Machine Learning

MERL is seeking interns passionate about robotics to contribute to the development of an Active Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (Active SLAM) framework guided by Large Language Models (LLM). The core objective is to achieve autonomous behavior for mobile robots. The methods will be implemented and evaluated in high performance simulators and (time-permitting) in actual robotic platforms, such as legged and wheeled robots. The expectation at the end of the internship is a publication at a top-tier robotic or computer vision conference and/or journal.

The internship has a flexible start date (Spring/Summer 2025), with a duration of 3-6 months depending on agreed scope and intermediate progress.

Required Specific Experience

• Current/Past Enrollment in a PhD Program in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
• Experience with employing and fine-tuning LLM and/or Visual Language Models (VLM) for high-level context-aware planning and navigation
• 2+ years experience with 3D computer vision (e.g., point cloud, voxels, camera pose estimation) and mapping, filter-based methods (e.g., EKF), and in at least some of: motion planning algorithms, factor graphs, control, and optimization
• Excellent programming skills in Python and/or C/C++, with prior knowledge in ROS2 and high-fidelity simulators such as Gazebo, Isaac Lab, and/or Mujoco

Additional Desired Experience

• Prior experience with implementation and/or development of SLAM algorithms on robotic hardware, including acquisition, processing, and fusion of multimodal sensor data such as proprioceptive and exteroceptive sensors

MERL is looking for a self-motivated intern to research on problems at the intersection of multimodal large language models and neural algorithmic reasoning. An ideal intern would be a Ph.D. student with a strong background in machine learning and computer vision. The candidate must have prior experience with training multimodal LLMs for solving vision-and-language tasks. Experience in participating and winning mathematical Olympiads is desired. Publications in theoretical machine learning venues would be a strong plus. The intern is expected to collaborate with researchers in the computer vision team at MERL to develop algorithms and prepare manuscripts for scientific publications.

Required Specific Experience

• Experience with training large vision-and-language models
• Experience with solving mathematical reasoning problems
• Experience with programming in Python using PyTorch
• Enrolled in a PhD program
• Strong track record of publications in top-tier computer vision and machine learning venues (such as CVPR, NeurIPS, etc.).

MERL is looking for a self-motivated intern to work on multi-modal sensor fusion for health condition monitoring and predictive maintenance of motor drive systems. The ideal candidate would be a Ph.D. candidate in electrical engineering or computer science with solid research background in signal processing and machine learning. Experience in motor drive system is a plus. The intern is expected to collaborate with MERL researchers to collect data, explore multi-modal data relationship, and prepare manuscripts for publications. The total duration is anticipated to be 3 months and the start date is flexible.

Required Specific Experience

• Experience with multi-modal sensor fusion.