PhD: perception systems and automated benchmarking for autonomous ships

Information about the research
We are offering a PhD student position in the field of high performance autonomous vehicle behaviour and perception. The overall purpose of the research project is to build a state-of-the art reference dataset to aid international research and development of autonomous ships. The work will be carried out in a larger group, and the main responsibility of the PhD student is to provide novel perception algorithms for marine applications that can be used as reference algorithms when demonstrating and testing the dataset features. Furthermore, an automated cloud-based benchmarking system, based on recent research results from the group, will be developed as part of the project. The position is to be located at the Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences at the Divison of Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems, and will be jointly supervised with the Division of Software Engineering at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

The Departments of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences and Computer Science and Engineering at Chalmers are coordinating research in the field of autonomous vehicles and applied AI, including human–machine interaction. Together they focus on complete end-to-end autonomous vehicle systems in Chalmers' research laboratoy Revere, housing passenger cars, trucks, and ships, where topics such as cyberphysical systems, sensor fusion, image processing, distributed computation, simulation, adaptive behaviour, optical flow, bioinspired control, software deployment, and continuous experimentation are central. The research targets real-world scenarios, and the software is published open-source (OpenDLV).

The position announced here concerns work with perception systems for autonomous boats, and automated cloud-based testing of such algorithms.

-The details of the departmental research activities may be found here.

Major responsibilities
Your major responsibility will be to pursue the research and development within the project. You are expected to implement, test, and extend existing scientific ideas and concepts as well as invent and discover new ones, and to communicate the results of your research verbally and in writing at international conferences and journals. You will be guided by senior researchers at the involved departments. The position also includes teaching on undergraduate and master's levels as well as supervising master students.

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

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student in the current project, you must hold a master degree in a relevant field such as complex adaptive systems, mechatronics, applied mathematics, artificial intelligence, or computer science. You should have excellent grades and the ability to plan and take responsibility for your work. You should be creative and like to put new ideas into practice. You should like to work in interdisciplinary projects and have the ability to discuss and communicate your work with people of different backgrounds. You should be a highly motivated person, with a strong curiosity and a genuine wish to constantly learn more and develop your skills and knowledge further in the fields of research and research communication.

The position requires excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, as well as an ability to plan and organize the work involved. You need excellent programming skills, especially in modern C++ (C++11 or later), advanced technical proficiency and skill in Linux (Ubuntu or Arch Linux), a well-developed understanding of computer networks and distributed systems, and experience in working collaboratively with software development using Git.

For this position, it is meritorious if you had previous experience in working with experimental autonomous vehicles and in projects involving international student competitions, preferably related to autonomous vehicles. Experience in working with cross-platform systems like x86_64 and ARM, as well as advanced web development, is a plus.

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

Our offer to you
Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the dynamic city of Gothenburg. 
Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20200226 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as pdf-files, as below:

CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name, Ref. number)
• CV
• Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
• Two references that we can contact.

Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name, Ref. number)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities)
• Describe your future goals and future research focus

Other documents:
• Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
• Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, e.g. TOEFL test results.

Please use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form. The files may be compressed (zipped).

Application deadline: 27 May 2020

For questions, please contact:
Associate Prof. Ola Benderius, Vehicle Engineering and Autonomous Systems, ola.benderius@chalmers.se

*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. ***