Development of Intelligent Robotic System with Adaptive Manipulation and Effective Human-Robot Interaction

Robotic intelligence have greatly advanced over the last few decades along with the development of latest sensing technologies and quality improvement of robot hardware. However, there is space for further improvements, such as context awareness, automated reasoning, decision making and human-robot interactions. Obvious limitations exist in current methods, such as temporarily fixed human behaviour modeling, lack of generality due to experiments on a specific robot, and limited computational efficiency. This project will address cognition modeling which focuses the development of general models based on measures instead of counting factors affecting specific cases or scenarios. Continuous self-learning robotic agents regarding human behavior will also be studied to enable better robotic intelligence and personalized HRI.

For more information about doctoral scholarship and PhD programme at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) please visit: 

https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/admissions/global/entry-requirements/

https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/admissions/global/fees-and-scholarship

Supervisors:

• Principal supervisor: Dr. Fan Zhu (XJTLU)
• Co-supervisor: Professor Eng Hwa Yap (XJTLU)
• Co-supervisor: Dr. Yi Chen (XJTLU)
• Co-supervisor: Dr. Guangliang Cheng.(UoL) 

Requirements: 

The candidate should have a first class or upper second class honours degree, or a master’s degree (or equivalent qualification), in Mechanical Engineering/Computer Science or related engineering subjects. Evidence of good spoken and written English is essential. The candidate should have an IELTS score of 6.5 or above, if the first language is not English. This position is open to all qualified candidates irrespective of nationality.

Degree:  

The student will be awarded a PhD degree from the University of Liverpool (UK) upon successful completion of the program.

Funding:

The PhD studentship is available for three years subject to satisfactory progress by the student. The award covers 50% tuition fee reduction for three years (RMB 148,500 total value). It also provides up to RMB 16,500 to allow participation at international conferences during the period of the award. The scholarship holder is expected to carry out the major part of his or her research at XJTLU in Suzhou, China. However, he or she is eligible for a research study visit to the University of Liverpool up to six months, if this is required by the project.

How to Apply: 

Interested applicants are advised to email Fan.Zhu@xjtlu.edu.cn (XJTLU principal supervisor’s email address) the following documents for initial review and assessment (please put the project title in the subject line). 

• CV 
• Two reference letters with company/university letterhead
• Personal statement outlining your interest in the position 
• Proof of English language proficiency (an IELTS score of 6.5 or above)
• Verified school transcripts in both Chinese and English (for international students, only the English version is required)
• Verified certificates of education qualifications in both Chinese and English (for international students, only the English version is required) 
• PDF copy of Master Degree dissertation (or an equivalent writing sample) and examiners reports available 

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr. Fan Zhu (Fan.Zhu@xjtlu.edu.cn), whose personal profile is linked below:

https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/study/departments/entrepreneur-college-taicang/collegestaff/academic-staff/staff/fan-zhu