The University of Turku is a world-class multidisciplinary research university which offers interesting challenges and a unique vantage point to national and international research and education.

Multiple Fully-Funded Doctoral candidate/Project researcher and Postdoctoral Researcher fixed-term Positions

R3Swarms: robust, resilient and reconfigurable swarms

We are opening 1-4 fully-funded doctoral candidate/project researcher and 1 postdoctoral researcher fixed-term positions at the Turku Intelligent Embedded and Robotic Systems (TIERS) Lab, University of Turku, Finland (tiers.utu.fi).

The positions are part of the R3Swarms project – Robust, Resilient and Reconfigurable Swarms, with a focus on security and resilience of distributed intelligence, human-swarm interaction and situated communication. Particular interest is put to swarms of heterogeneous aerial robots or drones with different capabilities and working together with ground robots. Some of the topics covered by the project and for which the positions are open are the following:

-  Deep learning for swarm-wide situational awareness.

-  Scalable wireless situated communication.

-  Reconfigurable edge-fog-cloud intelligence.

-  Distributed ledger technologies (e.g., blockchain) for trusted multi-robot collaboration.

-  Lightweight deep learning at the edge for anomaly detection.

-  Human-swarm interaction and secure interfaces.

-  Heterogeneous swarms of aerial and ground robots.

All selected researchers are expected to work at the intersection of aerial robotics, deep learning, distributed ledger technologies and elastic edge-cloud computing. The doctoral candidates are expected to pursue a PhD degree while working for the project, as well as supervising Master students and supporting teaching activities for advanced courses at the Department of Computing, University of Turku. The postdoctoral researcher will also participate in the supervision of PhD candidates and in preparing funding applications.

All positions are fixed-term and ending 15.05.2024. The work is full-time and will start as soon as possible according to a mutual agreement, even as early as 15.6.2021.

What we expect from the candidate:

-  Independence, collaboration and analytical skills, and motivation to work in a multinational and interdisciplinary team on multi-robot systems, embedded AI, edge computing and DLTs.

-  Background in relevant fields, such as mathematics, computer science, physics, computer or mechanical engineering, or another relevant field.

-  Experience in Python and C++ programming.

-  Fluent English proficiency.

In addition to these, please specify in your application which topics you are most interested in, considering the following expectations:

- For the deep learning position: experience with machine learning frameworks, and deployment of models for inference in embedded platforms. Experience with sensor fusion algorithms.

- For the aerial robotics position: experience with the Robot Operating System, and knowledge of the PX4 framework.

- For the DLT-related position: knowledge of blockchain technologies and novel distributed ledger technologies (e.g., IOTA or Hyperledger).

- For the distributed intelligence and edge-fog-cloud computing position: knowledge of optimization algorithms, experience in control theory and applications.

- For the UWB-related position: experience with ultra-wideband technology, mesh networking algorithms and control and perception in mobile robotics.

We also consider an advantage knowledge of the following topics:

-  Distributed machine learning, reinforcement learning and/or federated learning.

-  ROS2 and knowledge of networked systems.

-  Experience in swarm intelligence and multi-robot systems.

-  Practical hands-on experience with mobile robots and specifically drones.

-  Hardware accelerators for robotics and AI (e.g., FPGAs).

We expect researchers to jointly carry out interdisciplinary research across the different fields and leverage the opportunities for collaboration.

The qualification requirements of the position are stated in the University of Turku Rules of Procedure: https://www.utu.fi/en/university/organisation

A person selected for the post of Doctoral candidate/Project researcher is required to have a higher university degree (MSc or MSc tech degree). The degree must be completed by the end of the application period. If the selected person already has a right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Turku, (s)he must also have an accepted research plan. In addition, when acquiring his or her degree or otherwise, he or she is required to have demonstrated the ability and motivation to undertake postgraduate studies and the capacity to complete a doctoral degree in accordance with the research plan. If the person does not have a right to pursue a doctoral degree at the University of Turku, (s)he must apply the right from the University of Turku graduate school in Autumn 2021.

A person selected for the position of Postdoctoral researcher is required to have a doctoral degree and the ability to do independent scientific work as well as having the necessary teaching skills.

The Turku Intelligent Embedded and Robotic Systems research group (https://tiers.utu.fi) works within the fields of autonomous robots and edge computing, with a focus on developing robust and resilient multi-robot systems to be deployed in real-world conditions. Our research is put in action with a fleet of 40+ micro aerial vehicles, 3 large UAVs (DJI Matrice 300 RTK, DJI S1000) as well as other medium-sized UAVs. These are supported by several ground platforms (Clearpath Husky UGV and others), robotic manipulators (2x Franka Emika Panda cobots) and testing facilities with a motion capture system.

From the algorithmic point of view, our research is in the areas of collaborative autonomy, distributed perception, localization and navigation in GNSS-denied environments and collaborative sensing. Applications include search and rescue, exploration of unstructured and unknown environments and autonomous delivery robots. Within the edge computing domain, we carry out research on lightweight and embedded machine learning, computational offloading orchestration, blockchain and DLT technologies and distribution of computational load in large-scale distributed robotic systems.

The salary is determined in accordance with the university salary system for teaching and research personnel. For a doctoral candidate/project researcher the salary will be on the job demands chart on levels 2-4, where the task-specific salary component is 2078,27–2591,28 euros per month. For a postdoctoral researcher, the salary is on levels 4-6, which is 2591,28–3498,98 euros per month.
In addition, in all positions, a personal work performance component will be paid. The personal performance component is a 6% - 50% of the task-specific salary component.

A six (6) month trial period applies to all the positions.

Applications must be submitted at the latest on Monday 31 May 2021 (23:59) using the electronic application form of the University of Turku at the following address: https://www.utu.fi/careers

The link to the application system is at the beginning of this announcement (“Apply for the job”).

Please include with your application:

1. A motivation letter (1 page),
2. CV (max. 2 pages),
3. List of publications (if applicable) Please see the instructions
4. Verification of language proficiency
   Not mandatory, but IF you already have one include it in the application.
   NOTE, for doctoral candidate positions, when applying to the University of Turku graduate school, you must have good English language skills and a certificate that proves those skills. See the list of accepted International English language tests here.
5. Copies of degree certificates with translation in English or Finnish (if applicable)
6. Study transcripts
7. Contact information for 1-2 referees (name, affiliation, email)
8. Other documents that may affect the decision-making. For example, information about grants, prizes and recommendation letters that the applicant wishes to present, to indicate the eligibility and merits for the applied position.

For further information about the positions, please contact Associate Professor Tomi Westerlund, tomi.westerlund@utu.fi. Regarding the recruitment process, please contact HR Specialist Nina Reini, nina.reini@utu.fi.