Temporary scientific engineer / AI model development in agriculuture and agrifood / Robotics and Smart environments

Context
The ACENTAURI research team (https://team.inria.fr/acentauri/),
located at the Inria Center of the Université
Côte d'Azur in Sophia-Antipolis, is offering a position as a research engineer in AI for robotics in agriculture and agrifood.
ACENTAURI is a robotics team that studies and develops autonomous and intelligent robots that collaborate
with each other to perform difficult tasks in complex and dynamic environments.
The team addresses perception, decision and control problems for multi-robot collaboration by proposing
an original hybrid approach to artificial intelligence based on models and data and by studying efficient
algorithms. The team focuses on applications such as multi-robot patrol systems for environmental monitoring
and transportation of people and goods. In these applications, multiple robots share multi-sensor information
possibly coming from the infrastructure.
The effectiveness of the proposed approaches is demonstrated on real robotic systems such as cars and drones
in collaboration with industrial partners.
As part of the European Agrifood-TEF project (January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2028)
, the Inria-ACENTAURI team has established a Living Lab
(mobile laboratory) to deliver on-site services to SMEs, farmers, and agricultural operators. The project is organized around various national nodes
and satellite sites; Inria is part of the French national node.
For the past three years, the ACENTAURI AGRIFOODTEF team has focused on configuring the system and services. The remaining two years will be
dedicated to service delivery and maintenance. The Living Lab features a multi-robot platform comprising aerial drones and autonomous ground robots
that communicate with one another. All robots are equipped with sensors tailored for navigation and specific use cases relevant to SMEs or farmers.
The complete system can:
Record and georeference data from cameras, LiDAR, and specialized sensors
Map the environment
Monitor task progress from the Living Lab
Process data within the Living Lab using AI-based techniques (model-based, data-driven, or hybrid methods)
However, demand from the French startup and SME ecosystem is not currently strong enough to sustain the continuous provision of such services.
We have therefore decided to focus our exploration on the PAMP
(
Perfume, Aromatic, and Medicinal Plants
) an
d viticulture sectors, both of which have a strong
presence in the PACA region. We are convinced that this industry holds great promise for the future and that AI and robotics can significantly
contribute to its development. We will explore collaborations with ITEIPMAI, INRAE, and the "Fleur d'Exception" association in Grasse to gain a
thorough understanding of the needs and constraints of industry stakeholders. Participation in industry-related events will also be encouraged.
The position involves the modeling, development, and evaluation of AI (and/or robotics) solutions for the agriculture and agri-food sectors.
It falls within the scope of the AgrifoodTef project, for which the ACENTAURI team has established several unique testing facilities and robotic
systems—including mobile robots, drones, and a "Moving Living Lab"—incorporating the latest technological innovations.
The team offers a range of services, including data collection and annotation, as well as the testing and evaluation of robotics and AI algorithms.
Travel
:
Travel is planned, in particular for customer finding, exhibition participation, and experiments in real agricultural site.
Assignment
The research engineer's duties will focus primarily on the use of AI in agriculture and the agri-food sector, specifically:
Helping to identify sector-specific challenges, particularly those related to the crop cycle
Identifying existing solutions—whether conventional or AI-based—for comparison purposes
Identifying existing, accessible databases
Identifying existing evaluation metrics and testing protocols
Drafting a report analyzing needs and the state of the art
Presenting this report at French node meetings and within the agrifoodTEF consortium
Building, testing, and evaluating AI models to address the identified challenges
Coding and testing algorithms
Documenting algorithms
Acquiring and creating new datasets
Participating in experimental and testing campaigns for potential clients
Attending industry technology meetings
Participating in consortium meetings
Collaboration :
The candidate will work in close collaboration with the ACENTAURI team. Responsibilities:
Responsibilities:
The candidate will have to integrate into the ACENTAURI team. In addition, he (she) will have to carry out the important tasks of communication, publication writing, and methodology implemented in ACENTAURI (project monitoring and project management under Git and Gitlab). Furthermore, we would like the person hired to undergo drone piloting training in order to remotely pilot our drones for field data acquisition.
Main activities
Surveying existing and future technologies from technology providers and existing sources
Conducting market research by sector
Establishing a network of potential clients
Identify problem categories by sector
Developing an action plan
Drafting a report
Providing services to startups and SMEs
Skills
Technical skills and level required:
The candidate should preferably m
ust hold a Master’s degree or an engineering degree specializing in AI and Machine Learning. The candidate must possess a solid foundation in software development (Matlab, C/C++, Python, Git, OpenCL, CMake, etc.) and machine learning methods (training and inference), as well as knowledge regarding the applications of robotics and AI in agriculture and the agri-food sector.
Languages:
a good level in English read/written/spoken is expected.
Documents to provide
: CV, cover letter, letter of recommendation, transcripts (Master's, engineering degree, Bachelor's).
Interpersonal skills:
The candidate will be in contact with the members of the team and will have to integrate into the ACENTAURI team. He/she must have the appropriate relational qualities.
Additional skills appreciated:
He/she must also be highly motivated for multidisciplinary studies and all aspects of R&D ranging from fundamental to experimental work. The driving Licence is mandatory.