Robotics Intern, Human-Machine Interaction Research
About The Position
Toyota Research Institute’s Human-Machine Interaction Research group designs, develops, and evaluates human-centered interfaces that improve the safety, well-being, and task performance of people working with AI. The group aims to help people and intelligent systems operate seamlessly together, particularly in physically interactive settings. In this paid 12-week summer research internship, the intern will develop and evaluate interactions between people and quadruped robots. The work includes prototyping integrated systems, collecting and analyzing data from human participants, modeling interaction logic, designing user studies, developing adaptive robot policies, and deploying and evaluating approaches on physical robot hardware. The role is hybrid and in-office.
Requirements
- Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Cognitive Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, or a related field.
- Experience integrating hardware and software for real-time interactive robotic systems, such as with Python, C++, or ROS2.
- Ability to work independently, iterate quickly, and communicate results clearly.
Nice To Haves
- Familiarity with human-robot interaction (HRI), data-driven behavioral modeling, machine learning, or collaborative teamwork dynamics.
- Familiarity with experimental design and data collection involving human participants.
Responsibilities
- Integrate and prototype interactions between quadruped robots and people to study teamwork and collaboration.
- Develop, train, and evaluate learning-based models for human behavior, robot decision-making, or adaptive human-robot interaction.
- Integrate and deploy learned models and policies on physical robots, evaluating their effectiveness, robustness, and real-time performance.
- Design and conduct user studies on mental model creation (Theory of Mind) and multimodal cueing during human-robot interaction.
- Collaborate with research scientists and engineers across Toyota Research Institute.
- Present findings verbally and prepare well-structured written reports, including potential submissions to top international venues.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Paid time off, including holiday pay and sick time
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Intern
Education Level
Ph.D. or professional degree
