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.

Postdoctoral researcher position in multi-robot systems, aerial autonomy and ML/DL for robot swarms 

AeroPolis project: sustainable aerial ecosystems for future metropolises 
R3Swarms project: robust, resilient and reconfigurable swarms 
 

We are opening a fixed-term postdoctoral researcher position at the Turku Intelligent Embedded and Robotic Systems (TIERS) Lab, University of Turku, Finland (tiers.utu.fi). 

The position is full-time and will start as soon as possible according to a mutual agreement. The postdoctoral researcher position is fixed-term and ends 31.12.2024.  

The position is meant for supporting research in AeroPolis and R3Swarms projects involving multi-robot systems, aerial autonomy and embodied intelligence. The ideal candidate should have experience in at least one of the following research areas: 

• Multi-robot and distributed robotic systems 
• Machine learning for robot perception and control as well as end-to-end deep learning 
• Aerial robotics, aerial manipulation 
• Reinforcement learning for robotics, multi-agent reinforcement learning 
• Federated learning and distributed machine learning methods with applications in robotics 
• Hardware acceleration (GPU/FPGA) for machine learning / robotics applications 

 Candidates applying for this position are expected to: 

• Hold a PhD in computer science, mechanical engineering, robotics engineering or similar 
• Be fluent in Python and C++, ideally having experience with ROS 
• Have a strong publication record in well-known conferences and journals 
• Have fluent English communication, written and oral 

 Additionally, experience in the following areas is considered a plus: 

• Knowledge of ROS 2 
• Localization with ultra-wideband (UWB) ranging 
• Blockchain technologies / DLTs for distributed robotic systems 
• Knowledge of PX4 and drone hardware / prototyping experience 
• Experience with multi-modal sensor fusion and optimizational algorithms 
• Experience with real-time systems 
• Experience writing project proposals and grant applications 

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 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. 

As a postdoctoral researcher at TIERS, you will: 

• Carry out research within a multinational and interdisciplinary team,  
• Supervise master students and doctoral researchers, 
• Take part of teaching activities and development of master degree courses, and 
• Participate in the preparation of project proposals and grant applications 

Research and work at TIERS 

Research at TIERS aims at putting into practice the algorithms and methods to be developed (e.g., with lightweight deep learning at the edge). To this end, we have different types of robots, a large number of sensors and computing platforms available for research purposes. Practical experience with robotic systems, including the platforms and sensors listed below, is a strong advantage: 

• Ground robotic platforms: 1x Clearpath Husky, 1x Dashgo D1, 15x Jetbots, 8x Turtlebot 4 (coming soon), 4x myAGV 
• Legged robots: Unitree A1, Unitree B1 (coming soon) 
• Manipulators/ cobots: 2x Franka Emika Panda 
• Multirotor platforms: 2x DJI M300, 2x DJI S1000, 1x T-Drones M690B, 8x Holybro X500, 4x Holybro QAV250, 20x Tello (with Pixhaw Orange, Pixhawk 4, Pixhawk 5X) 
• Motion capture system: 8x PrimeX 22 + 4x PrimeX 13 Optitrack cameras in a 10x8x6 m research arena, with possibility of extension to 20x8x6 m and two different MOCAP systems. 
• Lidar sensors: 1x VLP-16, 1x OS1-64, 1x OS0-128, 1x Leishen C16, 2x Livox Horizon, 1x Livox AVIA, 8x RPilidar A1 
• Local ML server: 24-core processor, 128GB memory, 2x RTX3090, 4TB storage 
• Jetson boards: 12x Nano, 4x Xavier NX, 2x Xavier AGX, 1x Orin AGX 
• x86 boards: 4x Up Xtreme i7, 8x Up board, 4x Up squared, 2x AAEON  
• Other computing platforms: 4x Raspberry Pi 3, 4x RPi 4, 8x RPi Zero W, 8x RPi Zero 2 
• RealSense cameras: 6x D435, 8x T265, 2x L515, 2x D455 
• Other cameras: 2x Zed 2i, 1x Zed mini, 2x Picam 360, 1x FLIR Duo Pro R, 10x OAK-D 
• Other sensors: 1x DJI Zenmuse H20T, 50x Decawave DWM1001-Dev 

At TIERS, you will work within an international team spanning 15 nationalities and 4 continents. We are looking for candidates willing to work in interdisciplinary projects, both in theoretical and applied research, and within a young and evolving research group where you decide the limits.  

Salary and How to Apply 

The salary is determined in accordance with the university salary system for teaching and research personnel. For a postdoctoral researcher the salary will be on the job demands chart on levels 5-6, which is 3044,00–3549,72 euro per month. In addition, 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 the position. 

Applications must be submitted at the latest on Monday 01/08/2022 (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 (please see the instructions) 
4. Copies of degree certificates with translation in English or Finnish (if applicable) 
5. Contact information for 1-2 referees (name, affiliation, email) 
6. Other documents that may affect the decision-making. For example, information about grants, prizes and recommendation letters that the applicant wishes to present. 

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