Job Description
Life at Dubai Future Foundation
Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) aims to realize the wise vision of Dubai's leadership to institutionalize the envisioned future and forward-thinking methodologies, while positioning Dubai as the leading city of the future. In partnership with its local and global partners from governments, companies, startups, and entrepreneurs, DFF drives joint efforts to collectively imagine, design, and execute the best possible future for humanity.
Under the supervision of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of DFF, the DFF runs and oversees many futureproofing projects and initiatives, such as the Museum of the Future, Area 2071, The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution UAE, Dubai Future Accelerators, One Million Arab Coders, Dubai Future Academy, Dubai Future Solutions, Dubai Future Labs, Dubai Future Forum, etc. DFF's efforts to share knowledge, adopt innovation, support entrepreneurs and innovative startups, build capacity, and promote forward-thinking and foresight principles contribute to Dubai's ambitions to be a role model for the cities of the future through the power of unlimited imagination, innovation, foresight and disruptive mindset.
For more information on the initiatives, projects, and programs of Dubai Future Foundation, please visit the website: www.dubaifuture.ae
Where does this role fit into the bigger picture
Where does this role fit into the bigger picture
The Human-Robot Interaction researcher reports directly to the Robotics Lab Lead and is part of the Research and Development (R&D) Department within the Dubai Future Labs structure. The Dubai Future Labs entity is focused on driving innovative ideas through rigorous scientific testing to push the existing boundaries of research applications. The R&D department is an open-innovation research concept that integrates concurrent research with innovative processes along with private and public sector partnerships. The department is focused on co-creating, experimenting, and evaluating innovative ideas and technologies in real-life test cases, as well as applied research in the fields of robotics.
Human-Robot Interaction Researcher
As the Human-Robot Interaction Research (HRI Researcher), you will work on studying and improving the ways in which humans and robots interact with each other. This should incorporate various aspects of interaction that address research domains related to robotic systems, psychology, human-computer interactions, sociology, and engineering. You will work with a dynamic, multi-disciplinary team to implement state-of-the-art algorithms derived from world-class research. The ideal candidate should have experience in applied robotics research and expertise in various robotic components and systems. The candidate is also expected to have a fundamental understanding of robotic systems and how to develop and integrate various robotic components to be deployed in real-world applications.
Your Responsibilities
- You will design effective interfaces that enable seamless communication between humans and robots.
- You will study human behaviors, preferences, and expectations when interacting with robots to design robots that can anticipate and respond appropriately to human needs.
- You will enhance robot capabilities to improve the ability of robots to understand human gestures, speech, and social cues.
- You will develop advanced perception, learning, and decision-making algorithms that support human-robot interactions.
- You will investigate methods to ensure the safety of human-robot interactions and build trust between humans and robots.
- You will design robots that can operate safely in human environments and implementing transparent communication strategies.
- You will explore the ethical implications of human-robot interactions and develop guidelines for responsible robot design and deployment.
- You will Investigate the societal impact of robots on areas such as employment, privacy, and social relationships.
- You will coordinate with multi-disciplinary teams to develop per-specifications autonomous robotic systems with human-robot interaction capabilities.
- You will follow software practices that produce maintainable code, including automated testing, continuous integration, code style conformity, and code review.
- You will engage with external stakeholder(s) and sponsors on a regular basis to disseminate results and receive end-user feedback.
Why this role is important
This role makes the biggest impact by being organized and able to research, design and develop new innovative robotic systems. You will be a key member of the technical team who will assist in creating successful partnerships that will be instrumental in successful robotic research projects. Your role in the organization will help create a positive reputation for the Dubai Future Foundation as a world-class robotic lab in the Middle East and help bring the UAE into the future.
What Dubai Future Foundation offers
We will offer you a unique opportunity to work with people who are passionate about the future and establishing Dubai as one of the leading cities of the world. You will have the chance to work on exciting and new projects, work in a highly diverse and fast paced environment that fosters creativity, disruptive ideas, and innovation.
Skills
Who we're looking for
- You will have a PhD in Computer Science, Robotics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering or a closely related field.
- You will have a minimum of 5 years of experience in robotic systems with human-robot interaction capabilities.
- You will have experience with embedded systems, computer hardware, and sensors small enough to be used on autonomous robotic platforms.
- You will have a strong analytical skill and mathematical foundation.
- You will have experience with a distributed version control system such as git.
- You will have experience in ROS2, ROS and its development environment in C/C++ and Python
- You will be a team player with strong communication skills, with the willingness to learn from others and contribute back to the robotics community with publications or open-source code and is capable of working independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team.
- You will have expertise in a collaborative development environment, including paradigms such as continuous integration & delivery, V&V, design of experiments (DOEs), etc.
- You will have experience with agile software development processes using the Docker system.
- You will have the passion about seeing robotics have a real-world, large-scale, practical impact.
Skills that are nice to have
Experience with humanoid robots.
