Are you an ambitious researcher that loves to work on cutting-edge robotic technologies that contribute to sustainable agri-food production? Are you a team player that loves to work in a multidisciplinary field? Then this position might be for you!

We invite applications for the position of assistant professor entitled: “Planning, coordination and control of complex robotic systems in the agri-food domain’’.

Population growth, climate change, resource depletion and soil degradation are placing huge challenges on agriculture. With this position we aim to further invest in and contribute to the sustainable food and biomass production and thus UN Sustainable Development Goals. Central in agri-food robotics is to translate sensor information into an autonomous action, by deploying in colloquial terms a ‘sense, plan, act paradigm’. Beyond sensing and perception, a field that has quite some attention in this application domain already, planning, coordination and control of (multiple) robots proves to be a serious and less addressed challenge in agri-food robotics. The cluttered, not well structured working environment with uncertainty in position and orientation of target objects and obstacles, as well as occlusion of target objects are key operational challenges for robotic systems. Typical examples of such challenges are planning and control of robot arms to safely harvest fruits, planning of a mobile robot to cover a field, planning and control of a team of aerial and ground robots to efficiently inspect an orchard. The TT in this position will contribute by mobilizing and extending existing mathematical robot planning, coordination and control schemes. Deploying recent advances in AI and machine learning relevant to this planning, coordination and control challenge is foreseen as well.

The position of assistant professor (Tenure Track) in complex robotic systems in the agri-food domain is financed the Dutch sector plan in Engineering, and positioned in the Agricultural Biosystems Engineering group (before Farm Technology Group) of Wageningen University & Research. You will closely collaborate with Prof. Eldert van Henten and Dr. Gert Kootstra, both active and leaders in sensing, modelling and automation of smart agri-food production systems. We expect you work in various application domains, ranging from open field agriculture, greenhouse horticulture, livestock farming systems and food processing. Typical challenges are the harvesting of fruits, advanced plant/weed manipulation, and sorting and packaging. Mutual collaborations amongst colleagues and researchers in the field are central to success.

We expect you to develop your research profile and acquire funding for (PhD and postdoc) projects, and supervise PhD students. Besides your research tasks you will be involved in educational activities, like lecturing, course coordination, and supervision of BSc and MSc students of the biosystems engineering program. When successful your initial temporary contract will be extended to a tenured position within the Farm Technology Group of WUR.