"Research Associate in Tactile Robotics and Psychophysics"

The role

This role will be based at the University of Bristol’s School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, as part of an EPSRC New Investigator Award project investigating “Bridging artificial and biological touch through microstimulation”.

We are looking for a skilled and motivated individual with experience in psychophysics experiments and artificial perception systems, ideally in the context of prosthetic devices.

The role would involve designing experiments to enable human participants to feel sensations from an artificial touch sensor, bridging the gap between artificial and biological touch and leading to potential advancements for prosthetic devices.

The appointed researcher will have access to state-of-the-art facilities at Bristol Robotics Laboratory, the largest centre for multidisciplinary robotics research in the UK.

You will be part of a team comprising Dr. Benjamin Ward-Cherrier, Dr. Jim Dunham, Dr. Rochelle Ackerley and a Research Associate focussed on developing a novel microstimulation system for experiments with human participants.

What will you be doing?

As part of this role, you will be expected to develop and implement an experimental protocol for human microstimulation experiments which will integrate an artificial tactile sensor with the human nervous system.

The role will involve the development of psychophysics methods to investigate encoding strategies for microstimulation and their effect on tactile perception. You may also work on optimizing the tactile sensor and robotic platform to suit the experimental setup. You will liaise closely with a Research Associate working on the microstimulation hardware during the development of the overall system.

You should apply if

As part of this role, you will be expected to develop and implement an experimental protocol for human microstimulation experiments which will integrate an artificial tactile sensor with the human nervous system.

The role will involve the development of psychophysics methods to investigate encoding strategies for microstimulation and their effect on tactile perception. You may also work on optimizing the tactile sensor and robotic platform to suit the experimental setup. You will liaise closely with a Research Associate working on the microstimulation hardware during the development of the overall system.

Additional information

For informal queries please contact:

Benjamin Ward-Cherrier (b.ward-cherrier@bristol.ac.uk)

To find out more about what it's like to work in the Faculty of Engineering, and how the Faculty supports people to achieve their potential, please see our staff blog:

https://engineering.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/category/engineering-includes-me/

Contract type: Open ended with fixed funding until 30/11/2026

This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on Thursday 18th December.

Our strategy and mission

We recently launched our strategy to 2030 tying together our mission, vision and values.

The University of Bristol aims to be a place where everyone feels able to be themselves and do their best in an inclusive working environment where all colleagues can thrive and reach their full potential. We want to attract, develop, and retain individuals with different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives – particularly people of colour, LGBT+ and disabled people - because diversity of people and ideas remains integral to our excellence as a global civic institution.