About the role#
As a summer research intern in the Human-Machine Interaction Research group, you will work on projects involving quadruped robots. You will focus on how humans and intelligent systems interact, specifically in physically interactive settings. The goal is to develop interfaces that improve task performance and safety for people using human-centered AI.
What you'll do#
- Integrate and prototype interactions between quadruped robots and humans to study collaboration.
- Develop, train, and evaluate learning-based models for robot decision-making, human behavior, or adaptive interaction.
- Deploy learned policies on physical robot hardware to test real-time performance and effectiveness.
- Design and run user studies that investigate mental model creation and multimodal cueing.
- Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of engineers and research scientists.
- Present your findings through verbal updates and written reports, including potential conference submissions.
What you'll need#
- Current enrollment in a Ph.D. program in Robotics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Human-Computer Interaction, Cognitive Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
- Experience integrating hardware and software for real-time robotic systems using tools like ROS2, Python, or C++.
- Familiarity with human-robot interaction, machine learning, or behavioral modeling.
- Experience with experimental design and collecting data from human participants.
- Ability to iterate quickly and work independently.
Location & details#
- This is a 12-week paid internship for Summer 2027.
- The role is based in Los Altos, California.
- This position follows a hybrid, in-office work model.
About Toyota Research Institute
Toyota Research Institute is a research organization founded in 2016. Based in Los Altos, California, it operates as a subsidiary of Toyota. The company focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics, automated driving, and material sciences. Its staff of approximately 485 employees works to develop technology for vehicles and robots while researching new materials for batteries and fuel cells.
How to get in at Toyota Research Institute
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