Postdoc Position in Dexterous End-effectors for 6G Tactile Tele-surgery

23.05.2022, Wissenschaftliches Personal

The Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) at the Technical University of Munich is looking for an outstanding applicant for a postdoctoral position in Mechatronics and Robotics for the coordination of and scientific contribution to the 6G-Life Project.

About us

Located in the prosperous capital of Bavaria and home to over 39000 students, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is one of the world’s top universities (top 4 European technical universities in The World University Ranking, top 50 in Shanghai Ranking, top 10 in Global University Employability Ranking, etc.). It is committed to excellence in research and teaching, interdisciplinary education, and the active promotion of promising young scientists. TUM benefits from the healthy mix of companies and startups of all sizes headquartered in the region and is tightly connected to regional research hospitals. The university also forges strong links with companies and scientific institutions across the world.

The TUM Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence (MIRMI) is a globally visible interdisciplinary research center for machine intelligence, which is the integration of robotics, artificial intelligence and perception. Its three central innovation sectors are the future of health, the future of work, the future of environment, and the future of mobility. More than 50 professors from various TUM faculties cooperate within the framework of MIRMI.

Description

We are looking for an outstanding and highly motivated Postdoctoral researcher to join our team at MIRMI to contribute to the research and development of dexterous end effectors for a new 6G-based teleoperated surgical robotics system. This position stems out of the large scale 6G-Life project (https://6g-life.de/) and will give you a unique opportunity to work in the field of robotics that operate with 6G communication technologies. The role also involves the coordination and contribution to the management, mentoring, and consortium-based tasks related to the 6G-Life project. Additionally, the methods and findings developed throughout the PhD track will be scalable and applicable to other research projects in MIRMI.

The development of the tactile and dexterous end-effectors for the surgical robotic system will require the expertise to design and integrate sensing interfaces in a highly compact space. Moreover, it will be important to oversee the general robotic testbed development, including the control and sensing architecture for seamless integration of systems from the bottom-up. The operator would require the crucial sense of touch with low-magnitude normal and shear forces as well as sensing of multiple contact points. Additionally, the end effectors need to be modular to handle different surgical tools. Furthermore, this sensory information needs to be translated to the operator side and be integrated into the overall control and sensing architecture of the robotic system.

The project lasts for 4 years and the position may be renewed yearly based on the scientific and coordination achievements of the candidate. You will work closely with supervisors and researchers from MIRMI (in both Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen) and report the system design and developments to our project officers and founders.

Responsibilities

• Coordination of the development of the 6G-based surgical robotics platform with the MIRMI researchers,
• Development of the dexterous end effectors fitting the needs of the surgical robotics platform,
• Coordination and planning of the relevant work packages of the 6G-Life project,
• Maintaining the communication and exchange with industrial and scientific partners during the project,
• Co-supervision of PhD candidates and Master’s and Bachelor’s students on projects related to 6G-Life,
• Funding acquisition and management of research proposals (scouting potential opportunities, form consortia, proposal writing) related to the field of expertise,
• Driving publication of projects results in leading journals and conferences in the robotics community.

Requirements

Please consider applying if you have a strong background in robotics, mechatronics, and control engineering. We especially seek individuals with excellent background in the following areas:

• PhD in mechanical/electrical engineering, robotics, computer science, or a comparable field,
• Experience in self-reliant managing of research projects (financial and administrative) and leading a scientific team,
• Previous record of funding acquisition (independent or contributing) is a major plus,
• Experience in mechatronics design and manufacturing, robotics, and control and sensing hardware,
• Hands on experience with the design and development of physical robotics systems (experience in surgical robotics systems is a major plus),
• Experience with MATLAB Simulink, C++/Python and ROS,
• Fluency in spoken and written English, German is a plus
• High motivation and willingness to work in an international and interdisciplinary team.

How to apply?

The following documents are needed for applications: - A motivation letter (1-3 pages) describing (i) yourself, (ii) your research interests, (iii) your qualifications, (iv) your future career goals and research focus and (v) why you would be a suitable candidate

• A detailed CV
• Academic transcripts from your Bachelor’s and Master’s and PhD’s degrees
• Email addresses of at least two references

Interested applicants should send the necessary documents via email to applications@mirmi.tum.de quoting “Postdoc Position in Dexterous End-Effectors for 6G Tactile Tele-surgery” in the e-mail subject line. The position will be filled as soon as possible and only shortlisted candidates will be notified. Preference will be given to applications received before June 20, 2022.

TUM has been pursuing the strategic goal of substantially increasing the diversity of its staff. As an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, TUM explicitly encourages nominations of and applications from women as well as from all others who would bring additional diversity dimensions to the university’s research and teaching strategies. Preference will be given to disabled candidates with equal qualifications. International candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

Technische Universität München
Munich Institute of Robotics and Machine Intelligence
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 60-62,
80992 München
applications@mirmi.tum.de

Kontakt: applications@mirmi.tum.de