PhD student position

PhD student position in Signal Processing and Antenna Concepts for Reliable 5G Vehicle Communication 

Information about the research project and the research group
Cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) are crucial for the next steps towards a safe, efficient, and green transport system. C-ITS applications are enabled by vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, collectively referred to as V2X communication – ranging from ultra-reliable and low-latency exchange of small packets up to high throughput video stream transmissions and cooperative sensing.

V2V communication contains both periodic messages (sent 2-10 times per second) and event driven messages (sent when needed). These messages are used for the cooperation between vehicles that are close to each other to improve traffic safety and traffic efficiency. In addition, all messages are sent using all-to-all broadcast, i.e., all vehicles are sending to and receiving from all other surrounding vehicles. Traditional MIMO concepts are used to improve the range of the transmission in a specific direction and/or to increase the bitrate. In V2V communication when a high bitrate is not required, MIMO should instead be used for coverage in all directions around the vehicle and to increase the reliability of the transmissions. When it is possible to obtain sufficient channel knowledge, advanced MIMO techniques can be considered to provide additional gains, e.g., higher data rates.

The aim of this project is to investigate the signal processing for 5G C-ITS antenna concepts, including MIMO, to be used for all-to-all broadcast messages between vehicles as well as backhaul links to/from the vehicles, especially at higher frequencies.

This Ph.D project is a part of the Chalmers Antenna Systems Excellence Centre ‘ChaseOn’, which is a consortium between Chalmers University of Technology and a number of company partners including Ericsson and Volvo Cars. ChaseOn Centre gathers stakeholders to build fundamental knowledge and solid competence of antenna systems to meet future challenges in wireless applications.

At Chalmers University of Technology, you will belong to the Communication Systems Group at the Department of Signals and Systems. The research group consists of 8 Professors, 5 Post Docs, and more than 20 PhD students, from many different countries, doing fundamental research in communications: Vehicle Communications, Coding and Information Theory, Distributed Storage, Wireless Systems, Hardware-Constrained Communications, Optical Communications, and Cooperative Systems.

Chalmers University of Technology is located in Gothenburg on the scenic west coast of Sweden. It is among the top research schools in Europe. The research environment is international and English is the working language.

Major responsibilities
Your major responsibility as PhD student is to pursue your own doctoral studies, where around 75% is research and approximately 25% graduate courses. You are expected to develop your own scientific concepts and communicate the results of your research (verbally and in writing) in major journals and conferences. In addition, the position also includes teaching on undergraduate and MSc level, or other departmental duties, of up to 10 percent of full time.

Position summary
A position as PhD student is open at Chalmers University of Technology. It is a full-time temporary employment, with a competitive monthly salary and full social benefits, limited to a maximum of four years plus teaching and other departmental duties. There are no tuition fees for PhD studies at Chalmers. The starting date is tentatively summer or fall 2017, but somewhat flexible.

After completing PhD studies at Chalmers University of Technology, you will be in great demand from Swedish as well as international industry, and you will have an excellent basis for further academic research as well. Candidates with any nationality are welcome to apply.

Qualifications
By the starting date, the applicant should have a Master of Science degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in a relevant field. A suitable background for this position is a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or similar.

Mandatory qualifications: digital communications, mathematics, excellent English communication skills (spoken and written), and programming. Advantageous qualifications: wireless communication, advanced signal processing, stochastic processes, and detection theory.

Candidates must have high grades in the core courses and a strong interest to pursue theoretical research. They must be creative and have the ability to work in an international environment and to present their ideas and results to researchers with different backgrounds. Previous experiences in research, publications, and teaching are also advantageous.

If Swedish is not your native language, you are encouraged to learn it during your employment. Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

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

Application deadline: 23 April 2017

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