Research Intern: Physical Human-Robot Interaction

Honda Research Institute USA; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 33,000 - 67,000; Full time

Job summary

Honda Research Institute USA in San Jose, CA is seeking a self-motivated Ph.D. student for a summer internship in physical human-robot interaction.

You will develop and deploy algorithms for safe and comfortable pHRI, including motion generation and personalized biomechanical modeling. The role involves implementing methods on robotic hardware and in simulation, documenting findings, and contributing to patents and publications.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. student in robotics, mechanical engineering, CS, or related field.
• Hands-on experience implementing pHRI on robotic manipulators.
• Strong knowledge of probabilistic modeling, inference, ML.
• Proficiency in Python or C++, with data analysis/visualization.

Responsibilities

• Develop motion generation algorithms for safe physical robotic interaction.
• Research representations and personalized human models for pHRI.
• Deploy algorithms in simulation and on robotic hardware.
• Support experiments for data collection, model training, and validation.
• Document methods and findings in internal reports and presentations.
• Contribute to patents and publish results at conferences and journals.

Skills

pHRI algorithms

Python

C++

Machine learning

Data visualization

Education

PhD candidate

Tools

MuJoCo

MoCap

IMUs

Job description

Research Intern: Physical Human-Robot Interaction - Honda Research Institute USA

Research Intern: Physical Human-Robot Interaction

Job Number: P26INT-25

Honda Research Institute USA (HRI-US) is seeking a self-motivated Ph.D. student to join our Intelligence Robotics Research Division as a summer intern. The intern will develop and deploy algorithms that enable safe and comfortable physical human-robot interaction (pHRI), including, but not limited to, motion generation for robotic touch, representation learning for safe interaction, and personalized biomechanical modeling of humans.

San Jose, CA

Key Responsibilities

• Develop motion generation algorithms for safe physical robotic interaction with humans.
• Research and develop representations and personalized human models for pHRI, integrating policy learning, biomechanics, and safety.
• Deploy and evaluate the developed algorithms in simulation and on robotic hardware.
• Support experiments for data collection, model training, and algorithm validation.
• Document research methods and findings in internal reports and perform regular presentations.
• Contribute to the portfolio of patents and publish research results at top-tier conferences and journals in human-robot interaction.

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. student in robotics, mechanical engineering, computer science, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience developing and implementing pHRI algorithms on robotic manipulators.
• Strong knowledge of probabilistic modeling, inference methods, and machine learning.
• Proficiency in Python or C++, along with experience using data analysis and visualization tools.

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience with physics simulators (e.g., MuJoCo).
• Experience developing probabilistic models for physical human-robot interaction, such as models of human behavior, biomechanics, safety, or comfort.
• Experience collecting biomechanical data and developing models using MoCap, IMUs, physiological sensors, or similar tools.

Years of Work Experience Required 2

Desired Start Date May 2027

Internship Duration 3 Months

Position Keywords physical human-robot interaction, robotic touch, motion generation, safety, biomechanics, representation learning, personalized human modeling

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