PAL Robotics' mission is to create disruptive service robots that improve society's quality of life and solve everyday problems. We are EU leaders in service robotics and design and manufacture highly integrated and reliable solutions for service industries and research institutions around the world.

We are a team of highly passionate robotics experts, creating cutting-edge solutions and collaborating with world-renowned companies and have more than 15 years of R&D experience, being known for our humanoid and mobile robots used for research, logistics, retail and social applications for companies, institutions and laboratories.

PAL Robotics is one of the leading international players in mobile and humanoid robot industries. As one of the TRAIL partners, we are opening one research position for a PhD student on the following topic: Design and implementation of an ethical black box for service robots

PAL Robotics invites applications for a Doctoral Candidate Researcher (PhD student) within the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network "TRAIL" (TRAnsparent Interpretable Robots). The general research area of TRAIL is transparency in artificial intelligence, specifically applied to intelligent robots and machine learning. The network consists of 15 institutions across Europe, including universities, research institutions and industry partners, and is coordinated by Universität Hamburg (https://www.inf.uni-hamburg.de/en/inst/ab/wtm.html). For more information about the project see https://pal-robotics.com/collaborative-projects/trail/. 

Objective

We are interested in investigating explainability of robot intentions and performances to enhance HRI. The question of why a system is behaving in a given way is a typical barrier in HRI that prevents robot adoption, not only in the long-term, but even in the short-term. Setting the right expectations of the user drives trust in systems through understanding why decisions are made. This added transparency can then be used to guide the system when learning; improve its current knowledge/decision making to better align with the user’s needs/requirements; repair failures during its performance. 

Based on the idea of ‘Ethical Black Box’ for robots first introduced by A. Windfield, we propose to investigate and build a transparent and interpretable trace of the robot's decisions making and behaviours at run-time. Tools to visualise, analyse and debug the system on the one hand, and means to amend/repair the outcomes are essential to both improve the system performance as well as to enhance the experiences between humans and robots. The researcher will deploy the black box on commercial PAL robots (primarily TIAGo and ARI platforms), integrate it with PAL social perception pipeline, and demonstrate its suitability and effectiveness in several mock-up and real-world HRI situations.

Mandatory requirements and skills

The candidate must fulfil the following requirements:

• MSc or equivalent in Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science or Engineering with a focus on Intelligent Systems, Intelligent Robotics or Interactive Robots. Applicants who already have a doctoral degree are not eligible.
• Excellent programming skills (Python, C++, PyTorch)
• Expertise in system Engineering and software development of large complex systems
• Expertise with the ROS framework.
• Excellent English communication skills are an important requirement. 
• According to EU mobility rules, the doctoral researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for longer than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to their recruitment. 
• The candidate should have a permission to work (EU citizenship or work permit) in Spain.

Desired requirements

• Experience or interest in social sciences, psychology or anthropology and their link with technology is a plus. 

Job conditions

• Start date: 01.03.2023 or later as agreed, fixed for a period of 36 months (This is a fixed-term contract in accordance with the fixed-term labour contract act and the EU MSCA rules).
• Application deadline: 15.03.2023. 
• Scope of work: Full-time
• Salary in line with the standard rates for MSCA regulations! 

The successful candidate will receive an attractive salary in accordance with the MSCA regulations for Early-Stage Researchers. The exact (net) salary will be confirmed upon appointment and is dependent on local tax regulations and on the country correction factor (to allow for the difference in cost of living in different EU Member States). The salary includes a living allowance, a mobility allowance and a family allowance (if applicable). Furthermore, TRAIL will offer to take advantage of joint scientific research training, transferable skills workshops and international conferences.

We also offer

You will be part of a dynamic and international team in a constantly growing and developing environment in a fulfilling and inclusive equal opportunity workplace and: 

• A large workspace with a terrace and views of sunny Barcelona!
• Flexible working hours and shorter working hours on Fridays!
• 26 labour days of holidays per year! 
• Regular corporate events and team building!
• Possibility to apply for payments in kind and the possibility of further training!
• Free coffee & tea provided!

We are an equal opportunity employer who recruits, employs, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique. We are committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Instructions for applying

Send us your complete application documents (cover letter, curriculum vitae with details about where you resided or carried out your main activity [work, studies, etc.] in the three years immediately prior to the application deadline, copies of degree certificate[s], names and email contacts for two referees who would be willing to write a letter of support for your application, any English language certificates and if necessary ID attesting to your disability or proof of equivalent status). 

Contact Details

If you're interested, please apply using the link in this site, or submit your resume to recruit@ pal-robotics.com.

Please specify the job code JOB-2023-04 and job name in the email subject file. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.