Have you noticed that computers can show beautiful images and play clear sounds, but they don't let you physically touch digital items? What if you could feel the texture of clothing or the brush strokes of a famous art piece on your smartphone? Led by Katherine J. Kuchenbecker, the MPI-IS Haptic Intelligence department is working to invent new technologies for generating realistic haptic sensations on touchscreens. We are interested in investigating human touch sensation, understanding the electro-mechanical properties of the fingertip, and designing new haptic interfaces based on this knowledge.
We are looking for a:
Student assistant (m/f/d)
Roles & Responsibilities
- Programming of an electrical and mechanical model for understanding touch interactions between a human fingertip and a touchscreen,
- Assistance with preparing and conducting research studies where human participants test out our haptic systems,
- Collecting and analyzing camera images, force sensor signals, and other sensor data to support our understanding of the haptic interactions being captured.
In this research context, we are looking for a motivated student who is pursuing a Master of Science degree in mechatronics (Mechatronik), mechanical engineering (Maschinenbau), engineering cybernetics (Technische Kybernetik), medical engineering (Medizintechnik) or electrical engineering (Elektrotechnik) to support our research as a student assistant (HiWi).
Possible tasks include:
Education & Experience
- high motivation
- a bachelor's degree in a related subject
- enrollment in a German university
- strong academic performance in relevant bachelor’s and/or master’s courses
- good programming skills in MATLAB
- experience working with sensors and actuators
- interest in working in an international and interdisciplinary research group
- good oral and written communication skills in English
- familiarity with SolidWorks
- experience in conducting human-subject experiments
- knowledge of signal and image processing
Applicants should have
We are also interested in candidates who have
Our offer:
This student assistant position will allow the student to gain hands-on experience with electromechanical modeling and/or mechatronic systems, as well as be exposed to ongoing haptics research. The concrete position and tasks are subject to discussion with interested candidates.
Master’s students holding a Bachelor’s degree will be paid €13.65 per hour.
Volume of employment: maximum of 20 hours per week.
Application:
Please upload your application (at least a résumé in English or German and a cover letter in English explaining your interest in this position, merged into a single PDF) by following the link below:
For further questions please contact Dr. Zhaoyang Li at lzy@is.mpg.de.
The Max Planck Society is committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in its workforce and therefore encourages applications from such qualified individuals. The Max Planck Society strives for gender equality and diversity. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in its workforce in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.
Closing date for applications:
The position will be open until filled.
