PhD in Realistic Synthesis of Humans in Complex and Crowded Scenes
The Bosch Industry-on-Campus Lab, a research collaboration between the University of Tübingen and Bosch Center for AI (BCAI), invites applications for an open PhD position (m/f/d; E13 TV-L, 75%) in Realistic Synthesis of Humans in Complex and Crowded Scenes.
Recent advances in deep generative models have led to an unprecedented level of realism in synthesizing human faces and human avatars, reposing humans or swapping their identities and appearance. However, little attention has been paid on synthesizing full body humans in their realistic environments, surrounded by various objects, interacting with other people and performing different tasks. The goal of this project is to investigate how to augment real-world scenes with synthetic humans. You will investigate how to synthesize realistic humans in complex and crowded scenes based on their 3D body shapes and poses using deep generative models, 3D modeling and neural rendering techniques.
You will be jointly supervised by Prof. Dr. Gerard Pons-Moll from the University of Tübingen side and Dr. Anna Khoreva from the Bosch side.
The position is available immediately (but start date is negotiable), the contract is initially for three years, and remunerated according to the German salary scale 13 TVL.
What are you going to do?
As part of the Bosch Industry-on-Campus Lab at the University of Tübingen, you are going to carry out AI research and develop novel deep generative models, learning to generate realistic synthetic humans from their 3D body shapes and poses in complex and crowded scenes. There will also be regular visits and interactions with researchers at Bosch Center for AI, who have an office on campus. At the University of Tübingen you will be supervised by Prof. Dr. Gerard Pons-Moll and Dr. Anna Khoreva.
Your tasks will be to:
- Develop novel deep generative models for synthetic human generation;
- Collaborate with other researchers within the lab and BCAI Research;
- Complete and defend a PhD thesis within the official appointment duration of three years;
- Regularly present internally on your progress and help Bosch write patent applications to protect inventions from the lab when requested;
- Regularly present intermediate research results at international conferences and workshops, and publish them in proceedings and journals;
- Potentially assist in relevant teaching activities.
What do we require?
- Master’s degree in computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, or related field;
- Strong background in computer vision and/or machine learning;
- Excellent programming skills, preferably in Python;
- Prior experience of working with deep learning libraries, such as PyTorch or TensorFlow;
- Experience working with 3D meshes and knowledge on 3D tools is desired but a not must (e.g. OpenGL);
- Solid mathematics foundations, especially in probability theory, statistics, calculus and linear algebra;
- High motivation and creativity;
- Strong communication, presentation and writing skills and excellent command of English.
Prior publications in relevant vision and machine learning venues as well as experience working with 3D human models and deep generative models will be advantageous for your application.
Application
The University of Tübingen is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritize diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We seek to increase diversity and the number of women in areas where they are under-represented and therefore explicitly encourage women to apply. We are also committed to recruiting more people living with
disabilities and strongly encourage them to apply. The employment will be carried out by the central administration of the University of Tübingen.
Do you recognize yourself in the job profile? Then we look forward to receiving your application. Please note the position will be filled as soon as an appropriate candidate is found.
Your application should consist of a single PDF file <lastname_firstname>.pdf containing:
- A two-page motivational letter, which: 1) explains why you would like to join us and 2) describes the research topics that excite you and that you would like to pursue in your PhD;
- Your CV, with details of publications and conference participations (if applicable);
- A copy of your Master’s degree certificate, if you already have one;
- Unofficial transcripts of all of your university studies (BSc and MSc), as well as a translation into English and explanation of grading system (if needed);
- Letters of recommendation and/or contact details of 2-3 referees (preferably from different universities);
- Link to github or enclosed code sample you have written;
- Optionally, additional documents such as a thesis, published papers, or project portfolios.
You may apply by sending your documents to anna.khoreva@wsii.uni-tuebingen.de