Dear Colleagues,

PRISCA lab (University of Naples Federico II) is looking for multiple postdoctoral researchers and research assistants in Human-Robot Interaction.

Applications are invited from candidates with a master’s degree or PhD in Cognitive Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Sciences, Psychology, or other relevant disciplines. Candidates are expected to have research expertise in Human-Robot Interaction and Social Robotics. Preferable knowledge and hands-on experience with ROS, C/C++, Python. According to the preferred and most suitable position for the candidate, the research activities will be framed within the following projects: CHIST-ERA on Explainable Machine Learning-based Artificial Intelligence - COHERENT "COllaborative HiErarchical Robotic ExplaNaTions” project, and Italian PON I&C 2014-2020 MISE BRILLO "Bartending Robot for Interactive Long-Lasting Operations” project or ClassMate Robot project for the development of robotics application in educational settings.

The selection will be based on CV and a skype interview.

For further information and to apply please contact Prof. Silvia Rossi (s******i@unina.it)

-----------------------------

About the projects

COHERENT will develop a novel framework to combine explanations originated at the different robotic levels into a single explanation. This combination is not unique and may depend on several factors including the step into the action sequence, or the temporal importance of each information source. Robotic tasks are interesting because they entail performing a sequence of actions, and thus the system must be able to deliver these explanations also during the execution of the task, either because the user requested or actively because an unforeseen situation occurs. COHERENT will propose effective evaluation metrics oriented to the special case of explanations in HRI systems. The proposed measures, based on trustworthiness and acceptance, will be defined together with the definition of benchmark tasks that are repeatable and enable the comparison of results across different explainable developments. More information at coherent.csic.es (http://coherent.csic.es/)

BRILLO aims to the creation of a robotic platform capable of managing the tasks related to the management of a bar counter in its multiple aspects of interaction, handling and customization of the services offered. To this end, the goal is to study how to manage HRI processes dynamically creating a system that is easy and pleasant to use for the man. Therefore, issues related to the modelling of the interaction between the user and robotic bartender in terms of customization of the interaction for effective and long-lasting use of the services offered will be addressed. The project is in collaboration with the ICAROS centre of the University of Naples Federico II and the industrial partner TOTARO Automazioni S.R.L. More information is available at http://prisca.unina.it/brillo

-----------------------------

Prisca lab contains robots and forefront technology available for innovative projects. A home lab, furnished to resemble a private home with IoT sensors for conducting HRI experiments is available. Research facilities include 1 Furhat robot, 1 PEPPER robot, 1 Nao Robot, 1 Sanbot Elf, 1 Sanbot Nano, 2 Turtlebot2, 4 Pioneer 3DX, Various Microsoft Kinect and wearable sensors, 1 ZEUS totem - reconfigurable multitouch table for human-machine interaction studies, Arduino and ODroid platforms, multiple servers and Nas for big data management and deep learning, 1 WASP 3d printer.

About Naples Naples is the third-largest city in Italy and is the capital of the Campania region. It is world-known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music, and gastronomy. Naples is a lively, exciting, and bustling city situated on the Southwest coast, on the Bay of Naples. Dating to the 2nd millennium B.C., Naples has centuries of important art and architecture with a predominance of Medieval, Baroque and Renaissance-era churches, castles, and palaces. Several attractive tourist and archaeological sites such as Capri, Ischia, Amalfi Coast, Pompei, Ercolano, Mount Vesuvius, are close to Naples by car and public transportation.

Dr. Alessandra Rossi Postdoctoral researcher PRISCA research lab University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy Visiting Researcher Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Adaptive Systems Research Group University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom