The research group Cyber-Physical Systems of Prof. Matthias Althoff at the Technical University of Munich offers a PhD position in the area of modular robotics. The Technical University of Munich is one of the top research universities in Europe fostering a strong entrepreneurial spirit and international culture. 

Project and Job Description 

Time and cost for designing suitable robotic solutions make the investment in robotized automation unattractive for small production series or productions with frequent process variations. We will automate the design of robotic automation cells so that a tailored solution can be found within hours instead of several weeks. The ability to automatically design production cells will open a range of new opportunities -- especially manufacturing small and medium enterprises -- to implement robotic systems which improve productivity, flexibility, and competitiveness, while strongly reducing investments and pay-back times. 

To automate the design of production processes, we will develop and use a set of modules that, when combined, realize the production process. Our modular concept will make it possible to re-use modules for future temporary production process. One of the main challenges of reconfigurable systems is to find possible combinations of modules that are able to complete given tasks while meeting constraints, such as avoiding obstacles in the environment. Most studies on reconfigurable systems do not consider the required motion planning and continuous design parameters. In contrast to previous works, we will develop automation cell synthesis methods considering constraints, continuous design parameters and motion planning. This results in a mixed discrete/continuous optimization problem, for which we will develop essentially new methods. We envision tackling this problem by using machine learning, meta-heuristics such as genetic algorithms, and numeric optimization to quickly obtain reasonable solutions -- finding optimal solutions to problems of industrial scale is infeasible with current methods. Collaborating with our in-house startup RobCo is also possible (https://www.robco.de).

Previous Work

Previous work on modular robots: 

https://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/4/31/eaaw1924/

Optimizing performance in automation through modular robots:

https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/node?id=1745075

Job Specifications

• For PhD applicants: Excellent Master’s degree (or equivalent) in computer science, engineering, or related disciplines (typically mathematics, physics).
• Fluency in spoken and written English is required.
• Proficient in at least one programming language, e.g. MATLAB, C/C++, Python.
• Highly motivated and keen on working in an international and interdisciplinary team.
• Applicants with strong background in the following fields are preferred:
  • Robotics
  • Motion Planning
  • Optimization
  • Machine learning
  • Control theory

Context

The applicant will be directly advised by Prof. Matthias Althoff (https://www.ce.cit.tum.de/cps/members/prof-dr-ing-matthias-althoff/). Besides excellent skills for conducting innovative science, the candidate should also be talented in implementing research results on a real robot and lead teams of students.

Our Offer

PhD remuneration will be in line with the current German collective pay agreement TV-L E13 (around 4200 Euros/month in the first year, 4500 Euros/month second year). The Technical University of Munich is an equal opportunity employer committed to excellence through diversity. We explicitly encourage women to apply and preference will be given to disabled applicants with equivalent qualifications.