Internship (or Master Thesis Project): Multimodal Perception in Human-Robot Interaction (Stockholm, Sweden)
- Application Deadline: April 17, 2026
- Stockholm
- On-site
Research Context
This internship is embedded within an active PhD research project aimed at building a robust multimodal perception module for Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).
In HRI, it is critical for a social robot to understand not just who is in front of it, but how they are engaging. This research focuses on estimating high-level user states (such as attention, engagement, or confusion) by processing real-time, non-verbal cues like gaze direction or head pose.
Internship Topic
The exact topic is not set in stone; we will define it together.
We are looking for a student to take ownership of a specific part of the perception pipeline. Depending on your interests and strengths, your internship could focus on one or a combination of the following:
- Data Annotation & Ground Truth Creation: You could take the lead on analyzing video data of human-robot interactions and annotating high-level user states (e.g., labeling when a user is actively paying attention vs. distracted).
- Model Training & Evaluation: You could use the annotated data to train, fine-tune, and evaluate machine learning models (e.g., classifiers or deep learning architectures) to predict user states from low-level cues. Your model would directly feed into the broader user state estimation module.
- Data Collection: You could design and execute new experiments to capture naturalistic human-robot interactions, expanding the diversity of our dataset for gaze and head pose variations.
Regardless of the specific direction, the internship will involve close collaboration with the PhD supervisor to ensure the work contributes directly to an upcoming research paper.
Skills & Requirements
- Education: Master's student in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, or related fields.
- Technical Skills:
- Strong proficiency in Python.
- Ideally, experience with Annotation Software (e.g., CVAT).
- Basic understanding of Machine Learning and Computer Vision concepts (prior exposure to gaze tracking, head pose estimation, or facial landmark detection is a strong plus).
Please note that our internships are not fully paid. We invest in you by providing mentorship, learning opportunities, and hands-on experience in pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. However, we do offer some support for living expenses, relocation, etc., based on individual circumstances.
Important: We can only accept candidates who are eligible to work in Sweden with an active residency.
Great Place to Work
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Flexible hours
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Competitive option package
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Paid vacation & parental leave
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Monthly workout grants
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Personal health insurance & life insurance
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Free beverages, snacks, team ginger shots
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Torsgatan 39, close to Sankt Eriksplan
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Breakfast
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Team building. Game nights, AWs, cook-offs etc.
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Easily accessible for commuters
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Work with a technology that will change the world
About the company
Furhat Robotics revolutionizes how people interact with information around them. We are a high-growth artificial intelligence and robotics startup from KTH in Sweden. Our vision is to create technology that is built fundamentally on principles of social intelligence and to empower people by designing computer interfaces that are socially aware. Our forerunner innovation is the Furhat robot, an award-winning and patented social human-like robot head. No one who’s seen Furhat is left untouched.
Furhat’s face is superior in that it is designed using computer animation with unique expressiveness and customizability, putting special focus on the personality and character of the robot. Furhat's “brain” is powered by a state-of-the-art conversational platform which is used to build highly sophisticated and socially-aware spoken interactions. Today, the robot is available as a development platform for developers, and early adopters. We see social robots to be a game changing interface to artificially intelligent agents. Join us and help to create a more social future, and to bring social robots to the world.
Kim Johansson | Contact Person
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