Vacancies

PhD Students (Home status)

Posted: 26/4/23

The Manipulation and Touch (M+T) Lab of Imperial College London (www.imperial.ac.uk/manipulation-touch) is searching for new PhD students to work on one of the following topics :

  • Robotic in hand manipulation with novel mechanisms
  • Machine learning for robotic tactile sensing
  • Novel haptic interfaces (not vibration) for non-visual communication

Due to scholarship constraints we are ONLY able to consider UK HOME students with first class degrees. Please do not apply if you are not eligible for home student fees.

Applications may be made via the Imperial portal by 12th May 2023. Please include a research statement rather than a personal statement: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/electrical-engineering/study/phd/

I recommend sending me an email first to discuss which topic you are interested pursuing. My email address is a.spiers[at]imperial.ac.uk. Please set the subject to 'MTL PhD'.

Research Assistant in Haptic Interfaces for Vision-Impaired Navigation (Part-Time)

Posted: 10/5/23

Job summary

The Manipulation and Touch Lab is searching for a part-time research assistant to work on a collaborative project involving a new shape-changing haptic navigation interface for vision impaired people.

The role will involve analysing quantitative and qualitative data collected during studies with vision impaired and sighted persons. This analysis will include creating publication-quality visualisations and running tests of statistical significance. There is also scope to help in running the studies.

The project is a collaboration between Imperial College, MakeSense Ltd and Bravo Victor. Though the RA will be working directly with Dr. Ad Spiers, they are be expected to present their progress and findings to project partners in an easily digestible way. There is also scope to help in preparation of findings for publication.

This is an exciting project that has the long-term potential for significant impact on the quality of life for vision impaired people worldwide.

Duties and responsibilities

You will be analysing time-series data of participant behaviour as they interact with the technologies we have developed (e.g. device pose in space). You will write code to process this time series data into metrics that can be statistically compared. You will determine the most appropriate statistical tests for different project goals (e.g. comparison between device conditions, learning effects etc.). You will present your findings to project partners via live presentations and written reports.

You may be requested to help in running the experiments, which would involve interacting with vision impaired participants and working with our custom equipment. You may also be requested to help with preparation of technical publications.

Essential requirements

The candidate is expected to have experience in the following:

  • Statistics
  • Programming
  • Preparing reports and presentations

Additional experience in the following topics is not necessary, but will be beneficial

  • Matlab
  • Human subject studies
  • Human computer interfaces
  • Haptic interfaces
  • Writing scientific papers

Further information

This is a part time post of up to 24 hours (3 days) per week.

The post will last 6 months from the start of employment.

Employment is expected to start in June or July.

Candidates need to complete an online application.

To Apply: 
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/description/ENG02609/research-assistant-haptic-interfaces-vision-impaired-navigation-part-time/ 

 

Should you require any further details on the role please contact Dr. Ad Spiers – a.spiers [at] imperial.ac.uk.