Summary
Name of Organization: iRobot
Position Title: Robotics and Vision Intern
Location: Los Angeles (Pasadena), California
Majors: Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or related fields.
Level(s): Intermediate, Advanced
Students Required: up to 3 (depending on on qualifications)
The Company
iRobot Corporation is at the forefront of the development of robotics and artificial intelligence technologies, with a mission of “empowering people to do more”. iRobot was founded in 1990 by three MIT associates with the vision of making practical robots a reality.
Explore and leverage your potential with one of the world leaders in robotics – from consumer, telepresence, and international defense and security. We are constantly creating robotic products that improve, impact, and change lives.
Position Purpose
The candidate will perform duties in the R&D team of iRobot. The candidate will participate in the optimization, improvement, enhancement, and benchmarking of iRobot technologies. In particular, the focus will be on iRobot's vision technologies for object recognition and SLAM (vSLAM: visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). Alternative activities will involve the development of novel navigation algorithms based on other available sensors in the robots under development. Additionally the candidate will participate in prototyping and evaluating novel sensors and robot assemblies.
The candidate's project would be selected according to skill level and interest of the applicant. The following list presents some of the current projects:
Comparison and benchmarking of the state-of-the-art feature detectors and descriptors for object recognition.
Enhancement of the current object recognition algorithm by the inclusion of alternative visual cues such as color or shape.
Development of clustering techniques for efficient storage and retrieval of feature points.
Evaluation and implementation of the state-of-the-art object class recognition algorithms.
Evaluation of the latest classification algorithms based on convolutional neural network or deep networks.
Implementation of algorithms on cloud-enabled platforms.
Evaluation and implementation of the state-of-the-art RGBD recognition algorithms.
Development of fusion algorithms for a variety of sensors (cameras, IMU, odometry)
Development of robot navigation primitives for path planning, obstacle avoidance, and visual servoing.
Development of SLAM systems using information from a variety of sensors (cameras, RGBD, IMU, odometry).
Prototype, interface, and integrate alternative sensors (e.g., inertial motion sensors, dead-reckoning sensors, RGBD cameras) into novel robot assemblies.
The typical work cycle involves research and algorithm development (typically in Python/Matlab), algorithm testing, refinement and benchmarking, followed by C/C++ code implementation and integration into the final application. Alternatively, the development cycle entitles the assembly of an electro-mechanical system, implementation of SW for integration of different components, and evaluation of the desired application.
Internship Details
The details of the internship are the following:
The internship will be available throughout the year for periods of four months at a time (Jan-Apr, May-Aug, Sep-Dec).
The candidates will be interviewed 2 months prior the start of the internship (the interview will be in English and over the phone).
Compensation will be provided and will cover living expenses of the intern.
iRobot will handle the processing costs of the Visa.
iRobot will not cover the costs of the air trip.
Requirements
Advanced BS student (80%+ of the classes approved) or graduate student.
Excellent mathematical background, with solid foundation in probability theory, systems theory, multivariate calculus, nonlinear optimization.
Excellent GPA.
Advanced level of spoken and written English (sine qua non condition).
Proficient in C/C++ and Matlab (or Python), with good documentation and code organization habits.
Valid Passport
Creative and independent thinker, willing to take on challenges and learn new fields.
Work well in a fast-paced, small team environment.
Experience with pattern recognition and computer vision a definite plus.
Experience with robotics and control systems a definite plus.
If you're looking for a job where you can exercise your mathematical and algorithmic skills, and are interested in doing work that can lead to graduate studies in computer vision and/or robotics, this is it!
Required Documentation (in pdf format)
Curriculum Vitae
Transcripts and GPAs (including failed classes)
Certification of English level (if English is not the native language of the candidate)
Please send the required documentation to: Mario E. Munich mmunich@irobot.com