The Robotics Group at the University of Zaragoza, Spain is looking for two highly motivated PhD students to join an industry-driven research project in collaboration with a recently created start-up. The post is available from January 2013. The successful candidate must have a degree(s) in Engineering, Physics, Maths, Computer Science or a related field, with a solid background in machine learning and/or computer vision. The PhD students will work with Dr. Luis Montesano and Dr. Javier Civera.

Applicants should submit a cover letter addressing the selection criteria below, curriculum vitae (including publications), and contact information of at least one referee. A copy of the academic transcripts (i.e., your grades in your bachelor and/or master degree(s)) should be included in the application. Applications should be sent to  phd.call.unizar@gmail.com in a single pdf document; indicating which one of the two positions is preferred. Applications can be sent immediately and will be evaluated until the position is taken.

Selection Criteria:

•       Excellent C/C++ and Matlab programming skills.

•       Excellent academic background. A Master degree in related fields will be highly valued. 

•       Experience in machine learning methods.

•       Experience in computer vision (3D vision and/or recognition).

The project aims to create portable technology to evaluate the behavior of people on everyday situations, such as shopping.

Profile 1: 3D scene models from wearable cameras. The aim is camera tracking and the creation of scene models from an image sequence obtained with a wearable camera. The specific challenges that will be addressed are: blurred images from rapid motion, scenes with low texture and the estimation of high level semantics (e.g., inserting objects or humans in the scene).  This PhD thesis will be mainly advised by Dr. Javier Civera.

Profile 2: Automatic creation of user profiles from behavioral data. The research will focus on the development of algorithms to extract user profiles from real data acquired during everyday activities. Data will involve many different measures including trajectories, attention and information provided by bio-sensors. This PhD thesis will be mainly advised by Dr. Luis Montesano.