Robotics Intern, Human-Machine Interaction Research

Toyota Research Institute; Los Altos (CA); Hybrid; USD 62,000 - 90,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Paid Time Off

Holiday Pay

Sick Time

Job summary

Toyota Research Institute (TRI) seeks a summer research intern to design and evaluate interactions with quadruped robots. You will prototype integrated systems, collect participant data, and build models of interaction logic to improve human-robot collaboration.

You will deploy and test policies on robot hardware, conduct user studies, and communicate results to a multidisciplinary TRI team. This paid 12-week hybrid internship offers exposure to cutting-edge HMIR work and real-world impact.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Science, HCI, Robotics, ML, Cognitive Science, or related field.
• Experience prototyping interactive or embodied AI systems, such as robots or multimodal assistants.
• Familiarity with HRI/HAI or human behavior modeling.
• Experience with experimental design and data analysis.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop prototypes enabling embodied AI agents to support people on physical tasks.
• Leverage multimodal AI to understand human activities and collaboration progress.
• Develop interaction strategies for embodied AI to adapt aid to contexts.
• Integrate AI models with robotic hardware for real-time interaction.
• Conduct user studies to evaluate AI assistance on collaboration and task performance.
• Collect and analyze data to evaluate system effectiveness and identify improvements.
• Collaborate with HMIR researchers and engineers across TRI.
• Communicate findings through presentations and reports.

Skills

PhD in Computer Science

Experience with interactive/embodiedAI

Human-Robot Interaction familiarity

Experiment design experience

Education

PhD in related field

Tools

Robotics platforms

Job description

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we're on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We're developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we've built a world-class team advancing the state of the art in AI, robotics, driving, and material sciences.

This is a paid 12-week internship opportunity and is a hybrid, in-office role.

Here's a glimpse into the Internship experience from some of our TRI interns!

The Mission

Our team works to understand how people interact with intelligent systems and develops human-machine interfaces that enable individuals to work seamlessly with AI, particularly in physically interactive settings. We aim to create technologies that enhance human capability and allow humans and AI to operate in harmony across a wide range of real-world contexts.

The Team

In the Human-Machine Interaction Research group (HMIR), we design, develop and evaluate novel interfaces to improve the safety, well-being, and task performance of people using human-centered artificial intelligence.

The Internship

As a summer research intern, you will develop and evaluate interactions with quadruped robots. Responsibilities include prototyping integrated systems, collecting and analyzing human participant data, building models of interaction logic, conducting user studies to evaluate system effectiveness in the tasks, developing robot policies that adapt to people, and deploying and evaluating these approaches on robot hardware.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop prototypes that enable embodied AI agents to support people collaborating on physical tasks.
• Leverage multimodal AI to understand human activities, task progress, and collaborative interactions.
• Develop and evaluate interaction strategies that enable embodied AI agents to adapt their assistance to different contexts and collaborative situations.
• Integrate AI models and interaction logic with robotic hardware to enable real-time human-robot interaction.
• Design and conduct user studies to investigate how AI assistance influences human collaboration, task performance, and user experience.
• Collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate system effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of research scientists and engineers across Toyota Research Institute.
• Communicate research findings through presentations and written reports, including potential submissions to leading international research venues.

Qualifications

• Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, Robotics, Machine Learning, Cognitive Science, or a related field.
• Experience developing and prototyping interactive or embodied AI systems, such as interactive robots, multimodal assistants, or conversational agents.
• Familiarity with human-robot interaction (HRI), human-AI interaction, or human behavior modeling.
• Experience with experimental design, user studies, and quantitative or qualitative data analysis.
• Ability to work independently, iterate quickly, and communicate research findings clearly.

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $45 and $65/hour for California-based roles. Base pay offered will depend on multiple individualized factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate's experience, skills, job-related knowledge, and market location. TRI offers a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, and paid time off benefits (including holiday pay and sick time). Additional details regarding these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

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