With a decade-long research efforts in the field of aerial manipulation, it is evident how we are still far from achieving dynamic aerial physical interaction in the real world. This is due to the challenges related to dynamic forces and moments affecting the drone’s flight mechanics. So far, key contributions from the research community included the implementation of compliance in control laws to mitigate the effects of such unknown physical variables, constraining the operations to quasi-static conditions. Lately, novel designs have emerged that alleviate dynamic forces and moments in a mechanical, passive way – enabling more dynamic manoeuvres.
In this project, the prospective researcher will leverage the use of novel compliant designs to broaden the interaction capabilities of drones outside the lab, in real world conditions. Novel control laws will be implemented on emerging compliant and multi-DoFs drone morphologies to tackle dynamic interaction with unknown objects and environments. Representative use-cases for such developments will be in space exploration and nature conservation.
The Team
The Biomorphic Intelligence Lab is a collaboration between the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering Mathematics and Computer Science. For this position, the candidate will be based at Aerospace Engineering and will work closely with the PhD candidates, besides leading her/his own project.
The overarching challenges in the team concern design and control of compliant drones for a variety of interaction tasks in different environments. The team is very diverse in gender, ethnicities, and scientific skills. The successful candidate will show an active interest in team building and will display creativity and initiative in promoting the lab’s line of research and growing impact.
Requirements
Must haves:
- PhD degree in Aerial Robotics or Robotics.
- Knowledge on Control Theory for manipulation and/or drones.
- System integration skills.
- Excellent written and spoken English.
- Independent approach to work in Research demonstrated by self-led projects.
- Affinity with teaching and guiding students.
Nice to have:
- Experience in hardware design and rapid prototyping.
- Experience with flight controllers or drones.
- Field experience with drones or mobile robots.
- Familiarity with microelectronics: fabrication and debugging.
- Experience in outreach and public engagement.
Application Procedure
You can apply online, before February 4th, 2024 at https://www.tudelft.nl/over-tu-delft/werken-bij-tu-delft/vacatures/details/?nPostingId=5460&nPostingTargetId=15926&id=QEZFK026203F3VBQBLO6G68W9&LG=UK&languageSelect=UK&mask=external
We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
Additional information
For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Salua Hamaza, s.hamaza@tudelft.nl.