recruiting

2027 admissions information for SOARLAB.

SOARLAB is recruiting direct Ph.D., regular Ph.D., and master’s students from the 2027 cohort who are interested in embodied intelligence, robotics, and core algorithms. The lab will be led independently by Hao Xu at the School of Intelligent Science and Technology, Nanjing University.

Research Lines and Platforms

Our hardware platforms are aerial robots, humanoid robots, and the emerging direction of flying humanoid robots.

Direction Scope
Robotics Agent Agent-oriented perception, planning/control, world models, and simulation.
WAM/VLA Robot Foundation Models WAM/VLA-driven robot foundation models are among our most urgent directions.
Core Robotics Algorithms Distributed perception, SLAM, aerial swarm state estimation, reinforcement learning, and autonomous swarm systems.

Beyond full-stack aerial and robotic systems, the lab has an evolving agent framework and a WAM training pipeline under development. New students will help turn these into reliable research platforms.

Mentoring and Resources

Research topics will be built around high-quality frontier exploration and publications, matched to each student’s background and interests. We do not pursue low-quality paper production. The target bar is no lower than IROS, ICRA, CoRL, RSS, or RAL-level robotics work.

The lab values freedom with responsibility. Students work on relatively independent directions with flexible schedules and no clock-in requirement, but must maintain regular communication. We run weekly group meetings and biweekly one-on-one meetings. Hao Xu will provide starter code or minimum runnable demos when useful, debug with students when they are blocked, and stay hands-on with hardware when necessary.

We will work to secure compute servers, experimental space, and physical validation platforms including UAVs and robots. Because the lab is being built during the transition to NJU, early members should expect to help build infrastructure. Strong students may be recommended for internships at top industrial partners. Research stipends will follow school practice and will not be below the average level.

What We Expect

  1. Character. Applicants must meet the admission standards of the School of Intelligent Science and Technology, Nanjing University.

  2. Academic foundation. Strong mathematics and programming foundations are expected. Experience or strong interest in multimodal models, RL, machine learning, or SLAM is welcome. Students from mathematics, physics, AI, computer science, and related fields are encouraged to apply.

  3. Hands-on robotics. We believe real robotics and embodied intelligence require physical experiments. Students should be willing to solder, assemble, 3D-print, operate aircraft models or robots, and work rigorously with real hardware. RoboMaster or UAV/robotics competition experience is a plus.

  4. AI-tool literacy and self-learning. The lab will organize self-study plans and purchase AI-tool tokens. We welcome students who can make AI handle more than 90% of programming workload, provided they have enough programming and systems knowledge to detect and correct model errors.

  5. Reliability. The lab culture is open, but the academic pressure is real. We expect kindness, teamwork, reliability, and serious contributions to embodied intelligence and robotics.

Projects, Internships, and Graduation

Lab projects will mainly support high-level publishable research, while also covering important government and industry collaborations. Industrial partners are expected to include leading embodied-intelligence companies. Project work should not exceed half of total study and research time, but students are expected to contribute when needed. Senior students are encouraged to intern at partner companies or other top industry labs with advisor approval; internship salaries follow company standards.

How to Apply

Students with strong mathematics, hands-on ability, teamwork, and a serious interest in embodied intelligence are welcome to contact Hao Xu. Please prepare the email as follows:

Item Requirement
Subject Example: 【Direct PhD-2025 Fall】Zhang San-Nanjing University-Junior Application. Please replace the degree type, year, university, and year of study accordingly.
Body Self-introduction, research interests, and a concise research idea.
Attachments CV and WeChat ID.

NJU’s Suzhou campus is close to Taihu Lake and is well suited for focused research. We look forward to pushing flying general intelligence forward with new students.