Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Autonomous Navigation for Agri-robotics
Location: Lincoln
Salary: From £36,333 per annum
Please note, this post is fixed term for 24 months, and full time at 1.0 FTE.
Closing Date: Sunday 09 April 2023
Interview Date: Friday 28 April 2023
Reference: COS967
We are looking to recruit a Research Associate with a research profile in autonomous robot navigation to join our agri-robotics research team.
The University of Lincoln robotics team is working on a large project with the agri-robotics industry, towards the open development platform for robotic crop harvesting. The platform will facilitate open and standardised access to the core software and hardware components providing key functionality such as autonomy, safety or perception enabling rapid adoption by the industry and academia. The core functionality will enable further development and customisation which can be privately exploited by the industry, leading to faster adoption of more reliable robotic technology in agriculture. Such a strategy will lead to step changes in farming productivity and help to alleviate global problems with the availability of a workforce in the sector. In this project, the principle will be demonstrated by developing commercial robotic systems for tomato and strawberry harvesting.
One of the key components of the platform is autonomy enabling reliable and safe navigation of the mobile platforms deployed in agricultural settings. The academic focus will be on navigation techniques which can deal with dynamic and changing environments, enabling long-term operation and rely on affordable vision-based approaches. For that purpose, we are looking to recruit a Post-Doctoral Research Associate with relevant experience and/or a keen interest in a number of research areas, including (not exclusively):
- Long-term autonomy for mobile robots;
- Metric and topological representations for long-term operation;
- Learning for autonomous systems;
- Software engineering in robotics; and
- Integration and orchestration of robotic system.
Applicants should have or expect to soon obtain, a PhD in a relevant area. You must have excellent mathematical and coding skills (C++/Python) and knowledge of working with robots and using ROS (desirable ROS 2).
This opportunity allows you to engage in international collaboration within an ambitious team, to work with state-of-the-art robotic hardware and software, and to benefit from excellent support to produce and disseminate original research contributions in the leading international conferences and journals. You will have access to state-of-the-art research farms equipped with industrial standard production facilities, as well as agricultural robots with advanced sensors and tools.
You will also contribute to the University’s ambition to achieve international recognition as a research-intensive institution and will be expected to design, conduct and manage original research in the above subject areas as well contribute to the wider activities of the agri-robotics team. Evidence of authorship of research outputs of international standing is essential, as is the ability to work collaboratively as part of a team, including excellent written and spoken communication skills. Opportunities to mentor and co-supervise PhD students working in the project team will also be available to outstanding candidates.
This is a full-time post, fixed-term for 24 months initially, with excellent opportunities for ongoing career development and progression. Informal enquiries about the post can be made to Prof. Marc Hanheide (email: mhanheide@lincoln.ac.uk).