<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><b class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px;" class="">[Apologies for multiple copies of this email.]</span></b></div><div class=""><b class=""><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></span></b></div><div class=""><b class="" style="font-size: 14px;">======================================================================================</b><b class="" style="font-size: 14px;">==================</b></div><div class=""><b class="" style="font-size: 14px;">2 Postdoc Positions in AI and Robotics (Marine Robotics and Multi-Agent Path Finding) at Royal Holloway University of London</b></div><div class=""><b class="" style="font-size: 14px;">========================================================================================================</b></div><div class=""><b class="" style="font-size: 14px;"><br class=""></b></div><div class=""><b class="" style="font-size: 14px;"><div style="font-weight: normal; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class="">Outstanding candidates in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics are invited to apply for two posts of Research Associate in the Department of Computer Science at Royal Holloway University of London.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div></b></div><div class=""><b class="" style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class="">The positions are funded by two grants awarded to Prof Sara Bernardini by Innovate UK (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/innovate-uk" class="">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/innovate-uk</a></span><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class="">), the UK’s Innovation Agency. The projects are as follows:</span></b></div><div class=""><span class=""><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial; font-size: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></span></span></div><div class=""><span class=""><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(32, 42, 48); font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; font-size: 14px;" class=""><b class="">SoAR: Squads of Adaptive Robots</b></span></span></span></div><div class=""><span class=""><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(32, 42, 48); font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; font-size: 14px;" class="">The project will be carried out by a consortium including industry (Sonardyne, Planet Ocean, and HydroSurv Unmanned Survey), research institutes (National Oceanography Centre) and end users (Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult). SoAR is focused on delivering a fundamental shift in the use of <b class="">marine robotics </b>through the networking of heterogeneous fleets of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and uncrewed surface vehicles overseen by a fleet level autonomy engine capable of adaptive mission planning. The project will develop and demonstrate adaptive, risk-aware mission planning and control for a heterogeneous fleet of robots underpinned by an ambitious autonomy engine providing adaptive decision-making. </span></span></span></div><div class=""><span class=""><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(32, 42, 48); font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; font-size: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></span></span></span></div><div class=""><span class=""><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(32, 42, 48); font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; font-size: 14px;" class=""><b class="">VersaTile – Transforming warehousing and distribution with industry leading AI planning and system controls</b></span></span></span></span></div><div class=""><span class=""><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(32, 42, 48); font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; font-size: 14px;" class="">The project will be undertaken jointly with the companies Tharsus, one of the UK's most advanced robotics companies, and JR Dynamics, an SME based in North-East England. The project stems from the significant pressure currently faced by warehousing and distribution operations to transform their systems and processes in response to increasing market demand and throughput, intense competition, and consumer preference for more variety, quicker delivery at a lower cost. The project will tackle this problem by creating and integrating an industry-leading <b class="">AI multi-agent path planning </b>capability and a critical infrastructure-scale control system. The project spans service robotics, high-frequency logistics, and AI-based control system development.</span></span></span></span></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span class="" style="font-size: 14px;"><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class="">==== The Department ====<br class=""><br class="">The Department is one of the top departments of Computer Science in the UK. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014), it scored 11th for the quality of our research output, with a third of the publications recognised as world-leading and a further half internationally excellent (87% in total). <span style="color: rgb(32, 42, 48); text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">The Department is home to outstanding researchers in algorithms and complexity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, bioinformatics, and distributed and global computing.</span></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class="">==== The Applicant ====<br class=""><br class=""><span style="color: rgb(32, 42, 48); font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class="">The successful candidates will hold a PhD or equivalent, have a strong research record in Artificial Intelligence and/or Robotics and a strong interest in practice-driven research. Experts in AI Planning, Path Planning, Multi-Agent Systems, Autonomous Navigation, and, in general, Autonomous Systems and Cognitive Robotics are particularly encouraged to apply.</span> Experience in engaging with industry or contributing to outreach activities would also be valuable. The duties and responsibilities of these posts include:</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><ul class=""><li class="">Conducting individual and collaborative research on the project's themes.</li><li class="">Developing software based on the project's needs.</li><li class="">Producing high-quality outputs for publication in high-profile journals or conference proceedings.</li><li class="">Writing reports on the advancement of the project.</li></ul>==== The Positions ====</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><br class="">The posts are based in Egham, Surrey, where the College is situated in a beautiful, leafy campus near Windsor Great Park and within 20-minute commuting distance from London, one of Europe’s most dynamic technology hubs. These are full-time and fixed-term posts (extensions are possible), available from January 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.</div><div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87);" class="">==== To Apply ====</span></div><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87);" class=""><br class=""></span></div><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class="">For an informal discussion about the posts, please get in touch with Prof Sara Bernardini (<a href="mailto:sara.bernardini@rhul.ac.uk" class="">sara.bernardini@rhul.ac.uk</a>, +44 1784 276792). To view further details of these posts, please visit <a href="http://www.sara-bernardini.com/" class="">www.sara-bernardini.com</a> and <a href="https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/" class="">https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk</a>.</div><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><b class="">To apply for SoAR: </b><a href="https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?id=3599&forced=2" class="">https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?id=3599&forced=2</a></div><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class="">Closing Date: <span style="color: rgb(32, 42, 48); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><b class="">Midnight, 19th November 2021 </b></span></div><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class=""><b class="">To apply for VersaTile</b><b class="">:</b> <a href="https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=1121-457" class="">https://jobs.royalholloway.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx?ref=1121-457</a></div><div style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial;" class="">Closing Date: <b class="">Midnight, 3rd January 2022</b><b class=""> </b> <br class=""></div></div></div></span></div><div class=""><b class="" style="font-size: 14px;"><br class=""></b></div><div class=""><span style="font-size: 14px;" class="">----<br class="">Sara Bernardini<br class="">Professor of Artificial Intelligence<br class="">Director of the MSc in Artificial Intelligence<br class="">Department of Computer Science <br class="">Royal Holloway University of London<br class=""><br class="">Office: Bedford 2-24 <br class="">Tel.: +44 1784 276792<br class="">Web: <a href="http://www.sara-bernardini.com" class="">www.sara-bernardini.com</a><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""></span></div><div class=""><span style="font-size: 14px;" class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></span></div></body></html>