PhD position in "Immersive collaboration across time through virtual surrogates in mixed reality" - MSCA Cofund SEED programme

2 Feb 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

IMT Atlantique

Department

Doctoral division

Research Field

Computer science

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

France

Application Deadline

14 Feb 2024 - 12:00 (Europe/Paris)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

37

Offer Starting Date

1 Sep 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

HE / MSCA COFUND

Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number

101126644

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description
The PhD position is offered under an academic cosupervision/ cotutelle track (2 years at IMT Atlantique + 1 year at University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia + short industrial visits.)
1.1. Domain and scientific/technical context

Digital technology is advancing to support collaborative work between people who are separated in space and time [1, 2]. Prior work in Mixed Reality (MR) collaborative systems investigated live immersive collaboration between remote located people to share a virtual copy of a physical task environment [3, 10]. However, how to enable asynchronous collaboration between people in an immersive environment has been scarcely investigated [6]. The PhD work will concentrate on such asynchronous collaboration involving multiple users interacting at different times. This project is at the crossroads of Human-Computer Interaction, Mixed Reality and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work.

1.2. Scientific/technical challenges

Current trends in asynchronous collaboration mostly evolve around the idea of sharing pre-captured activities asynchronously [5, 7, 8, 9], which has a limitation of not allowing active interaction between people. Asynchronous collaboration must go beyond the simple scribing of information for review at a later time, as pointed out by [6]. When collaborators’ embodied asynchronous representations are pre-captured with the virtual content, it can lead to awkward situations where people may think that their collaborators are ignoring them or even running into them, as observed by [4]. Recent advances in generative AI using Large Language Models (LLM) demonstrates natural and live interaction with a virtual agent through text-based online chatting became feasible. This project proposes to investigate how LLM based virtual agents can be utilized to capture knowledge and priorities of a participant in MR based immersive collaboration, creating a virtual surrogate which can interact with remote collaborators on behalf of a person who is not available at particular time.

1.3. Considered methods, targeted results and impacts

The PhD project will investigate how to capture a person’s knowledge and priorities through LLM, how to apply the captured LLM to control a virtual character in MR environment as a virtual surrogate, and evaluate how such virtual surrogates can be effective in MR based immersive collaborative environments to facilitate active interaction between participants even when collaborating asynchronously. The PhD candidate will first conduct observational studies to identify shortcomings in current asynchronous collaboration, create a MR system integrating virtual surrogates, and evaluate the benefits of this system through user studies.

Targeted application scenarios include collaborative design in the field of architecture and industry, involving remote team members located in countries with large time differences. While the PhD work could significantly enhance the collaborative process in these scenarios, the expected benefits of the project can be extended to a broader range of collaborative contexts and application domains.

1.4. Environment (partners, places, specific tools and hardware)

The PhD candidate will have the opportunity to work with various mixed reality devices, including optical and video see-through MR headsets. He/she will also have access to experiment labs equipped with tracking systems and various other interaction devices. For the software, we plan to use Unity 3D, but other MR platforms may also be considered. The programming languages used will include C#, Javascript and Python.

2. Partners and study periods
2.1. Supervisors and study periods

• IMT Atlantique: Assoc. Prof. Cédric Fleury , IMT Atlantique, Brest, France

  The PhD student will stay 2 years at Prof. Fleury's lab.

• International partner: Dr. Gun Lee , University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

  The PhD student will stay 1 years at Dr. Lee's lab.

• Industrial partner(s): not yet determined but previous contacts with Stellantis may be harnessed

2.2. Hosting organizations
2.2.1. IMT Atlantique

IMT Atlantique , internationally recognized for the quality of its research, is a leading French technological university under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Digital Technology. IMT Atlantique maintains privileged relationships with major national and international industrial partners, as well as with a dense network of SMEs, start-ups, and innovation networks. With 290 permanent staff, 2,200 students, including 300 doctoral students, IMT Atlantique produces 1,000 publications each year and raises 18€ million in research funds.

2.2.2. University of South Australia

The University of South Australia , located in Adelaide, is South Australia’s largest university and a leading provider of education internationally. It is ranked amongst the best young universities in the world and are recognised for our overall excellence, approach to teaching, research, international outlook, facilities, innovation, and more. UniSA's research environment is supported by strong connections to industry, government and communities.

Requirements

Research Field

Computer science

Education Level

Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

By definition, Human-Computer Interaction is a multidisciplinary field that combines computer science, cognitive and behavioral psychology, ergonomics, and social sciences. This is especially true for this PhD topic, as we will explore how people collaborate across time, involving sociological grounding.

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Research Field

Computer science

Additional Information
Benefits
A PhD programme of high quality training : 4 reasons to apply

• SEED is a programme of excellence that is aware of its responsibilities: to provide a programme of high quality training to develop conscientious researchers, including training in responsible research and ethics. 
• SEED’s unique approach of providing interdisciplinary, international and cross-sector experience is tailored to work in a career-focused manner to enhance employability and market integration.
• SEED offers a competitive funding scheme, aiming for an average monthly salary of EUR 2,000 net per ESR, topped by additional mobility allowances as well as optional family allowances.
• SEED is a forward-looking programme that actively engages with current issues and challenges, providing research opportunities addressing industrial and academic relevant themes.

Eligibility criteria

Eligibility criteria. In accordance with MSCA rules, SEED will open to applicants without any conditions of nationality nor age criteria. SEED applies the MSCA mobility standards and necessary background. Eligible candidates must fulfil the following criteria

• Mobility rule: Candidates must show transnational mobility by having not resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in France for more than 12 months in the three years immediately before the deadline of the co-funded program's call (Jan 31, 2024 for Call#1). Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account.
• Early-stage researchers (ESR): Candidates must have a master’s degree or an equivalent diploma at the time of their enrolment and must be in the first four years (full-time equivalent research experience) of their research career. Moreover, they must not have been awarded a doctoral degree.
  Extensions may be granted (under certain conditions) for maternity leave, paternity leave, as well as long-term illness or national service.

Selection process

The selection process is described on the guide for applicants available here: https://www.imt-atlantique.fr/en/research-innovation/phd/seed/documents

Additional comments

Applications can only be provided through the application system available under the SEED website: http://www.imt-atlantique.fr/seed

Website for additional job details

https://www.imt-atlantique.fr/en/research-innovation/phd/seed

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

IMT Atlantique

Country

France

City

Brest

Street

Campus de Brest Technopôle Brest-Iroise

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.imt-atlantique.fr/en/research-innovation/phd/seed

Contact

City

Brest

Website

https://www.imt-atlantique.fr/en/research-innovation/phd/seed

Street

Campus de Brest Technopôle Brest-Iroise

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED