PhD in Situation awareness for autonomous vehicles in complex environments

At the Department of Signals and Systems, we conduct internationally renowned research in biomedical engineering, antenna systems, signal processing, image analysis, automatic control, automation, mechatronics, and communication systems. We offer a dynamic and international research environment with about 150 employees from more than 20 countries, and with extensive national and international research collaborations with academia, industry and society. The department provides more than 70 courses, of which most are included in the Master’s Programs ”Biomedical Engineering”, ”Systems, Control and Mechatronics”, and ”Communication Engineering”.

Read more at www.chalmers.se/en/departments/s2


Information about the project and the division
This project is concerned with self-driving vehicles, which is a vibrant and fast moving research area with a potential to fundamentally change the way humans transport themselves and transport goods. When designing self-driving vehicles, the vehicle’s ability to perceive its surroundings and to position itself on the road and in the road network is of utmost importance. For example, a highly accurate host position (of sub-meter accuracy) is crucial in order for the control algorithms to be able to plan the vehicle’s future path. Furthermore, self-driving vehicles have strict requirements on detecting and tracking all objects and obstacles, even those not considered by traditional advanced driver support systems. That is, apart from tracking expected road users, such as pedestrians and cars, it also has to detect occasional debris lying on the road and track other less common vehicles.

Building on previous research conducted in the signal processing group, in this project we want to extend our perception platform to also cover self-localization, general obstacle detection (debris etc.) and estimation of drivable/safe road surface ahead of the host vehicle. We are interested in making contributions in a wide range of areas including adaptive maps, deep learning for point clouds and stereovision segmentation (drivable road estimation etc.) and cooperate perception and localization. Within the signal processing group, there is already a group of PhD students and senior researchers working on problems related to autonomous vehicles and perception, and you will have ample opportunities to collaborate with other researchers in our group. 

Major responsibilities
Your major responsibilities are to pursue your own doctoral studies. You are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research both verbally and written in English. You are obviously also expected to contribute to research in the field of self-driving vehicles. The position includes teaching on Chalmers' undergraduate level or performing other duties corresponding to at most 20 percent of working hours.

Position summary
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

Qualifications
By the starting date, the applicant should have a Master of Science degree, or equivalent, in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Engineering Physics, Applied Mathematics, or a related discipline. A successful applicant should have a strong background in mathematics, Bayesian statistics, machine learning, optimization and programming. A genuine interest and curiosity in the subject, and excellent oral and written English communication skills are needed.

Chalmers continuously strives to be an attractive employer. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.



Application deadline: 15 August 2016
 



Chalmers University of Technology conducts research and education in engineering sciences, architecture, technology-related mathematical sciences, natural and nautical sciences, working in close collaboration with industry and society. The strategy for scientific excellence focuses on our eight Areas of Advance; Built Environment, Energy, Information & Communication Technology, Life Science, Materials Science, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Production and Transport. The aim is to make an active contribution to a sustainable future using the basic sciences as a foundation and innovation and entrepreneurship as the central driving forces. Chalmers has around 11,000 students and 3,000 employees. New knowledge and improved technology have characterised Chalmers since its foundation in 1829, completely in accordance with the will of William Chalmers and his motto: Avancez!