[alife] PhD Studentship in UK: Enactive Representation in Robotics

[Chrystopher L. Nehaniv]

UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
http://perseus.herts.ac.uk/uhinfo/research/stri/

Research Studentship in Adaptive Systems on "Enactive Representaion in 
Robotis" - to start in October 2007, or as soon as possible thereafter.

The STRI produced the largest FTE staff Computer Science submission to be 
graded at 4 in the 2001 Universities Research Assessment Exercise. 
Research Studentship in Adaptive Systems - to start in October 2007, or as 
soon as possible thereafter. The Adaptive Systems Research Group is a 
strongly interdisciplinary team including roboticists, biologists, 
cognitive scientists, mathematicians and computers scientists. Members of 
the group are internationally leading in research including social and 
developmental robotics, emotion modelling, sensor evolution. Associated to 
the group is the Hertfordshire Interactive Systems and Robotics Laboratory 
that is particularly suited for experiments involving physical robots. The 
laboratory has a range of small and medium-sized mobile robotic platforms 
as well as humanoid robots. Group members are currently involved in the 
following FP6 projects: Robotcub, Cogniron, Feelix Growing, eCircus, 
Iromec, Humaine, euCognition, and Euron. The group, consists of 5 core 
academic leaders, 15 research fellows and 14 PhD students plus a regular 
influx of shorter-term research visitors from other leading labs in Japan 
and the EU. More information about the group can be found at: URL: 
http://adapsys.feis.herts.ac.uk/

Applications are invited from candidates with good first degrees in 
Computer Science, Cybernetics, Cognitive Science, or a related discipline 
(preferably a Master's degree) with an interest in applying their 
knowledge to Adaptive Systems Research in following area:


Theme III:  Enactive  Representation in Robotics Contact: Prof. 
Chrystopher L. Nehaniv (E-mail:  C.L.Nehaniv at herts.ac.uk)

The PhD studentship will support research to develop recent fundamental 
advances in the application of information theory to the autonomous making 
of meaningful representation in embodied organisms. The enactive creation 
of relevant or meaningful information depends on temporally extended 
experience (which we define operationally) in a physical and social 
environment, on embodiment (which may well be changing), and on 
agent-specific notions of usefulness. The work will employ autonomous 
robots as a test-bed. This research will complement ongoing work in one or 
more EU-funded projects in which the Adaptive Systems Research Group at 
the University of Hertfordshire plays a leading research role.

The ideal candidate will be self-movitated with good writing and 
communication skills, an excellent programmer, mathematically literate, 
have some familiarity with sensors, networking, scripting, and have 
experience with autonomous robots. A background in biology, evolution, 
artificial intelligence/life and/or philosophy (esp. R. G. Millikan, C. S. 
Pierce, latter Wittgenstein) could be very beneficial for this post. The 
PhD will be supervised by Prof. Chrystopher L. Nehaniv 
(C.L.Nehaniv at herts.ac.uk), whom interested candidates are invited to 
contact via email in the first instance.

For an application form, please contact Mrs Lorraine Nicholls, Research 
Student Administrator, STRI, Faculty of Engineering and Information 
Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts, AL10 
9AB, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1707 286083 Fax: +44 (0) 1707 284185 or email: 
stri.admissions at herts.ac.uk. The short-listing process will begin on 15 
August 2007. N

**Note, all applications must be made formally via Lorraine Nicholls.

References:

C. L. Nehaniv, N. A. Mirza, and L. Olsson, "Development via Information
Self-structuring of Sensorimotor Experience and Interaction", book chapter
for edited collection based on the 50th Anniversary Summit of Artificial
Intelligence (Monte Verita, Switzerland - 9-14 July 2006), Springer Verlag
(in press).

C. L. Nehaniv, K. Dautenhahn, & M. J. Loomes, "Constructive Biology
and Approaches to Temporal Grounding in Post-Reactive Robotics". In: G.
T. McKee & P. Schenker, Eds., Sensor Fusion and Decentralized Control in
Robotics Systems II (September 19-20, 1999, Boston, Massachusetts),
Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 3839, pp. 156-167, 1999.

L. Olsson, C. L. Nehaniv, & D. Polani, "From Unknown Sensors and Actuators 
to Actions Grounded in Sensorimotor Perceptions", Connection Science, 
special issue on Developmental Robotics (Douglas Bank and Lisa Meeden, 
guest editors), volume 18(2):121-144, 2006.

A. S. Klyubin, D. Polani, & C. L. Nehaniv, "Representations of Space and
Time in the Maximization of Information Flow in the Perception-Action
Loop", Neural Computation, (in press).

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Prof. Dr. Chrystopher L. Nehaniv
Research Professor of Mathematical & Evolutionary Computer Sciences
Adaptive Systems, Algorithms, & BioComputation Research Groups
School of Computer Science
University of Hertfordshire
College Lane
Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB
United Kingdom
e-mail: C.L.Nehaniv at herts.ac.uk
phone:  +44-1707-284-470
fax:    +44-1707-284-303
URL:    http://homepages.feis.herts.ac.uk/~nehaniv/welcome.html

Director, EPSRC Network on Evolvability in Biological & Software Systems
Associate Editor, BioSystems
Associate Editor, Interaction Studies