Laboratoire International Associé
Franco-Japonais

JRL- France

JRL-France post-doctoral position in Humanoid Robotics at LAAS-CNRS

Scientific topic: Motion planning and control is a hot research topic in Robotics for more than 25 years. How can a robot decide autonomously what motions it has to perform to execute a given task? This is the central question of robot motion planning and control.  Research in this lies at the border of both Computer Science (robot algorithms, combinatorial geometry) and Control (system analysis and control, optimization). With respect to humanoid robotics, the key point for algorithms is to face the combinatorial complexity of the robot body (the underlying mechanical system has more than 30 degrees of freedom) while the key point for control is the dynamic stabilization of the whole body.

The second facet of the problem imposed by robot autonomy is to explore the link perception-motion. How to elaborate models from signals (in the current context the considered perception systems is a set of cameras) both to localize the robot in its environment and to elaborate the inputs of motion algorithms?

Finally the last issue is to be addressed is software architecture and system integration. How the various software modules (vision, localization, motion planning, control) should be organized within a single integrated system?

On these three topics LAAS benefits from a long experience that has been mainly steered by mobile robotics at large. The goal assigned to the PostDoc is to extend this expertise to humanoid robotics. Two main objectives are scheduled:

• Analyze the background: How the methods, software modules and software architecture available at LAAS may be applied or extended to humanoid robotics context? What are the missing functions?
• Define, develop and integrate the missing functions.

Organization: The ambition of the subject cannot be at the charge of a single researcher. The PostDoc will join a team. He will be a member of both the French-Japanese lab JRL-France newly located at LAAS (4 senior researchers) and the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence group of LAAS (more than 20 senior researchers, engineers and technicians). From one side, he will have in charge the coordination of the software management around the humanoid robot HRP-2 platform. From the other side, he will contribute to new algorithm definition and software development in close relationship with PhD students and senior researchers.

Candidate profil: The applicant should have got his PhD in Robotics. He should not cover all the various theoretical insights in motion planning and control, perception and system architecture. However he should have a strong background in robotics and an effective experience in conducing integrated robotics projects or at least in participating to.

Monthly pay: 2150€ gross

Starting date: Autumn 2006

Contact: Send a motivation letter and curriculum vitae to J.P. Laumond and E. Yoshida.