Internship | Learning to Chase Objects with a Drone VLA

Locatie: The Hague

Werken op afstand: Hybrid

Opleidingsniveau: Master

Uren per week: 32-40 hours/week

Vacancy 807

Internship | Learning to Chase Objects with a Drone VLA

Make your mark on our time. Become an intern at TNO!

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About this position

At TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, researchers work on turning cutting-edge science into technology that matters in the real world — from healthcare and energy to defense and mobility. Within TNO's work on autonomous systems, one recurring challenge is teaching machines to see, understand, and act in complex, unpredictable environments — the same kind of everyday messiness that makes tasks trivial for humans but remarkably hard for robots. This internship sits within that effort, focusing on drones that can autonomously track a moving target — like a car driving down a winding, tree-lined road — using only what they see through their camera.

You will study a vision-language-action (VLA) model that learns to fly a simulated drone in pursuit of a car driving along a winding, tree-lined road, trained entirely on demonstrations generated by a privileged trajectory planner rather than human pilots. Because the planner has full access to the simulator's 3D geometry — the road's curvature, the position and canopy of every tree, the car's future path — it can compute near-optimal chase trajectories that continuously trade off three goals: keeping the target maximally visible (unoccluded, well-framed, at a good viewing angle), holding a minimum safe standoff distance, and steering clear of trunks and overhanging branches. These optimized trajectories, paired with the drone's onboard camera views, become the action-labeled demonstrations used to train the VLA through imitation learning, so the model must learn to infer, from pixels alone, the same 3D-aware flying behavior the planner computes from ground truth — swinging wide before a bend, dipping under a canopy gap, easing off when foliage thickens ahead. The target's behavior stays deliberately simple (a scripted or gently randomized drive along a curved route), and the obstacle layout stays simple in kind but dense in placement, so that the difficulty lives entirely in the occlusion-and-standoff trade-off rather than in modeling a clever adversary — keeping the project's core question sharply focused: can a VLA distill an expert planner's privileged 3D reasoning into a pure vision-and-language-driven flying policy?

What will be your role?

You'll get hands-on experience with simulation, robotics, and modern AI models, working alongside researchers who build and study these systems every day — a great way to get a feel for both cutting-edge AI research and what it's like to work at a research organization like TNO.

In practice, you'll set up a simulated environment (e.g., Isaac Sim or AirSim) with a drone, a car driving along a curved, tree-lined road, and enough obstacles to make chasing genuinely tricky. You'll build or configure a planner that uses full knowledge of the 3D scene to compute optimal chase trajectories — balancing visibility, safe distance, and obstacle avoidance — and use these as training demonstrations for a vision-language-action model, which you'll train and evaluate using only camera images as input, much like a real drone would perceive the world. Day to day, this means a mix of coding, running simulation experiments, debugging model behavior, and iterating on what "good" demonstrations and training setups look like — the exact methods and scope can evolve as you get into the work and discover what's interesting or tractable. This contributes directly to TNO's broader research on autonomous drone perception and control, and along the way you'll build hands-on experience with simulation tools, modern AI architectures, and reinforcement/imitation learning methods, while also learning what it's like to shape and scope a research problem as it unfolds — a skill just as valuable as any specific technique.

What we expect from you

This internship suits a student in a Master's programme like Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Robotics, or a related technical field, with a solid foundation in machine learning and a genuine interest in computer vision and autonomous systems. We're looking for someone ambitious and self-driven — comfortable diving into a research problem that isn't fully solved yet, and motivated by the idea of pushing the work toward a publishable result. Strong Python skills are important, and prior experience with deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch), simulation environments, or reinforcement/imitation learning is a real plus, though not something you need to have fully mastered from day one. What matters most is curiosity, persistence, and a hands-on, experimental mindset — someone who enjoys iterating, debugging, and figuring things out rather than expecting a fixed recipe. You'll fit well in our team if you like thinking independently while also engaging in regular discussion and feedback with your supervisors. The internship typically runs 6-12 months, in line with a Master's thesis, though the exact timing and structure can be discussed. Throughout, there's plenty of room to grow: you'll deepen your skills in modern AI architectures, simulation-based robotics research, and scientific writing, and if the work reaches a strong enough result, we'll actively support you in shaping it into a publication.

We ask you to include the following information in your application:

• Whether you are looking for a graduation project.
• Your preferred duration (6-12 months).
• Your preferred start date (please note that a security screening may affect the earliest possible start date).

What you'll get in return

An internship at TNO means working in an environment where substance and impact are central. You will become part of a knowledge organisation where research and practice come together, and where experts collaborate on solutions to current societal and technological challenges.

Your internship is a period in which you can discover what suits you, where your strengths lie and what you would like to learn next. You are part of a professional working environment, gain insight into how things work in practice, and have the opportunity to build experience that goes beyond this internship alone. For many students, an internship is therefore also a first step in discovering whether TNO could be a potential next step after graduation.

In addition, we offer you:

• A professional and innovative internship environment in which you actively contribute to societal and technological challenges, working alongside leading experts in your field.
• Personal and dedicated supervision, with focus on your learning objectives, development and study assignment.
• Room to develop: you gain relevant work experience, develop both your subject-specific and professional skills, and build a valuable network.
• Use of a laptop and the facilities you need to perform your work effectively.
• A monthly internship allowance of €615 for a full-time internship, for MSc, BSc and vocational education (MBO) students.
• Up to eight hours of leave per internship month for a full-time internship, allowing you to balance your internship with your studies and personal life.
• A contribution towards travel expenses if you are not entitled to a student travel card.
• A free membership to Jong TNO: the network for young colleagues, where you can meet other TNO colleagues and participate in sports activities, professional and personal development activities, and social events such as the annual ski trip.

TNO as an employer

Our people are at the heart of TNO. Their curiosity, expertise and entrepreneurial mindset make it possible to deliver high-impact research and innovations that contribute to society’s sustainable wellbeing and prosperity. That is why we invest in an inspiring and inclusive working environment where colleagues can excel, have autonomy and continue to grow.

Your talent and ambition have every opportunity to flourish at TNO. You work with experts (both within and beyond TNO), have access to advanced technology and the freedom to explore, experiment and innovate. Our strength lies in independence, reliability and collaboration. We find each other in wonder and ingenuity. We are driven to push boundaries. By working with businesses and government, and by connecting different perspectives, we strengthen our innovative capability and create responsible, meaningful results.

At TNO, we believe this is our time to help society, government and business move forward faster. Together with driven colleagues, you turn knowledge into concrete innovations or ventures that truly make a difference by combining the power of science and entrepreneurship. And in doing so, you make your mark on our time.

The selection process

You can apply for this internship position until the 1st of October, 2026. After submitting your application, you will receive a confirmation by email.

TNO will arrange an appropriate internship agreement. If you have any questions about the content of the internship or the application procedure, you can contact the person listed below.

If you start an internship with us, we will also ask you to provide a Certificate of Conduct (VOG).

For this internship vacancy it is required that the AIVD issues a security clearance (VGB) following a security screening. In any case, please note that this process has an average duration of approximately 8 weeks. If you have been abroad for more than 6 consecutive months, or if you do not have the Dutch nationality, this process may take longer. For more information, please visit the AIVD website.

Important to know before applying:

• Before the start of the internship, an internship agreement must be signed. For students enrolled at a Dutch university or university of applied sciences, TNO uses the UNL-template , supplemented with several TNO-specific agreements. For students from foreign educational institutions and MBO (secondary vocational education) programmes, the TNO internship agreement applies. TNO does not sign any other internship agreements.
• Before the start of the internship, the educational institution will need to confirm in writing that:
• you are enrolled at the educational institution for the duration of the internship, and;
• the internship forms part of your study programme.

The confirmation of educational institution takes place by signing the UNL template or forms prepared by TNO.

• Interns at TNO must have a registered residential address in the Netherlands at the start of the internship. Carrying out internship activities from abroad is not possible.
• Are you an international student? Please note that you must have a BSN (Dutch citizen service number) before the start of your internship. Applying for a BSN can take several weeks, so make sure to start this process well in advance.

Has this job opening sparked your interest?

Then we’d like to hear from you! Please contact us for more information about the job or the selection process. To apply, please upload your CV and covering letter using the ‘apply now’ button.

Apply now