Postdoc Co-creating with End-users Portable Minimally-actuated Robotic Devices for Unsupervised Stroke Rehabilitation

This project aims to enhance at-home arm-hand neurorehabilitation by developing and evaluating minimally-actuated low-cost portable robotic haptic devices. Key characteristics of your solution is naturalistic and realistic simulation of real/imaginary activities of daily living, provision of personalized physical assistance and somatic (tactile+proprioceptive) sensation to practice meaningful functional tasks, adaptation to the patient’s needs and capabilities, and enhancement of their motivation and reduction of their cognitive load.

To reach the project aim, you will meet three key objectives:

Improve the usability, acceptance and effectiveness of our portable low cost minimally actuated hand haptic robots by gathering feedback from usability tests at our partner clinics in the Netherlands, Italy andd Romania.

Equip the improved solution with newly developed advanced controllers to provide congruent somatosensory stimulation during assisted training to enhance rehabilitation and reduce the patients’ cognitive load.

Develop and exploit more naturalistic and motivating gamified virtual environments to provide users with real-time feedback about their performance. 

You are a highly motivated candidate with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, System and Control, Industrial Design, Human Factors, Biomedical Engineering.

Further you have:

• Open-mindedness and motivation to embark on interdisciplinary research.
• Affinity with teaching and supervising students.
• Hands-on mechanical design and development skills.
• Solid programming skills.
• Ability to take initiative.
• Proficient in verbal and written English.

Candidates with a strong track record in rehabilitation robotics, industrial design, control, and human-robot interaction are especially encouraged to apply. In addition, experience with one or more of the following topics is considered a plus: motor learning, computer graphics, and movement science.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service. This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

From chip to ship. From machine to human being. From idea to solution. Driven by a deep-rooted desire to understand our environment and discover its underlying mechanisms, research and education at the ME faculty focusses on fundamental understanding, design, production including application and product improvement, materials, processes and (mechanical) systems.

ME is a dynamic and innovative faculty with high-tech lab facilities and international reach. It’s a large faculty but also versatile, so we can often make unique connections by combining different disciplines. This is reflected in ME’s outstanding, state-of-the-art education, which trains students to become responsible and socially engaged engineers and scientists. We translate our knowledge and insights into solutions to societal issues, contributing to a sustainable society and to the development of prosperity and well-being. That is what unites us in pioneering research, inspiring education and (inter)national cooperation.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Do you want to experience working at our faculty? These videos will introduce you to some of our researchers and their work.

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply no later than 27 September 2024 via the application button and upload:

• A letter of motivation explaining why you are the right candidate for this project, and a brief description of how you plan to contribute to this project (no more than 2 pages).
• A detailed CV, including a list of academic publications, and a list of projects you have worked on with brief descriptions of your contributions.
• A complete record of Bachelor, Master and PhD courses (including grades).
• Your PhD Dissertation (at least as draft).
• The names and contact addresses of two or three references.

Please note:

• The intended starting date is November 1st 2024.
• A pre-employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.