The Center for Autonomy is partnering with the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) to provide a new internship opportunity, "Verifiable Integration of Multi-Modal Pre-Trained Generative Models in Sequential Decision-Making for Autonomous Systems.
This paid internship provides summer support for two qualified undergraduate students to work with faculty, mentors, and research staff from the Center of Autonomy.
Program Contact: If interested and to learn more about registration, please contact: meredith.albers@austin.utexas.edu
Internship Information
Dates: June 1 - August 10, 2026
Interns must be able to commit to 296 hours. The application deadline is February 28th, 2025.
Support: The internship will provide a stipend paid directly to the intern. Housing will be provided in a UT Austin dorm if needed. There is no application fee.
- Undergraduate Stipend: $6000 (2 positions available)
- If the selected undergrad chooses to use on-campus housing and meal plans, the cost will be deducted from their stipend.
Project Description
Mobile robots with autonomous navigation capabilities have the potential to replace humans in demanding tasks such as humanitarian assistance, nuclear cleanup, reconnaissance, and transportation. To succeed in these domains, robots must be able to traverse unstructured terrain accurately and reliably while adapting to unforeseen situations much like a human or soldier would.
This internship project focuses on advancing autonomous navigation within an existing software stack, while also verifying both new and existing behaviors using large language models. The effort integrates recent advances in autonomous robotics, formal methods, and language-based reasoning, leveraging robotic sensor data and intermediate outputs in conjunction with human-written specifications to enable safe navigation.
The resulting software will be implemented and demonstrated on in-house robotic platforms equipped with the ARL software stack and representative sensor suites, operating in unstructured, real-world environments.
Student Role: The undergrad intern positions will consist of a combination of software and hardware engineering tasks to aid in autonomous robotics research proposed for primarily ground (wheeled, legged) platforms.
Currently, the Center for Autonomy at UT Austin primarily utilizes two Clearpath Jackals, one Husky, and two Unitree Go2 quadrupeds. The research mentor, Dr. Christian Ellis, and current graduate students will help break down the research thrusts above into discrete tasks that can be completed by students.
Student Deliverables & Expected Participation Gains:
Unique Research Opportunities: Students will integrate large vision-language models with an existing software stack running on real-world robotic hardware.
Valuable Communication Skills: Undergrad students will prepare two 15-minute research presentations.
- Presentation 1 (Week 2): Students will define the 5W’s (Who, What, Where, When, and Why) of their scoped project.
- Presentation 2 (Week 10): Students will outline the research completed during the internship.
- Students will also prepare a research poster for presentation at the Oden Institute and a brief abstract for inclusion in an AEOP program booklet.
Eligibility Requirements
Students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher to be considered. Students must be U.S. citizens or have permanent resident status. The hiring process is non-discriminatory.
The students will have a background in controls and/or robotics, demonstrating an understanding of programming skills (Linux, Python3, ROS) and hardware skills (prototyping, sensor integration).
How to Apply
- Create an account to access application via AEOP's website
- Registration will open in February (please contact Meredith to note interest and plans to apply)
- Provide required materials:
- Unofficial Transcript
- Personal Statement (2000 words max)
- List of STEM Courses
- At Least One Letter of Recommendation (undergraduate students only)
- Resume optional
- Complete all questions and submit your application.
Application Links
Onboarding Information
This spring, UT Austin will provide interns and their families with all onboarding information and additional lab and university specific in-processing and out-processing procedures. An AEOP welcome package containing AEOP branded materials and additional helpful information will be mailed to selected interns prior to the internship start date. All interns must sign UT Austin’s roles and responsibilities document prior to the start of their internship.
