Internship - Perception and Coordination for Heterogeneous Robots

MERL is seeking a highly motivated intern to collaborate on the development and experimental validation of algorithms for heterogeneous mobile robot autonomy. The internship will involve hands-on work with multiple robotic platforms, including aerial robots and ground robots. The ideal candidate should be comfortable working close to hardware and should have substantial experience with ROS2-based robotic systems, Python development, sensor integration, debugging physical experiments, and deploying algorithms on real robots. The intern will contribute to one or more research directions involving perception-driven autonomy, multi-robot planning, and heterogeneous robot coordination. The results of the internship are expected to lead to publications in top-tier robotics, control, automation, and/or computer vision conferences and/or journals. The internship will take begin in November/December 2026 and continue for 4–6 months, with exact dates flexible. Please use your cover letter to explain how you meet the following requirements. Where possible, include links to papers, code repositories, hardware demonstrations, videos, project pages, or prior experimental work that demonstrate your experience. Required Specific Experience Current enrollment in a Masters/PhD program in Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related programs, with a focus on Robotics and/or Control Systems. Strong hands-on experience with robotic hardware and physical experiments. Experience in one or more of the following topics: multi-agent planning and control, perception, computer vision, optimization and operation research (vehicle routing and scheduling). Experience with one or more of ROS2-enabled mobile robots, preferably Starling drones, Crazyflie drones, TurtleBot / TurtleBot4 platforms, and/or Unitree Go2. Strong programming skills in Python and/or C/C++. Desired Specific Experience Experience with image-based 3D reconstruction, structure from motion, visual SLAM, visual odometry, multi-view geometry, or photogrammetry. Experience with multi-robot coordination, heterogeneous robot teams, task allocation, dynamic team formation, coverage, monitoring, or task completion. Experience with motion planning, trajectory optimization, model predictive control, convex optimization, or mixed-integer optimization. The pay range for this internship position will be 6-8K per month. Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs, Inc. "MERL" provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, MERL complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. MERL expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of MERL’s employees to perform their job duties may result in discipline up to and including discharge. Working at MERL requires full authorization to work in the U.S and access to technology, software and other information that is subject to governmental access control restrictions, due to export controls. Employment is conditioned on continued full authorization to work in the U.S and the availability of government authorization for the release of these items, which might include without limitation, obtaining an export license or other documentation. MERL may delay commencement of employment, rescind an offer of employment, terminate employment, and/or modify job responsibilities, compensation, benefits, and/or access to MERL facilities and information systems, as MERL deems appropriate, to ensure practical compliance with applicable employment law and government access control restrictions. In addition to base pay, interns receive a relocation stipend, covered travel to and from MERL, and a monthly Charlie Card for local commuting. Interns are invited to participate in weekly social gatherings and professional development opportunities, including research talks by both internal and external speakers. Interns who meet the 90-day waiting period are also eligible for health insurance coverage. MERL provides immigration support for qualified candidates as needed. Employment is considered “at-will,” and the Company reserves the right to modify base salary or any other compensation program at any time, including for reasons related to individual performance, departmental or Company performance, and market conditions.