Full PhD position in Simulation and Perception of Interactive Virtual Characters and Crowds,
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
JOB DESCRIPTION
KTH Computer Science and Communication (CSC) announce a PhD position in real-time simulation and perception of interactive virtual characters and crowds.
This position concerns the real-time simulation of social behaviours (appropriate facial expressions, gaze, gestures and other movements) for virtual individuals, groups and crowds using state-of-the-art computer game engines, such as Unity and Unreal. A core task in the project involves programming computational models of social behaviour related to empathy, emotion contagion and prosociality for creating compelling interactions within groups of virtual characters and between virtual characters and human users. The research evaluation methodology will include, in addition to other methods, perceptual studies with human participants. The position will be affiliated with the Visualisation Studio and HPCViz Department, KTH and is partially-funded by the upcoming EU Horizon 2020 project ProSocialLearn, a consortium of nine leading European industry and university partners focusing on the use of computer games technology for prosocial educational scenarios involving virtual characters.
This is a four-year time-limited position that can be extended up to a year with the inclusion of a maximum of 20% departmental duties, usually teaching. In order to be employed, you must apply and be accepted as a doctoral student at KTH. The starting date is open for discussion, though ideally we would like the successful candidate to start as soon as possible.
APPLICANT PROFILE
A suitable background for this position would be a Master of Science in Computer Science or equivalent. In addition to the traditional academic merits, given the multidisciplinary nature of the research project, qualifications relating to domains of graphically rendering and simulating virtual characters, 3D character modelling and animation, embodied conversational agents and autonomous multi-agent systems, multimodal human computer/machine interaction, virtual reality, computer games technologies, artificial life, psychology, affective computing and/or perceptual computing are advantageous.
Applicants must be strongly motivated for doctoral studies, possess the ability to work independently and perform critical analysis and also possess good levels of cooperative and communicative abilities.
BACKGROUND
KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm is the largest and oldest technical university in Sweden. No less than one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education capacity at university level is provided by KTH. Education and research spans from natural sciences to all branches of engineering and includes Architecture, Industrial Management and Urban Planning. There are a total of 13,400 first and second level students and almost 1,900 doctoral students. KTH has 4,900 employees.
KTH Computer Science and Communication is one of the most outstanding research and teaching environments in Information Technology in Sweden with activities at KTH and partly at Stockholm University. We conduct education and research in both Theoretical and Applied Computer science. Theoretical Computer science ranges from theory building and analysis of mathematical models to algorithm construction, implementation and simulation. Applied computer science covers a wide spectrum from Computer Vision, Robotics, Machine Learning, High Performance Computing, Visualization, Computational Biology, Neuroinformatics and Neural Networks, and Speech and Music Communication. We also conduct applied research and training in Media Technology, Human-Computer Interaction, Interaction Design and Sustainable Development. For more information about KTH Computer Science and Communication, go to www.kth.se/csc.
The Department of High Performance Computing and Visualization (HPCViz) is a premium Swedish research leader in pedagogy and research concerning applied technologies for extreme computing and data visualization, combining computational mathematical modelling, programming environments, and visual data exploration. HPCViz has extensive expertise in High Performance Computing and Visualisation, operating in numerous EU networks and projects, including the European flagship Human Brain Project.
The Visualisation Studio (VIC), a research, teaching and dissemination resource at HPCViz, hosts some the most advanced interactive visualization technologies in the world. The award-winning faculty spans a broad range of expertise from mathematical modelling of complex physical phenomena, to human-computer interaction and real-time computer graphics and animation techniques for creating sophisticated interactive virtual characters. In addition to other projects, the Visualisation Studio is integral to the upcoming EU Horizon 2020 ProSocialLearn project concerning educational prosocial scenarios supported by virtual characters and computer game technologies.
APPLICATION
Applications will be considered until 23rd January 2015.
To apply for the position, please use the following link to KTH’s recruitment system:
http://kth.mynetworkglobal.com/en/what:login/jobID:47389/
The application shall include the following documents:
- Curriculum vitae.
- Transcripts from University/ University College.
- Brief description of why the applicant wishes to become a doctoral student.
- Previous work in the form of theses, published manuscripts and/or technical demonstrators.
(Please observe that all material should be in English, apart from the official documentation.)
CONTACTS AND ENQUIRIES
Informal enquiries may be addressed to Christopher Peters, email chpeters@kth.se. Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.
The full advertisement for this position is available at the following address:
http://www.kth.se/en/om/work-at-kth/lediga-jobb/what:job/jobID:47389/