Cape Town, South Africa
Position Type: Full Time

The African Robotics Unit (ARU) is a collection of robotics researchers in South Africa focused on studying problems we are uniquely positioned to solve. We are based at the University of Cape Town, the top-ranked university in Africa, which is situated in Cape Town, ranked in the top 25 cities in the world for travel.

The job advert seeks a student to investigate the neuromechanics of legged manoeuvrability in the wild, specifically focusing on the cheetah as a model animal. The goal is to utilize inverse reinforcement learning to understand how animals negotiate trade-offs between competing requirements during highspeed manoeuvres. The study will investigate the best reward function to maximize for control of legged robotic systems inspired by animal motion. Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL) will be utilized to produce a reward function based on observed optimal motions. The successful student will investigate the application of IRL to analyse the mechanical system behaviour and rapid acceleration, as well as the application of cheetah reward functions to quadruped robots. This research aims to provide insights into the dynamics and control of legged locomotion in animals, which can inform the development of
robust and agile robotic systems. This project is fully funded by Mathworks.

Requirements:

• Master’s degree (Electrical or Mechanical Engineering or Computer Science or related field)
• Strong skills in MATLAB and Python
• Confidence with version control tools (specifically Git)
• A strong publication record would be advantageous
• Good communication skills and ability/willingness to integrate within a multidisciplinary international research group
• Applicants may not previously have held full-time permanent academic posts and be under 40 years old
• Experience with reinforcement learning or legged robotics would be advantageous.