Phd Candidate in Motion Planning and Control of a

**SnT** is a leading **international research and innovation centre** in secure, reliable and trustworthy ICT systems and services. We play an instrumental role in Luxembourg by fueling innovation through research partnerships with industry, boosting R&D investments leading to economic growth, and attracting highly qualified talent.

**Dr. Jose Luis SANCHEZ-LOPEZ**, Research Scientist (Permanent) and co-head of the ARG. His main research interest is to provide robots (both individually and in teams) with a deeper understanding of the situation and with intelligent and autonomous planning and task execution. He has published more than 75 papers in international peer-reviewed conferences and journals that generated an impact of more than 1950 citations (according to Google Scholar). Among his multiple scientific roles, he is an associate editor of four journals, including IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.

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**Your Role...**:
The position holder will work under the umbrella of a partnership project with the Luxembourg-based company **Ä**erd Lab**, developing **Ä**erdFly**, a prototype of a versatile, efficient, easy-to-deploy, and cost-effective clay-based 3D printer for houses that consists of a team of multi-rotor aerial robots operating autonomously.

The **overarching basic concept of ÄerdFly** includes (1) a clay-based extrusion system (developed by Äerd Lab), being the pump and material deposit located on the ground; (2) a multi-rotor aerial robot with the nozzle-end of the extrusion system accurately following the designed 3D printing trajectory, and (3) a multi-rotor aerial robot holding the pipe of the extrusion system that connects the ground part with the nozzle-end, flying coordinatedly with the nozzle-equipped aerial robot, avoiding collisions of the extrusion system and the 3D printed house.

The **main scientific challenges** are (1) to provide multi-rotor aerial robots with a robust motion controller (e.g. for trajectory tracking) capable of handling perturbances generated by the extrusion system (i.e. nozzle, pipes,); and (2) to provide a heterogeneous team of multi-rotor aerial robots with a motion planner and controller to autonomously execute a 3D printing operation. The ÄerdFly concept will be validated in an experimental simple in-lab setup to demonstrate its technological viability, considering an out-of-the-lab experimental validation under simplified conditions.

The position holder will be required to perform the following **tasks**:

- Conducting research in the field of motion planning and control of a team of multirotor aerial robots making contributions to its state-of-the-art.
- Proposing and implementing working novel solutions validated in our robotic platforms through real in
- (and out-) -of-the-lab experiments.
- Contributing to the development of the ÄerdFly prototype and the demonstration of its technological viability.
- Contributing to the success and impact of the partnership project with Äerd Lab.
- Contributing to the research line of planning and control for (single and multi-) robots and autonomous systems of the ARG.
- Disseminating results through scientific publications in top peer-review international journals, such as IEEE RA-L, and Elsevier RAS, and conferences, such as ICRA, and IROS.

**Your Profile...**:
We’re looking for people driven by excellence, excited about innovation, and looking to make a difference. If this sounds like you, you’ve come to the right place

**Qualification**:

- A master’s degree in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.

**Experience and hard skills**:

- Background in (at least one) Mobile Robotics, Multi-rotor Aerial Robotics, Robot Motion Control, Multi-robot motion Control, Non-linear Control, Model Predictive Control (MPC), Factor-graph Optimization, or related.
- Strong mathematical background.
- Strong programming skills in (at least one) Python/C++/Matlab.
- Familiarity with robotics frameworks like ROS and/or optimization-based frameworks such as Acado, GTSAM, G2O, or similar.

**Soft and transferable skills**:

- Commitment, high motivation, and high ambition.
- Team working.
- Critical mind.

**Language skills**:

- Fluent written and verbal communication skills in English are required.

**Here’s what awaits you at SnT...**:

- **Exciting infrastructures and unique labs.** At SnT’s two campuses, our researchers can take a walk on the moon at the LunaLab, build a nanosatellite, or help make autonomous vehicles even better
- **The right place for IMPACT. **SnT researchers engage in demand-driven projects. Through our Partnership Programme, we work on projects with more than 55 industry partners
- **Be** part of a multicultural family**. At SnT we have more than 60 nationalities. Throughout the year, we organise team-building events, networking activities and more