Research assistant

Students (assisting teaching and research)

Aalto University is a community of bold thinkers where science and art meet technology and business. We are committed to identifying and solving grand societal challenges and building an innovative future. Aalto has six schools with nearly 11 000 students and a staff of more than 4000, of which 400 are professors. Our main campus is located in Espoo, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness in the future as well. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community.

We focus on the behavior of ships, offshore structures, and their systems in normal and extreme environments, such as extreme wave and ice conditions. Our research, based on fundamentals of solid and fluid mechanics, safety science, and scientific computing, considers the safety of maritime transportation and operations, as well as the experiences the marine environment can offer to cruise vessel passengers.

We are now looking for a

Research assistant for open summer worker position in Mass model work . Work is located in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Marine and Arctic Technology group.

The autonomous ships are becoming a tangible reality with a number of research projects already testing the small and full-scale technology. Aalto university is also one of them. To this aim it is necessary to enhance an existing model of autonomous vessel which has been a subject of intense research at Aalto.

Your role and goals

The position of the research aims to cover the needs relevant to the AL ship model development, with with an enhancement of it’s safety features, both at the active collision avoidance level, and emergency stopping functions, related to collision avoidance. The function would re-plan the path at a local scale, such that the object is avoided without a need to stop. Additionally the function would include a safeguard in case no route can be found, or safe maneuver, initiate stopping commands and move the ship away from object, in case of object detection depending on object and ship relative speed and distance.

The 3-month project includes the following objectives:

• Integrating relevant ultrasonic sensor to the whole ROS2/Arduino architecture for object detection and speed/distance calculation.
• Developing a control algorithm ensuring effective stoppage operation and active collision avoidance.
• Implementing minor fixes and supporting the responsible PostDoc in his activities related to the AL model.

The position can be potentially extended later to that of the Master thesis.

Your network and team

You will work in close cooperation with Dr Victor Bolbot who has participated in the design and software development of AL, phD candidate Andrei Sandru, Aalto Ice and Wave tank personell, as well Prof Osiris A. Valdez Banda and other ambitious and knowledgeable Aalto personnel.

Your experience and ambitions

The required skills for the intern constitutes

• Good programming skills in software related to robotics (Python, Arduino, ROS2, Ubuntu, etc.)
• Experience with electrical and maritime subject is an advantage.
• Willingness to learn more control techniques and maritime navigation.
• Ability to adjust to project circumstances and to innovate
• Ability to work under supervision and independently

What we offer

Position is primarily for Aalto University bachelor or Master student. Employment relationship is full time, fixed-term (period of two months). Aalto University follows the salary system of Finnish universities. The salary of a full time student is approximately 2111 - 2249 €/month (gross) depenging on a phase of studies (bachelor / master´s). You may start with a research assistant position before reaching the status of a Master's thesis. The contract includes Aalto University occupational healthcare.

Ready to apply?

If you want to join our community, please submit your application through our recruitment system. To apply, please share the following application material with us:

• CV

The deadline for applications is June 25, 2024 at 23:59 Finnish time (UTC +2). However, early applications are very much encouraged, and we may invite suitable candidates to interview during the application period. The position will be filled as soon as a suitable candidate is identified. We expect you to start working from July 1 or earlier. For additional information, kindly contact [email protected] . The questions related to the Workday- recruitment system, please contact HR Advisor Paula Thomsson-Levä [email protected] .

Aalto University reserves the right for justified reasons to leave the position open, to extend the application period, reopen the application process, and to consider candidates who have not submitted applications during the application period.

Please note: Aalto University’s employees and visitors should apply for the position via the internal HR system Workday (Internal Jobs –> Find Jobs) by using their existing Workday user account.

Aalto University has been awarded with HR Excellence in Research quality label in European Commission, guaranteeing that we adhere to top quality HR practices in both recruitment and employment relations.