Missions

😎 Job description:

We are looking for a motivated engineer or doctor in micro robotics to join the team of the future startup Phigi. This role focuses on the integration of sophisticated integrated circuits into the microrobot shell, the development of microrobot control dock circuits, and the interfacing between the two to control the assembly of microrobots in volume. You will play a key role in building systems that allow our microrobots to take any arbitrary shape in 3D, opening up new applications and capabilities.

Activities

🤓 Responsibilities:

- Integration of integrated circuits: Designing and implementing solutions for integrating complex integrated circuits into the shell of our microrobots, optimising performance and miniaturisation.
- Development of circuits for the control dock: Developing the electronic circuits for the control dock, ensuring effective communication and precise control of the microrobots.
- Interfacing: Establishing interfaces between the integrated circuits of the microrobots and those of the control dock, enabling optimised command control for volume assembly.
- System design: Contributing to the design of innovative systems enabling our microrobots to take on arbitrary 3D shapes, opening up new perspectives in a wide range of fields.

Skills

👨‍🎓 Profile sought:

- PhD or engineering degree in micro robotics, electronics or a related field.
- In-depth knowledge of analogue and digital electronics.
- Experience in embedded programming and real-time systems development.
- Strong interest in robotics and mechatronics.
- Ability to solve technical problems as part of a multidisciplinary team.
- Ability to regularly document progress.
- Ability to communicate complex technical details coherently in written and spoken English (B2).

Work Context

🤖 Context:

We have invented a homogeneous crew of microbots operating with generic software, designed to be used as a backup sub-system for spacecraft to differentiate between critical failures and mission continuation, even in degraded conditions. Join us in shaping the future of space exploration with our revolutionary programmable microrobot technology!

🎉 Why join us?

Be a part of a pioneering team developing next-generation technologies.
Collaborate with leading experts in robotics, materials science, and engineering.
Engage in a creative and innovative work environment that encourages new ideas and challenges.
Enjoy a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and professional growth opportunities.

🌐 Learn about our culture and benefits: phigi.io/careers

📜 Background:

Following several research projects, the FEMTO-ST laboratory and the University of Michigan have joined forces to create a start-up company, PHIGI, based on the development of a new energy-independent electrostatic actuator technology for Programmable Matter.

The use of electrostatics in modular micro robotics has shown a promising ratio of attachment forces to energy consumed for the actuation of modules or particles on a very small scale. This new type of actuator would enable thousands of microbots to assemble automatically, with a very wide range of applications.

Over the next few months, the aim is to integrate the existing electrostatic actuation system with the microgenerator, to autonomously control the movement between two micro-robots.

The FEMTO-ST institute (Franche-Comté Electronics Mechanical Thermal and Optical - Science and Technology) is a joint research unit associated with the CNRS (UMR 6174) and attached simultaneously to the University of Franche-Comté (UFC), the National School of Mechanics and Microtechnology (SUPMICROTECH-ENSMM), and the Belfort-Montbéliard University of Technology (UTBM). The team at the Complex Systems Informatics Department (DISC) is an expert in multi-agent distributed system algorithms for the reconfiguration of objects from one shape to another, known as Programmable Matter.

The Michigan Integrated Circuits Laboratory (MICL) in the EECS department at the University of Michigan, inventor of the world's smallest computer, specializes in very large-scale digital integrated circuits (VLSI) and their applications in energy-harvesting systems offering perpetual operation and ultra low power consumption.

The position is located in a sector under the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST), and therefore requires, in accordance with the regulations, that your arrival is authorized by the competent authority of the MESR.

Constraints and risks

Interview process:

- One interview by videoconference with the startup founders and researchers to validate the suitability of your profile.
- One technical assessment and interview with our engineers.