This post has been filled. However, we do have a new advert with a 30 September 2021 deadline.

The AIRO group (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, airo.ugent.be) of IDLab-imec (idlab.technology ) at Ghent University are offering a PhD studentship to help with our research on social robotics and machine learning.

Social robots are robots which interact with people in a natural manner by, for example, using speech, gestures, facial expressions and language. As social robots use natural communication, they are easier to interact with and this has many applications in entertainment, services, education, collaborative robotics and therapy.

Now however, these robots are only able to interact with us for a limited amount of time before we lose interest. Our research aims to change that. The project will study what technical elements are needed for a social robot to become an engaging and relevant social partner? We will explore approaches to drawing people into a human-robot interaction, starting from first principles on what makes interaction long term between people. Next, we will implement a number of studies to validate our theories and identify application domains where social robots can make a difference (such as education, support or customer service). We will very much use an explorative approach, using curiosity-led research to arrive at scientifically, societally and technically relevant results.

You will be supervised by Prof Tony Belpaeme (www.tonybelpaeme.me). You will be part of a vibrant and interdisciplinary research team, focusing on human-robot interaction, unconventional robotics, cognitive systems and machine learning. You will have access to the full facilities of IDLab, including high performance computing/GPU clusters and the HomeLab living lab.

Location

Ghent University (www.ugent.be) is a international top 100 university in Belgium situated in the historical and trendy city of Ghent. With 41,000 students and 9,000 staff, the university is one of the largest universities in the wide region. Ghent University’s mission is to combine high-quality education with internationally leading research and a pluralistic social responsibility. You will join the AIRO group which is part of IDLab, a research lab consisting of more than 300 researchers developing tomorrow’s tech.

Profile of the candidate

You must have an MSc degree in computer science, electrical engineering, technical cognitive science or areas relevant to the research topic (for example, psychology with a keen interest in robotics and AI). Good programming skills are required (C++, Python, or other), training or experience in machine learning or robotics is essential. English will be the primary language used (spoken as well as written). The PhD position is highly interdisciplinary and requires an understanding and/or interest in psychology and social sciences.

Further details:

• The position start date can be negotiated, but is at the latest 1/9/2021.
• The net amount of the scholarship will be approximately €2000 per month. You will also receive a holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus, and will enjoy full social security cover. Additional financial support is available for attending conferences and workshops.
• You will be affiliated with the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics group of the IDLab. While the research will be based in Ghent, occasional travel to international conferences will be required.
• You will be enrolled in the doctoral training programme offered by the Doctoral School of Engineering.
• Ghent University and AIRO lab encourages equal opportunities. We will consider applications based only on your potential as an early career researcher and your fit to the research programme.

How to apply

For informal queries, do not hesitate to contact Tony Belpaeme (tony.belpaeme@ugent.be).

Your application should include

1. A letter motivating your application. Why do you wish to pursue a PhD? Why in social robotics? What is your -if any- prior experience?
2. A CV, with copies of relevant exams, grades, master thesis work or publications.
3. The names and contact details of at least 2 referees. Recommendation letters can be included with your application, but are not needed at the time of application.

Applicants should send their application to tony.belpaeme@ugent.be with subject “PhD application”. The application deadline is 15 May 2021. Selected candidates will be invited for an online interview.

This position is now filled. Welcome Pieter Wolfert.

The AIRO group (Artificial Intelligence and Robotics) of the IDLab at Ghent University is looking for a PhD student to help with our research on social robotics and machine learning.

Social robots are robots which interact with people in a natural manner by using speech, gestures, and facial expressions for example. As social robots use natural communication, they are easy to interact with and this knows many applications in entertainment, services, education, collaborative robotics and therapy.

Now however, these robots are programmed by hand, as automatically generating verbal and nonverbal behaviour is still largely impossible. Our research aims to change that. The project will study how a robot can use generative deep learning to observe video recordings of people interacting with each other, and learn which behaviours are appropriate under which circumstances. The goal is to have the robot learn to produce verbal and non-verbal behaviour at a level where people think the robot is a worthy conversation partner.

You will be supervised by Prof Tony Belpaeme (www.tonybelpaeme.me) together with Prof Francis wyffels and Prof Joni Dambre. You will be part of a new, vibrant and interdisciplinary research team, focusing on unconventional robotics, cognitive systems and machine learning.

Ghent University (www.ugent.be) is a top 100 university in Belgium situated in the historical and trendy city of Ghent. With 41,000 students and 9,000 staff, the university is one of the largest universities in the wide region. Ghent University’s mission is to combine high-quality education with internationally leading research and a pluralistic social responsibility. You will join the AIRO group which is part of IDLab, a research lab consisting of more than 300 researchers developing today the tech of tomorrow.

Profile of the candidate

You must have an MSc degree in computer science, electrical engineering, technical cognitive science or areas relevant to the research topic. Good programming skills are required (C++, Python, or other), as is training in machine learning. English will be the primary language used (spoken as well as written). The PhD position is highly interdisciplinary and requires an understanding and/or interest in psychology and social sciences.

Further details:

• The position starts on 1 October 2018 and runs for 4 years.
• The net amount of the scholarship will be approximately €1900 per month, increasing to €2100 per month in the fourth year. You will also receive a holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus, and will enjoy full social security cover. Additional financial support is available for attending conference and workshop.
• You will be affiliated with the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics group of the IDLab. While the research will be based in Ghent, occasional travel to international conferences will be required.
• You will be enrolled in the doctoral training programme offered by the Doctoral School of Engineering.
• Ghent University encourages equal opportunities and will consider applications only based on your potential as an early career researcher.

How to apply

For informal queries, do not hesitate to contact Tony Belpaeme (tony.belpaeme@ugent.be). Your application should include

1. a letter motivating your application.
2. a CV, copies of relevant exams, grades, master thesis work or publications.
3. the names and contact details of at least 2 referees. Recommendation letter can be included with your application, but do not need to be at time of application.

Applicants should send their application to tony.belpaeme@ugent.be. The application deadline is 31 May 2018. Selected candidates will be invited for interview, which can be organised over Skype if necessary.

We descended on this year’s Human-Robot Conference (HRI) with 10 people from the Plymouth team: a research budget breaking record. I gave a keynote at the Personal Robots for Exercising and Coaching workshop and the Cognitive and Social Neuroscience Methods for HRI workshop, Daniel Hernandez co-organised the Social Robots in Therapy: Focusing on Autonomy and Ethical Challenges workshop, we presented our alt.HRI paper and had a clutch of Late Breaking Results to show.

This was the largest HRI edition so far, with about 650 delegates. What struck me was the large presence of industry at the conference, probably fuelled by the recent feeding frenzy around AI and robotics, but also showing that HRI is maturing and that applications are now becoming market ready.

We couldn’t resist shooting a band cover at the Chicago waterfront, from left to right Fotios Papadopoulos, Tony Belpaeme, Charlotte Edmunds, Christopher Wallbridge, Emmanuel Senft, Maddy Bartlett, Bahar Irfan, Mina Marmpena (Daniel Hernandez and Serge Thill not showing).

I have been neglecting my website lately, so here is a belated post announcing that I have accepted a position at Ghent University. I maintain my post at the University of Plymouth, if only to see running projects to a good end and to supervise the many PhD and postdoctoral researchers still there. Still, a new chapter in my academic career, with new opportunities and new challenges. The reasons for moving were many, Brexit being one of them, the others I will have to regale you when we next meet. I am joining an ambitious team of machine learning (Deep Learning of course) and unconventional robotics enthusiasts here in Ghent, and I hope to build up the research in social robotics and Human-Robot Interaction here. If you wish to visit or collaborate, by all means get in touch!

I am very excited about Dr Séverin Lemaignan joining us in a few months. Séverin will be working on his DOROTHY project, short for “Donating Robots a Theory of Mind”, for which he received funding from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme. As humans we take a Theory of Mind very much for granted, the skill to understand what others know, what they are thinking and what they are about to do is almost magic. It is only when someone’s ToM is impaired or completely lacking that you realise how crucial a tool it is. No longer having access to what people around you know and think about their environment and about others leaves you very much on the back foot when trying to respond appropriately in a social environment. Unfortunately, as with so many skills that seem natural to us humans, a Theory of Mind is very difficult to build for a robot. Séverin will join us from EPFL in the summer of 2015 to try and do just that: build an artificial Theory of Mind.