[alife] PhD Research Studentship: Computational Linguisitics of Human-Robot Interaction

[Chrystopher Nehaniv]

  Research Studentship in Computational Linguistics of Human-Robot  
Interaction
University of Hertfordshire

Science and Technology Research Institute

Applications are invited from candidates with good BSc or MSc degrees  
in computer science, information technology, electronic engineering,  
physics, biology, linguistics,  or other relevant disciplines to join  
projects as research students for a three year period in to complete a  
PhD in the following area:

Ref 4: Computational Linguistics of Human-Robot Interaction

Contact for informal inquiries: Prof. Chrystopher L. Nehaniv
(E-mail:  C.L.Nehaniv at herts.ac.uk)

Project and Requirements:

The PhD studentship will support research to develop recent  
fundamental advances in the development and application of new  
computational linguistics methods for use in studies on the emergence  
of development of communicative competencies in embodied artificial  
intelligence systems.   In particular, the candidate will explore how  
a robot can  achieve the enactive creation of meaningful  
representation via grammatical constructions during the course of  
development and learning in a physical and social environment. The  
candidate's research will be carried out as part of a  
multidisciplinary team led by Prof. Nehaniv and will  employ methods  
of construction grammar and social learning in human-robot  
interaction.  Experimental platforms used for this work will include  
the KASPAR and iCub humanoid robots. This research will support work  
in the EU-funded project I-Talk (http://italkproject.org/) on the  
emergence of language using the feedback loop between social learning,  
individual learning and language acquisition.

The ideal candidate will be self-motivated with good writing and  
communication skills, an excellent programmer, and with a very strong  
background in computational linguistics and natural/artificial  
language grammars.  It also desirable that the candidate have exposure  
to one or more of: developmental psychology, human-computer  
interaction, pragmatics and language acquisition, interactive systems  
and autonomous robotics, artificial life, artificial intelligence,  
neuroscience,  and/or mathematical theory of communication  
(information theory), as well having some familiarity with sensors,  
networking, scripting, and multithreading.

Successful candidates may be eligible for a research studentship award  
from the University (equivalent to 12,940 British pounds per annum  
bursary plus the payment of the standard UK student fees).



The STRI produced the largest FTE staff Computer Science submission to  
be graded at 4 in the latest Universities Research Assessment Exercise.



For further information and an application form, contact Mrs Lorraine  
Nicholls, Research Student Administrator, STRI, Faculty of Engineering  
and Information Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane,  
Hatfield, Herts, AL10 9AB, United Kingdom.   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 25th July 2008.