicultural and multi-disciplinary group, where computational scientists, neuromorphic engineers and robotics experts collaborate to carry out common research. The current composition of the group consists of people from 6 different countries on 3 different continents.

The EDPR Research line is coordinated by Chiara Bartolozzi, who has extensive experience in neuromorphic engineering, and event-driven sensing and perception for robots. The Neuromorphic domain is a strongly emerging alternative computing ecosystem that can provide a more sustainable option to mainstream digital computing.

The open position is part of a larger EU project that will rely on the efficiency and accuracy of neuromorphic sensing and computation and its link to the real-world dynamics through its asynchronous, event-driven nature, to support the development of the robot’s understanding of itself, of the environment and of other agents. This approach is deemed to deliver robots with human-like motor performance and interaction.

Within this broad context, we are augmenting our team of researchers, working on two main projects: Neuromorphic Human Pose Estimation and Neuromorphic Tactile Perception.

Neuromorphic Human Pose Estimation

We will develop spiking neural networks for Human Pose Estimation at very high frequency, very low latency and high accuracy, with a precise estimation of the timing of the action, needed to better coordinate human and robot’s cooperative interactions, to be deployed on the visual system of the i Cub humanoid robot. We will focus on building models that are robust to special and intersectional factors (gender, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, disability) including features such as adaptability to disabilities, aiming at deployment in assistive robotics and robotic enabled rehabilitation therapies. To this aim, we will investigate and implement techniques in areas like meta learning, transfer learning and domain adaptation, that build the adaptability implicitly into the models with minimal new data to augment the training phases, for applications to uncommon cases where building large-scale dataset is either inefficient or impossible.

Neuromorphic Tactile Perception

We will develop neuromorphic proprioceptive and tactile perception to support precise estimation of action timing, for precise action timing execution during physical human robot interaction.

We will develop spiking hybrid capacitive/piezoelectric tactile sensors, delivering a system level prototype with matrices of sensors based on our recently developed neuromorphic circuits, that will be integrated in the i Cub robot.

We will use these sensors and neuromorphic spiking neural networks for the estimation and execution of task dynamics during physical human robot interaction, also relying on the co-activation of vision (i.e., from the tracking of human pose) and other sensory modalities such as proprioception.

YOUR RESPOSIBILITY
Within the team, depending on your expertise and choice between one of the two main projects, your main responsibilities will be:

Develop spiking neural networks for human pose estimation, focusing on methods that are robust to intersectional factors and minimise training data;
Optimize their implementation for low-latency and real-time, on neuromorphic hardware;
Develop neuromorphic tactile sensors based on piezoelectric and capacitive transducers;
Integrate neuromorphic tactile sensors on the i Cub robot;
Develop a method to integrate tactile, proprioceptive and visual cues to inform the robot on the task dynamics;
Team up with the other researchers in the project to integrate all modules on the i Cub robot

This research is financed by the European Commission, within the Performance in Robot Interaction via Mental Imagery (PRIMI) project.
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

A Ph D in computer science, engineering, robotics, or related fields
Good skills in algorithm development, programming, and analyzing and explaining your results
Good command in spoken and written English

ADDITIONAL SKILLS (though not necessary)

Experience on circuit design
Knowledge of spiking neural networks and/or learning
Background in neuromorphic engineering
Good communication skills
Strong problem solving attitude
High motivation to learn
Spirit of innovation and creativity
Adeptness at time and priority management
Ability to work in a challenging and international environment
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a highly interdisciplinary environment
Excited about getting hands-on experience with humanoid robots

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Competitive salary package for international standards
Private health care coverage
Wide range of staff discounts

WHAT’S IN FOR YOU?

An equal, inclusive and multicultural environment ready to welcome you with open arms. Discrimination is a big NO for us!
We like contamination and encourage you to mingle and discover what other people are up to in our labs!
If paperwork is not your piece of cake, we got you! There’s a specialized team working to help you with that, especially during your relocation!
If you are a startupper or a business-minded person, you will find some exceptionally gifted professionals ready to nurture and guide your attitude and aspirations.
If you want your work to have a real impact, in IIT you will find an innovative and stimulating culture that drives our mission to contribute to the improvement and well-being of society!
We stick to our values! Integrity, courage, societal responsibility and inclusivity are the values we believe in! They define us and our actions in our everyday life. They guide us to accomplish IIT mission!

If you feel this tickles your appetite for change, do not hesitate and apply!

Please submit your application using the online form and including a detailed CV, university transcripts, cover letter (outlining motivation, experience and qualifications) and 2 reference letters (for the Post Doc position).
Application’s deadline : October 20th, 2024
We inform you that the information you provide will be used solely for the purposes of evaluating and selecting professional profiles in order to meet the requirements of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia.
Your data will be processed by Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, based in Genoa, Via Morego 30, acting as Data Controller, in compliance with the rules on protection of personal data, including those related to data security.
Please also note that, pursuant to articles 15 et. seq. of European Regulation no. 679/2016 (General Data Protection Regulation), you may exercise your rights at any time by contacting the Data Protection Officer (phone Tel: +39 010 28961 - email: dpo@iit.it ).

Primary Location GENOVA S. QUIRICO

Job Postdoc

Organization Event-Driven Perception for Robotics

Job Posting Oct 7, 2024, 2:04:25 AM

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