Neurobot » PhD scholarships: Evolution of Communication in Robot Societies

Applications are invited for two PhD scholarships within the project “Evolution of Communication in Robot Societies” at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, EPFL, Lausanne (http://lis.epfl.ch)

The project will be conducted in close collaboration with the Department of Ecology and Evolution of the University of Lausanne. The aim of the project is to use a combination of methods borrowed from biology to study the evolution of cooperation and communication in animal societies and of methods borrowed from engineering to carry out artificial evolution in robot colonies. This interdisciplinary approach will shed light on the evolution of communication in animals for which there is no fossil record and provide guidelines for the design of robots and algorithms that can spontaneously engage in communication and social interactions in partially unknown and dynamic environments (see, for instance, Floreano et al., Current Biology, 17, 2007).
In order to be eligible for a PhD curriculum, candidates must be accepted by the EPFL doctoral program in Computer, Communication, and Information Sciences. Further information and online application forms are available at http://phd.epfl.ch/page55508.html In the application form, please mention the name of Prof. Dario Floreano and of the project.
Interested applicants should also e-mail pdf files with a curriculum vitae, a statement of interest, and contact addresses of at least two reference persons to Dario.Floreano@epfl.ch Please mention the name of the project in the subject field of the e-mail.
Successful candidates are expected to work systematically on theories/models in the above mentioned interdisciplinary areas and to conduct robotic experiments. Prior knowledge in related fields of interest and good programming skills will be an advantage. Candidates must have a good command of the English language and a strong commitment to science.