PREP0003381 3D Sensor Testing Engineer

PREP Research Associate

Opportunity No.: PREP0003381

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, and thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

APPLY ONLINE HERE

3D Sensor Testing Engineering

The Intelligent Systems Division at NIST is investigating the performance of 3D vision systems for various manufacturing and automation applications. The research will focus on conducting experiments and analyzing data to understand these systems' performance. This will support the development of performance metrics for these systems for various industrial applications.

Key responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Conduct experiments to realize several existing and novel test methods for 3D vision systems
• Research the effects of various physical properties of an object and sensor settings on the test metrics
• Program collaborative robot arms for conducting various automation tasks
• Use metrology systems (e.g., laser trackers, CMMs, etc.) for establishing reference measurements
• Use analysis software (e.g., Python, MATLAB, Spatial Analyzer, Polyworks, Excel, etc.) to interpret results and produce visualizations
• Write reports and contribute to peer-reviewed publications
• Work with commercial bin-picking systems
• Assist in the development of demonstrations for trade shows and conferences

Desired Qualifications: Minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities.

• Engineering majors with a bachelor’s/master’s degree, or in the final or penultimate years of a bachelor’s/master’s degree
• Experience with CAD software such as SolidWorks
• Experience using MATLAB and Python
• Programming experience in one or more of the following computer languages: C++, Java
• Experience using 3D printers
• Basic understanding of robot control theory (DH parameters, kinematics, etc.)
• Basic understanding of 3D sensors such as LiDAR or RGBD cameras
• Basic understanding of the Unix/Linux operating systems
• Working knowledge of 3D point cloud data processing techniques using Point Cloud Library (http://pointclouds.org), CloudCompare, or other similar tools

Other Details:

• Full-time: The participant is expected to work 40 hours per week
• Location: Physically at the NIST Gaithersburg, MD campus
• Duration: This is a six-month position. Extensions are sometimes granted depending on the availability of funds
• For questions related to the research project or the nature of the work in this position, please contact Dr. Prem Rachakonda (prem.rachakonda@nist.gov). For questions related to the online application or NIST PREP more generally, please contact msu-nistprep@morgan.edu.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use the information you submit for the purpose stated.