Deadline: 17 October 2011
Open to: The candidate should have a MSc degree in Computer Science, Information Science or Social Science with a focus on Human Computer Interaction
Scholarship: The gross salary will range from € 2.042,00 in the first year to € 2.612,00 per month in the fourth year
Description
The University of Twente is the only campus university in the Netherlands; divided over six faculties they provide more than fifty educational programmes. The University of Twente has a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out pioneering research. In the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EWI) is the place where these three disciplines shape Information and Communication Technology at the University of Twente. ICT is more than communication. In almost every product we use mathematics, electronics and computer technology are present, and ICT now contributes to all of societies’ activities. It is no longer about gadgets that we do or do not want to use. The real integration of ICT is just beginning. What we need is more intelligence in our systems and improvement of their natural interaction with humans.
The PhD position concerns a European project (FROG) to develop a guide robot with a winning personality and behaviors that will engage tourists in a fun exploration of outdoor attractions. The work encompasses innovation in the areas of vision-based detection, robotics design and navigation, human-robot interaction, affective computing, intelligent agent architecture and dependable autonomous outdoor robot operation. The FROG robots’ fun personality and social visitor-guide behaviors aim to enhance the user experience. FROG’s behaviors will be designed based on the findings of systematic social behavioral studies of human interaction with robots. FROG adapts its behavior to the users through vision-based detection of human engagement and interest.
The PhD student will work on developing an effective and engaging robot personality as well as evaluate robot behaviors that will be experienced as socially normative (‘normal ’) by its users. The guide robot will need to adopt guide behaviors in order to engage and inform the visitors. The robot will need to be trusted and accepted as a guide in an outdoor tourist setting and therefore the social interaction with visitors is an essential component in this research project. The work will contribute to scientific work in human-robot interaction. It will involve running socio-psychological experimentations in controlled and real-world conditions as well as user studies over prolonged time periods in outdoor settings.
Eligibility
- The candidate should have fluent command of English as a written and spoken language, a MSc degree in Computer Science, Information Science or Social Science with a focus on Human Computer Interaction.
- Knowledge of, and preferably practical experience with qualitative research methods as well as controlled and “in the wild” social psychological experimentation and statistical analysis of quantitative data. In the EU project we expect the candidate to communicate effortless in English with the different partners in the project.
Scholarship
They offer a full-time PhD position in a dynamic and international environment. The duration of the contracts is four years. The gross salary will range from € 2.042,00 in the first year to € 2.612,00 per month in the fourth year. Additionally, the University of Twente provides excellent facilities for professional and personal development. In addition, they offer a holiday allowance (amounts to 8%) and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3% and a number of additional benefits. The labor agreements are in accordance with the CAO-NU for Dutch universities.
Application
Please send your application with your cv, motivation letter and letters of recommendation, through the application link, before October 17, 2011.
Further information about the PhD position can be given by Prof. Dr. Vanessa Evers:
email: v.evers@utwente.nl
