PhD in AI Computer Vision for Inspection of Underwater Infrastructure

Eindhoven University of Technology is an internationally top-ranking university in the Netherlands that combines scientific curiosity with a hands-on attitude. Our spirit of collaboration translates into an open culture and a top-five position in collaborating with advanced industries. Fundamental knowledge enables us to design solutions for the highly complex problems of today and tomorrow.

The mission of the Department of Electrical Engineering is to acquire, share and transfer knowledge and understanding in the whole field of Electrical Engineering through education, research and valorization. We work towards a ‘Smart Sustainable Society’, a ‘Connected World’, and a healthy humanity (‘Care & Cure’). Activities share an application-oriented character, a high degree of complexity and a large synergy between multiple facets of the field.

Research is carried out into the applications of electromagnetic phenomena in all forms of energy conversion, telecommunication and electrical signal processing. Existing and new electrical components and systems are analyzed, designed and built. The Electrical Engineering department takes its inspiration from contacts with high-tech industry in the direct surrounding region and beyond.

The department is innovative and has international ambitions and partnerships. The result is a challenging and inspiring setting in which socially relevant issues are addressed.

Job Description

The PhD candidate will work within international research project PROACTIF in cooperation with industrial partners from Netherlands, Finland and Switzerland. The general goal of the project is to automate inspection of underwater infrastructure and offshore platforms by deployment of multi-modal sensors, seaborne drones and advanced AI-based data analysis. The PhD candidate will perform research for potential deployment of results in industrial products of Vinotion, CSEM and Demcon.

The goal of the PhD candidate is to research and develop efficient algorithms for multi-modal sensor data fusion for two purposes: a) analysis of underwater objects and events from the sensors installed on an autonomous boat (USV), b) enabling situational awareness and navigation for USV. The following sensor types will be used for data acquisition: underwater LiDAR, sonar, acoustic array, visual camera and radar. The data collection, experiments and validation of the system will be performed in North Sea near the Netherlands. The most challenging target for the research is the fusion of the data of different modality in the combined analysis to reach better detection accuracy and robustness.

Job Requirements

For this project, a candidate with MSc degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering will be selected and hired as a PhD in the Signal Processing Systems/VCA group for a 4-years period. The candidate should have strong background knowledge in image processing domain, deep learning, AI and have good programming skills. More specifically, the candidates should have experience in:

• Visual-based models for detection of anomalies
• Pointcloud-based models for object detection
• Algorithms for fusion of data from sensors of different modality.

Experience in the development of algorithms for autonomous localization and navigation (SLAM) is highly desired. Experience with 3D point clouds and 3D data analysis is also considered as a plus. Due to the sensitive nature of the project, candidates from China and Iran cannot be considered. Candidates should be excellent in academic writing, should have good communication skills and should be able to cooperate in a multidisciplinary team.

Conditions of Employment

• A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you: 
• Full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate assessment after nine months. You will spend a minimum of 10% of your four-year employment on teaching tasks, with a maximum of 15% per year of your employment. 
• Salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, paid pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale P (min. € 2,901 max. € 3,707).  
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%. 
• High-quality training programs and other support to grow into a self-aware, autonomous scientific researcher. At TU/e we challenge you to take charge of your own learning process. 
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.  
• An allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs. 
• A Staff Immigration Team and a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) for international candidates. 

Information

The PhD student will be working in the Video Coding Architecture group (http://vca.ele.tue.nl ) in the Department of Electrical Engineering at TU/e. The Department of Electrical Engineering is one of the nine departments of the Eindhoven University of Technology and provides BSc and MSc programs in Electrical Engineering. The department has nine research groups and has research collaborations with other departments at the Eindhoven University of Technology as well as with a large number of other universities and companies, both within The Netherlands and internationally. The Electrical Engineering  faculty has approximately 300 employees and 1,000 students. 

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more? Please contact the hiring manager, dr.ir. Egor Bondarev ([email protected]).

Visit our website for more information about the application process or the conditions of employment. You can also contact HR Services, [email protected].

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Application

We invite you to submit a complete application by using the apply button. The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references.

We look forward to receiving your application and will screen it as soon as possible. The vacancy will remain open until the position is filled.