Research Assistant or Associate to develop Conversational Agents for Human-Robot Interaction

Imperial College London; Greater London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 59,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

43 days off a year

Job summary

Imperial College London is seeking a researcher to advance social robotics, NLP, wearable systems and ML for dementia care. The role combines machine learning, mechatronics, AI and signal processing to support independence, safety, wellbeing and psychosocial engagement for people living with dementia.

You will work with clinicians and engineers to collect and analyse behavioural, movement and wellbeing data to inform preventative care interventions and test conversational agents for dementia

Qualifications

• PhD or close to completing in Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering or Electrical Engineering or equivalent research/industry experience.
• Practical experience in signal processing, programming and/or neurorobotics.
• Experience testing and deploying social robots and/or intelligent voice agents.
• Knowledge of neurorobotics and voice agents.
• Knowledge of app development and programming languages such as Python and C/C++.

Responsibilities

• Plan and carry out research for the project: Robotics to Enhance Independence and Safety in dementia care and technology.
• Collaborate with psychiatrists, neurologists and engineers to develop robot behaviour and map voice activity during engagement.
• Develop a conversational agent to encourage psychosocial interactions with dementia patients.

Skills

Signal processing

Programming

Neurorobotics

Voice agents

Python

C/C++

Education

PhD (or near completion) in Computer Science / Mechanical Engineering / Electrical Engineering

Tools

Python

C

C++

Job description

About the role:

The Biomechatronics Laboratory at Imperial College London (https://www.biomechatronicslab.co.uk) is looking to appoint a researcher to support the development of social robotics, natural language processing (NLP), wearable systems, and machine learning technologies in the context of dementia research and healthcare applications.

You will combine machine learning, mechatronic fabrication, artificial intelligence (AI), and signal processing to develop technologies that support independence, safety, wellbeing, and psychosocial engagement for people living with dementia. Your research will include the collection and analysis of behavioural, movement, and wellbeing data to inform innovative preventative care interventions.

We are looking for a researcher with a track record in Data Science, Mechatronics, Clinical Data Collection, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This represents a unique opportunity for a researcher with experience in human-robot interaction, neural recording, stimulation, signal processing, natural language processing, and wearable systems.

Interested applicants may wish to review the below publications, which go into greater detail about the work that we do:

• Promoting Cognitive Health in Elder Care with Large Language Model-Powered Socially Assistive Robots
• Evaluating Spoken Language as a Biomarker for Automated Screening of Cognitive Impairment
• Telemetry Degradation and Sequential Stability in LLM-Integrated IoT Decision Systems

What you would be doing:

• You will plan and carry out research in accordance with the project: Robotics to Enhance Independence and Safety as a part of the Dementia Research Institute Care Research and Technology Centre (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/uk-dri-care-research-technology/).
• You will collaborate with psychiatrists, neurologists and engineers to develop robot behaviour, conducting human-robot interface experiments to map voice activity in response to robotic engagement.
• You will develop a conversational agent to encourage psychosocial interactions with dementia patients.

What we are looking for:

• You should have a PhD (or close to completing), in Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a closely related discipline, or equivalent research, industrial or commercial experience.
• Practical experience in a signal processing, programming, and/or neurorobotics is essential.
• You should have experience in testing and deployment of social robots and/or intelligent voice agents.
• You must hold knowledge of neurorobotics and voice agents.
• Knowledge in app development and computer programming such as Python and C, C++ is desirable.

What we can offer you:

• The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution
• Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 43 days off a year)

£45,399 to £59,484 per annum