PhD Mechanical Contact Information Processing of Soft and Large-area Robot Skin

Introduction

Do you want to work on the next generation robot skin to give machines a sense of touch so that they can grab and swiftly manipulate large and heavy objects? Are you passionate about contact and solid mechanics, sensing and signal processing, and robotics? If so, you might be an excellent candidate.

Job Description

The demand for autonomous robots capable of physically interacting with the world in flexible and adaptable ways is rapidly increasing across industries and society. These robots are needed to perform heavy, non-ergonomic tasks in unstructured environments or to assist humans in physically demanding jobs. Tactile robotics, an emerging and challenging field, focuses on developing tactile sensing and perception technologies that enable robots to intelligently respond to contact.

While significant progress has been made in finger-scale tactile sensing, challenges persist in developing soft, large-area robotic skin. A major hurdle is gathering sufficient contact information on the robot's surface when the skin covers large, curved body areas with only a limited number of embedded sensors.

The important contact information, such as contact area, direction, pressure distribution, even slip incipient, is often not directly measurable. Instead, this information must be estimated from sensor signals produced by the mechanical model of the skin during contact. Advancing our understanding of this mechanical contact information processing is crucial for enhancing the feasibility and value of robotic skin technologies.

In this position, you will investigate mechanics of soft robot skin, conducting experiments to develop a mechanical contact processing model that can estimate contact information from sensors embedded in soft elastomer.

Key Objectives and Challenges of this PhD Position Include:

• Design contact experimental setups for contact analysis, utilizing the existing robot skin, with support from the Mechanical Engineering department at TU/e for mechanical design and the Electrical Engineering department at TU/e for tactile sensor electronics.
• Contribute to the development of numerical models to simulate soft, large-area robotic skin with embedded tactile sensors, with assistance from the Computer Science department at TU/e for finite element-based deformable body simulations.
• Conduct research on mechanical contact processing models, integrating both physics-based numerical models and data-driven approaches (e.g. physics-informed ML) to estimate contact information.
• Evaluate and validate the accuracy of contact information estimation.

This project builds on previous work by Dr. Hyosang Lee (link). The position is embedded in the Robotics section (RBT) within the Department of the Mechanical Engineering, and is closely connected with the Dynamics and Control (D&C) and Control Systems Technology (CST) sections.

Job Requirements

• A master’s degree (or equivalent) in a field relevant to signal processing, such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, control engineering, or related disciplines.
• Background knowledge in numerical methods, with a preference for experience in contact and solid mechanics.
• Demonstrated high and low-level programming experience (C/C++ and MATLAB/Python) and machine learning.
• Interest in mechatronics and robotics is desirable but not mandatory.
• A research-oriented mindset, eager to take on exciting challenges.
• Willingness or demonstrated ability to work on multidisciplinary and collaborative projects.
• Motivation to develop teaching skills and mentor junior students (Bachelor’s and Master’s levels).
• Proficiency in spoken and written English (C1 level or higher).

Conditions of Employment

• A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you: 
• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate assessment after nine months. You will spend a minimum of 10% of your four-year employment on teaching tasks, with a maximum of 15% per year of your employment. 
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. € 2,901 max. € 3,707).  
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%. 
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process. 
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.  
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs. 
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates. 

Information

About us

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is an internationally top-ranking university in the Netherlands that combines scientific curiosity with a hands-on attitude. Our spirit of collaboration translates into an open culture and a top-five position in collaborating with advanced industries.

This position will be embedded into the Robotics (RBT) section at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. We have a very long and strong track record of both industrial collaboration and fundamental research. We strongly collaborate with the interdisciplinary ecosystems, such as Eindhoven AI Systems Institute (EAISI), Holst center from TNO.

More information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager Hyosang Lee, Assistant Professor, h.lee1@tue.nl.

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact HR advice, HRadviceME@tue.nl or +31 40 2475902 or see this link.

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application

We invite you to submit a complete application by using the 'apply now'-button on this page. The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of maximum three references.
• Brief description of your MSc thesis and past research projects.
• If applicable, an IELTS/TOEFL English test scores.

We look forward to your application and will screen it as soon as we have received it. Screening will continue until the position has been filled.