About the Project
This PhD project will develop next-generation robotic systems that combine mixed reality, haptic teleoperation, artificial intelligence, and adaptive autonomy for complex industrial manipulation and disassembly tasks. The successful candidate will investigate human-in-the-loop robotic learning, intent recognition, and learning from demonstration to enable safer, more autonomous robotic operation. Based within the Autonomous Robotics and Perception Laboratory, the project offers access to…
state-of-the-art robotic facilities and opportunities to engage with industrial partners from the robotics, automotive, and recycling sectors.
Project details
Robotic systems are increasingly required to operate in industrial environments involving complex physical interactions, uncertain contact conditions, and safety-critical decision making. Applications such as EV battery disassembly, remanufacturing, and resource recovery require robots to manipulate components under uncertainty while maintaining high levels of safety, adaptability, and efficiency. This PhD project aims to develop next-generation robotic systems that combine mixed reality, haptic teleoperation, artificial intelligence, and variable autonomy to enable robots to learn from skilled human operators and perform complex manipulation and disassembly tasks more autonomously. Particular emphasis will be placed on intent recognition, adaptive autonomy, human-robot collaboration, and learning from demonstration, enabling robots to dynamically adjust their level of autonomy according to task complexity, uncertainty, and operator input.
The successful candidate will contribute to the development of a human-in-the-loop robotic learning framework that combines mixed reality interfaces, haptic feedback devices, robot manipulation, multimodal perception, machine learning, reinforcement learning, digital twins, and sim-to-real transfer techniques. The project will investigate how knowledge acquired from human demonstrations can be transferred to robotic systems, enabling the autonomous execution of selected manipulation and disassembly operations while maintaining human oversight when required. The successful candidate will be based within the Autonomous Robotics and Perception Laboratory, School of Computer Science and Digital Technologies, Aston University, and will work closely with researchers and experts in robotics, artificial intelligence, computer vision, autonomous systems, and human-robot interaction. The laboratory provides access to collaborative robot arms, industrial robotic platforms, advanced sensing and vision systems, haptic devices, mixed reality technologies, mobile robots, and high-performance computing resources. The project has a strong industrial focus, offering opportunities to engage with organisations from the robotics, automotive, advanced manufacturing, and recycling sectors. The research will be informed by real industrial challenges and representative use cases, helping to maximise the real-world impact of the developed technologies.
PhD overview
PhD programmes are for those who are seeking to develop greater in-depth knowledge in a specific area. Completing this level of study is about making an original contribution to knowledge, making new discoveries and developing lifelong skills.
At Aston University, our Engineering and Physical Sciences PhD programmes will provide all the support and facilities you will need to develop into a leading researcher in your chosen field. You will be welcomed into a supportive community with a shared enthusiasm for original research, where diversity and multidisciplinary is championed.
Supervisory Team & Contact Information
Primary Supervisor: Dr Alireza Rastegarpanah
Associate Supervisor(s): Professor Jose M Alcaraz Calero
For formal enquiries about this project, please contact: Dr Alireza Rastegarpanah
Person specification
Candidates should have been awarded, or expect to achieve, EITHER:
- A Bachelors degree in a relevant subject with an award of First Class or 2.1.
OR
- A Bachelors degree in a relevant subject with an award of First Class or 2.1, and a Masters degree in a relevant subject with an award of Merit or higher.
Qualifications from other countries which are considered by Aston University to be equivalent to that described above will be eligible to apply.
Required characteristics:
- Degree in Robotics, Mechatronics, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
- Strong programming skills in Python and/or C++.
- Knowledge of robotics, autonomous systems, robot manipulation, and motion planning.
- Experience with ROS and/or ROS2.
- Knowledge of machine learning, deep learning, reinforcement learning, or learning from demonstration.
- Knowledge of robot kinematics, dynamics, control, and trajectory planning
Desirable characteristics
- Experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or robot manipulation.
- Experience with robotic simulation environments such as Gazebo, Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, Unity, or similar platforms.
- Experience with teleoperation, shared autonomy, or human-robot interaction.
- Experience with haptic devices, force/torque sensing, or tactile sensing technologies.
- Experience with computer vision, multimodal perception, or sensor fusion.
- Experience with mixed reality, virtual reality, extended reality, or digital twin technologies.
- Experience working with real robotic hardware and experimental validation.
- Evidence of research experience, such as an MSc dissertation, research project, publication, or industrial R&D activity.
Submitting an application
We can only consider applications that are complete and have all supporting documents. Applications that do not provide all the relevant documents will be automatically rejected. Your application must include:
- English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.
- A Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.
- A personal statement which outlines any further information which you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience.
- Two academic referees who can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary.
- Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements. If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage.
- A copy of your passport. Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.
Interviews
Interviews will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. If you are shortlisted, you will be contacted directly with details of the interview.
Contact information
For formal enquiries about this project, contact Dr Alireza Rastegarpanah
Funding Notes
This project includes a bursary to cover home or international tuition fees.
Applicants would need to provide evidence that they can support their living costs during the course.
Where will I study?
Aston University
Situated in the heart of the Birmingham Innovation Precinct, Aston University stands as a leader in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Its cutting-edge research addresses critical societal, cultural, health, and environmental challenges, guided by three interdisciplinary themes: health, digital innovation, and technology.
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