Research Engineer in Virtual Reality and Robotics

Join an interdisciplinary team to develop a scalable, open-source VR laboratory for robotics training.

Research Engineer in Virtual Reality and Robotics

Job description

The candidate will contribute to the further development of HANDZONe, TU Delft's open-source VR-based virtual laboratory developed for robotics education in AEC. It provides a virtual learning environment, integrates Rhino/Grasshopper workflows, and connects physical and simulated robots. The platform currently supports Universal Robots UR5 and will be extended with support for the Franka Research 3 (FR3). This expansion will support its use by a more diverse group of users and across different disciplines and educational contexts.

The main task is to integrate the FR3 into the existing platform. This includes developing a Franka robot interface, connecting it to the existing HANDZONe server and Grasshopper workflow, adding the FR3 and its interaction environment to Unity, and providing a simulated FR3 environment for development and testing without access to the physical robot. Because the FR3 requires real-time control, the architecture will separate the local real-time robot controller from the higher-level HANDZONe communication.

A second objective is to make HANDZONe more modular and easier to extend with other robot platforms. The candidate will develop a common robot interface while keeping robot-specific control in separate drivers.

The work should result in a robust FR3 integration and a working demonstrator in which a student can use VR to interact with a physical FR3 in the laboratory. The candidate will also document the resulting architecture, installation procedure, and development workflow for future open-source development.

The candidate will be hosted at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment and will collaborate with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the TU Delft New Media Centre. The work will therefore take place in an interdisciplinary setting across different fields of expertise.

Job requirements

• A MSc degree in robotics, computer science, engineering, architecture, interaction technology, or a related field.
• Experience with real-time control of robotic or other hardware systems on Linux.
• Experience with Unity and C#, preferably for VR, simulation, digital twins, or interactive applications.
• Experience with robotic systems and robot programming. Experience with UR or Franka robots, ROS/ROS2, TypeScript/Node.js, Python, or networked robotic systems is an advantage.
• Knowledge of web-based systems, server communication, and data exchange between software and hardware.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating in an interdisciplinary team across different faculties and fields of expertise.
• Good communication and documentation skills in English, with an interest in open-source development and educational applications of robotics.
• Willingness to work closely with students and teaching staff in interdisciplinary educational settings.

Conditions of employment

• Duration of contract is temporary external finance for 6 to12 months.
• A job of 24-32 hours per week.
• A salary based on Scale 10 of the CAO for Dutch Universities with a salary between €3706 - €5760 gross per month based on a fulltime contract (38 hours).
• Plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
• Flexible working week.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave.
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

• FTE: 0.6-0,8

Additional information

As part of knowledge security, TU Delft conducts a risk assessment during the recruitment of personnel. The assessment takes place at the final stages of the selection process. When the outcome of the assessment is negative, the candidate will be informed.