Robotics engineer F/M for service robotics experiments in real life scenarios

Inria Villers lès Nancy; Villers-lès-Nancy; On-site; EUR 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

1000scholars' HUCEBOT team at INRIA seeks a robotics engineer to support the AS3 project, integrating software across partners for platforms like Shelfy, TiagoPro, and possibly G1 humanoids, and to supervise experiments in real environments.

You will develop and maintain ROS/ROS2 code, refine the teleoperation interface, deploy sensors and manage network issues, and contribute to field trials and project events in PEPR and Europe. English is used, French desirable for interaction.

Qualifications

• Experience with ML/vision/robots is advantageous.
• HRI experience is desirable.
• Familiarity with ROS/ROS2 and Gazebo, sensors and cameras.
• Proficient in C/C++ and/or Python.
• Able to work independently and in a team; good English communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute robot field experiments.
• Write code to perform experiments with robots.
• Write software documentation.
• Conduct experiments in real environments with real robots.
• Participate in national and European project events when appropriate.

Skills

ML/vision/robotics

HRI experience

ROS/ROS2/Gazebo

C/C++ or Python

Teamwork

English communication

Tools

ROS/ROS2

Gazebo

Sensors and cameras

Job description

Context

The position is funded by the PEPR O2R, a national French program to advance research in robotics which reunites several French laboratories in robotics, AI, and Social and Human Sciences.

In this context, the HUCEBOT team in INRIA is leading the project AS3, with the challenge to carry out longitudinal (i.e., several months) experiments of service robotics in real-life scenarios.

THe team already conducted preliminary studies with a mobile robot, Shelfy, serving coffee in the cafeteria or handing free goodies in corridors. We look for a robotics engineer to assist the team in continuing the experiments. We will continue serving breakfast, delivering mail or items in offices, interact with visitors, etc. Later, the experiments will take place in a hospital environment.

The objective of these experiments is to investigate the behavior of the humans around the robots, and also improve the robot's autonomous skills in interaction, control, navigation, manipulation.

The team is international - English and French speaking. French is desirable for this position, because the engineer will have to interact with passersby and asks questions.

The laboratory is located in the Science and Technology Campus of the University of Lorraine, next to the Botanical Gardens, at 20 minutes by public transportation or bike from the Nancy train station and City Center.

Nancy is a University town, with a high quality of life and a vibrant student and expat community.

Assignment

The engineer will be responsible for the robotics platforms used in the project (Shelfy, TiagoPro, but potentially also humanoid G1), making sure the contributions from all the partners are integrated at the software level on the robot. He will also supervise all the experiments, making sure the platform behaves safely in the real environment.

To this end, an important objective will be to improve and maintain the teleoperation interface station that enables the engineer to supervise the robot in Wizard of Oz mode. The engineer will have to develop/improve/maintain the software running on the robot, mostly improving on the existing software that is used and developed by the team for navigation, control, and manipulation. Running the experiments in the lab will require potentially deploying environmental sensors and handling network issues (changes in the network, delays, etc.).

An important task will be to realize all the field experiments. To do so, the candidate should like robot learning, HRI, and collaborative work.

All the development will be in ROS/ROS2.

Main activities

• Leading and executing the robot experiments in the field


• Write code to perform experiments with robots


• Write software documentation


• Conduct experiments in the real environment, with real robots


• Participate to national (PEPR) and European projects events (meetings, hackathons) when appropriate

Skills

• Experience with machine learning, vision, or real robots is ideal.


• HRI experience.


• Familiarity with robotic platforms (e.g., ROS/ROS2, Gazebo), sensors, cameras, and hardware.


• Proficiency in programming languages such as C/C++ and/or Python is required.


• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.


• Good communication and writing skills in English.