PREP0002689 Mechanical Engineer - Robotic Perception

PREP Research Associate

Opportunity No.: PREP0002689

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, and thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

APPLY ONLINE HERE

Mechanical Engineer - Robotic Perception

Project Description:

The Intelligent Systems Division at NIST is investigating the performance of 3D machine vision systems for various manufacturing applications. The research will focus on conducting experiments and analyzing data in relation to understanding the performance of 3D machine vision systems to support the development of standards for measuring the depth error and depth resolution of these systems, as well as for measuring the performance of systems used for bin picking applications.

Key Responsibilities: 

Will be tailored to fit the applicant’s qualifications and the applicant will be trained on the use of certain systems needed for the following possible duties:

• Research whether the distribution of the depth error across a single image at a certain distance is “the same” as the distribution of the depth error across a single image taken from a significantly different distance
• Research the effects of various factors (part color, part surface properties, bin color, bin depth, ratio of part size to bin size, part distribution in a bin) on bin picking performance (e.g., cycle time, pose uncertainty, etc.)
• Collect data from various 3D imaging systems
• Program collaborative robot arms for conducting various tasks
• Use metrology systems (e.g., laser trackers, CMMs, etc.) for establishing reference measurements
• Use analysis software (e.g., MATLAB, Spatial Analyzer, Polyworks, Excel, etc.) to interpret results and produce visualizations
• Write reports and contribute to peer-reviewed publications

Desired Qualifications: Not all the qualifications below are required.

• Engineering majors with bachelor’s/master’s degree, or in final or penultimate years of bachelor’s/master’s degree.
• Programming experience in one or more of the following computer languages: C++, Python, Java
• Experience with CAD software such as SolidWorks
• Experience using MATLAB
• Experience using 3D printers
• Basic understanding of robot control theory (DH parameters, kinematics, etc.)
• Basic understanding of 3D sensors such as LiDAR or RGBD cameras
• Basic understanding of the Unix/Linux operating systems
• Basic understanding of programming robot forward and inverse kinematics
• Working knowledge of 3D point cloud data processing techniques using Point Cloud
• Library (PCL - http://pointclouds.org), CloudCompare, or other similar tools

Other Details:

• Full-time: the participant is expected to work 40 hours a week
• Location: the participant will work at the NIST Gaithersburg Campus.
• Duration: this is expected to be a one-year position. Extensions are sometimes granted depending on the availability of funds.
• For questions related to the research project or the nature of the work in this position, please contact Dr. Kamel S. Saidi (kamel.saidi@nist.gov). For questions related to the online application or NIST PREP more generally, please contact msu-nistprep@morgan.edu.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use the information you submit for the purpose stated.