Postdoctoral Associate (Soft Robotics)

Project Overview

MIT and Singapore are launching a new program: "Mens, Manus and Machina: How AI empowers people and the city in Singapore (M3S)." Humans have spent eons learning how to work effectively with each other as a species, but at the scale of human history, we are still neophytes to computation and automation. The main research questions we want to address are: 1) How will we design AI and robotics technologies and train humans to build the skills and habits necessary for success in an AI and robotics-heavy work environment?

The Senseable City Lab (SCL) and the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) are looking for exceptional candidates to fill a postdoctoral position in soft robotics, to collaborate with professors Daniela Rus and Carlo Ratti, principal research scientist Fábio Duarte, and other researchers in Singapore and MIT to develop soft robots for manipulation operations, responsive systems to improve workers’ performance and well-being, building on bodies of work investigating human-machine interaction for cognitive tasks and for physical tasks.

We rely on our expertise in pneumatic actuation, tendon-driven actuation, and other soft robotics technologies. At NUS we are going to capitalize on the achievements in soft robot fabrication from the NRP projects on Soft & Hybrid Robotics (Raye Yeow, Cecilia Laschi). We will extend the research on soft robotics to the domain of wearable exoskeletons, by embedding sensors in the clothing of workers. For example, wearable soft robotic devices that include muscle, motion, and other vital signals can be used to detect natural motion during human movement and infer a person’s activities and intentions.

Job Description

Perform fundamental and applied research on soft robotics, with particular emphasis on design, fabrication, and control of soft robotic manipulators for complex manipulation tasks.

• Develop novel control strategies, algorithms, and sensory feedback systems to enable precise and adaptive manipulation.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to integrate mechanical, electrical, and software components into functional robotic systems.
• Conduct experimental validation and performance evaluation of developed soft robotic manipulators.
• Participate in the applied projects with lab’s industrial partners.
• Present research results at top international workshops and conferences, exhibits as well as internal project meetings.
• Write and co-author articles for publication in tier-1 interdisciplinary journals and top conferences.

Job Requirements

The successful candidates must hold a Ph.D. in computer science, mechanical engineering, robotics or a related field, and have experience in interactive systems and/or soft robotics. Ability of working in a multidisciplinary team environment, problem solving skills and high creativity are very welcome.

• Ph.D. in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Material Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Extensive expertise in soft robotics, with a focus on manipulation and control.
• Strong background in mechatronics, robotics design, and hands-on experience with fabrication techniques.
• Proficiency in programming and experience with robotic control systems (e.g., ROS, MATLAB, Python).

Candidates must present a strong publication record, with a proven record of interdisciplinary research.

Advanced to strong verbal and written English skills are expected.

International scholars are welcome to apply.

If you want to find out more about the role, please write to [email protected].