Internship: Computer Vision & Machine Learning for Autonomous Mowing Robot

Internship: Computer Vision & Machine Learning for Autonomous Mowing Robot

Wat is jouw rol?

As an intern in Computer Vision and Machine Learning, you will contribute to the development of the next generation of vision technology for the Lely Exos, our autonomous grass mowing robot. Your work focuses on using camera data to assess mowing quality and estimate knife wear, allowing farmers to maintain optimal mowing performance. You will work hands-on with real robot data, explore advanced ML techniques and help prepare the model for use across different robots, farms and conditions.

Your main responsibilities include:

• Collecting image datasets at test farms in the Netherlands
• Labelling training and test data to support model development
• Conducting literature research into relevant Machine Learning approaches
• Training and evaluating ML models using Python and Pytorch
• Applying data augmentation and developing strategies for model generalisation
• Supporting integration of the model into our ROS2 based vision pipeline

Wat is jouw ervaring?

You are motivated to apply your technical skills to real-world robotic challenges and enjoy working with complex, imperfect data. You are curious, analytical and comfortable experimenting independently to find effective solutions.

You bring:

• Ongoing Bachelor or Master in Robotics, AI, Computer Science, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or a related field
• Strong programming skills in Python
• Experience with Pytorch and OpenCV
• Basic to intermediate understanding of Machine Learning and Deep Learning
• Interest in computer vision applied to real-world data rather than only public datasets
• A proactive mindset and the ability to design, run and interpret experiments

Nice to have, not required:

• Experience with ROS2, Linux or Git

Practical information

• This is a graduation internship
• Starting date to be agreed on, preferably around spring
• Duration of the internship is 6 months
• You are available for at least 32 hours per week

If you are excited about applying machine learning and computer vision to real robots and want to see your work drive around in the grass, we look forward to hearing from you.

Wat bieden wij jou?

At Lely, we offer you an educational and dynamic internship experience at one of the most innovative organizations in the Netherlands. You’ll become part of a driven team and have plenty of opportunities to further develop your talents.

• An international working environment
• An internship allowance of €650 per month
• A student apartment if your commute is too long
• Our modern Lely Campus gives you daily access to extensive sports facilities: an indoor gym, outdoor padel courts, a basketball and volleyball court, as well as table tennis and foosball. You can join Hyrox workouts or sign up for personal training – and challenge your colleagues during an active break.
• Enjoy fresh coffee and tea from our in-house barista, made with milk straight from our farm, and a healthy, affordable company restaurant.
• A free shuttle bus takes you to and from the metro station in Maassluis, ensuring your workday starts and ends smoothly.
• We’re also proud that our dedication and vision have been recognized with the Rotterdam Entrepreneur Award 2025!

Over Lely

Lely, founded in 1948, is committed to a sustainable, profitable, and enjoyable future in farming. Taking the challenges of the farmer and the needs of the cow as our starting point, we develop high-quality robots and data systems that improve animal welfare, flexibility, and productivity on dairy farms. Our goal is to support sustainable food production.

For over 30 years, we have been a global leader in the sales and service of automated systems for successive generations of dairy farmers. Every day, we inspire our colleagues to offer customers innovative solutions and to be a reliable partner for long-term advice and support. With our state-of-the-art Lely Campus in Maassluis and a global network of dedicated Lely Centers for customized sales and service, Lely operates in more than fifty countries.