Open Positions
The Swarm Systems Lab at the University of Granada currently has some openings. If your profile does not fit the offer, but you think you are a good match, the lab is always looking for outstanding researchers and students. We run a lab with diverse but strong theoretical and practical backgrounds. Prospective candidates are invited to contact Héctor García de Marina at swarmsystemslab@gmail.com, attaching a CV, research statement, and contact references. If you don’t receive any answer within 3 weeks from your email, your application has not been considered.
Visitors who match our activities are also welcome, although it will depend on our current physical space to host you. If you are interested, email us your motivation and attach your CV with a contact reference.
Why Granada?
Granada is the most popular destination among European exchange students, and it has a welcoming cosmopolitan university. Granada, a safe modern city, also has an outstanding geographical location just 40 minutes from the Mediterranean Coast with its tropical climate, and 30 minutes from the Sierra Nevada ski resort. The world-renowned Alhambra and Generalife palaces, which form the backdrop of Granada’s cityscape, are widely regarded as being among the most outstanding examples of architecture in the world. In 1984 these palaces — along with the labyrinth-like historical quarter known as the Albaicín — became UNESCO world heritage sites, further adding to Granada’s reputation as one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Granada has affordable housing for students, a rich culture of gastronomy (tapas!), and it is a cultural hub thanks to its rich historical and cultural legacy. The international airport of Málaga Costa del Sol, constantly connected with Granada, is at 100km, with flight connections to over 60 countries worldwide.
FPU Candidate
Within the Spanish Program Formación Profesorado Universitario, we are looking for an applicant who wants to pursue his/her Ph.D. with us. The application is typically around January.
We offer:
You can choose your Ph.D. topic in Control theory and/or Robotics within Swarm Robotics.
Budget for equipment.
Budget for academic visits during your Ph.D. (regardless of what the gov. says).
Your own RC plane! (if you want it of course).
Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship
If you believe we are a good fit for your Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral application focusing on multi-robot systems, do not hesitate and contact us!
Preferably, we would like to prepare the application before summer 2024.
Postdoc
The ERC Starting Grant project Controlling imperfect robot swarms (iSwarm) seeks one Postdoc researcher with experience in Multi-agent systems.
Experience in formation control and state estimation for robot swarms is a plus, but if you think your expertise fits with our line of research, do not hesitate and contact us!
The starting day is before the end of 2024.
Desired skills:
English is essential, together with communication skills.
Very competent with analysis (linear algebra, calculus, and differential equations) and physics (differential geometry, mechanics).
We offer:
Competitive salary according to your skills for at least one year. The contract includes the Spanish universal healthcare.
Budget for equipment and travel.
Ph.D.
The ERC Starting Grant project Controlling imperfect robot swarms (iSwarm) seeks one Ph.D. student in Aerial robot swarms.
The project questions the current paradigm of fighting imperfections to suppress their “damaging” effects. Conversely, we propose a rigorous control theory to unleash and ally with imperfections like those in real-world perception systems. Perception is central to controlling robot swarms without external assistance, e.g., motion capture systems or GPS. Your research will focus on one of these topics to be decided within your first year.
Perception within the swarm. How the robot individuals measure their relative states, mostly geometrical, to enable the implementation of pure swarm algorithms, i.e., no central commands or external infrastructures. The algorithms in our group will exploit the real-world imperfections in your perception system to promote predictable emergent behavior.
Swarm perception of the environment. How partial measurements and the coordination of a swarm can enhance the global perception of the environment.
AI is a relevant part of robot perception, and we acknowledge its tremendous benefits. However, methodologies based on rigorous math and physics over total black-box approaches are always preferable in our group. Perception sensors will be primarily based on fusing radio, radar, LIDAR, and potentially vision.
The starting date is before the end of 2024.
Desired skills:
Flying experience for this position is a plus, along with mechatronics skills in assembling and maintaining aerial robots. We are part of an aeromodelling club, and you will not be alone in this matter, but you must feel comfortable within such an environment.
English is essential, together with communication skills.
Experience with aerial robots and perception/localization. Programming of embedded systems (C), and scripting (Python).
Comfortable with mathematics. You should understand formal algorithms on paper before their software integration.
We offer:
Competitive salary according to your skills for four years. The contract includes the Spanish universal healthcare.
Budget for equipment and travel.