EPSRC FIBE2 CDT PhD studentship with National Highways: Sensor development for autonomous large-area monitoring and fault detection in expressways.

for autonomous large-area monitoring and fault detection in expressways.

This is a four-year (1+3 MRes/PhD) studentship funded through the Cambridge EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Infrastructure and Built Environment: Resilience in a Changing World (FIBE2 CDT). The FIBE2 CDT aims to develop the next generation of infrastructure professionals who can create, shape and deliver the national vision for UK infrastructure, who will be equipped with a versatile and cross-disciplinary skill set to meet the most complex emerging challenges and contribute effectively to better infrastructure decision-making in the UK. Further details can be found at https: // www. fibe-cdt.eng.cam.ac.uk/

The project is funded in collaboration with National Highways, a government- owned company charged with setting highways standards, operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England.

Project Details: Early fault detection and maintenance can significantly improve the lifespan of expressways. The student will first investigate different sensing modalities (acoustic, optical and electromagnetic, etc ) and their feasibility in the given application with project partners. Characterization and modelling of individual sensors will then be performed. Optimal distribution and placement of the sensors will be studied to reduce production cost and maintain robustness to damage. Data-driven algorithms for detecting and differentiation onset of damage from normal load conditions will be developed. Finally, the framework will be tested in real-world conditions and possibly extended to other application domains.

The research will enable automated monitoring and fault detection of national expressway that will be used for robotic maintenance and repair. The resulting sensor dataset over time will be used to probabilistically highlight areas of high-priority inspection, then the use of robotic active sensing systems will drive the sensor devices for acquiring high-quality sensor information. Informal enquires about this post can be made to Professor Fumiya Iida ([email protected] ) or Dr Thomas George Thuruthel ([email protected])

For general enquiries, please email [email protected].

Applicants should posses a Bachelors or Masters in any Engineering discipline, Computer Science, Mathematics or Physics. They should have some computing skills. Experience with electronic devices/ information theory is highly desirable.

The FIBE2 CDT studentships are fully-funded (fees and maintenance) for UK students. A small number of funded places may be available for excellent EU/international students. Further details about eligibility and funding can be found at: https: // www. ukri.org/councils/esrc/career-and-skills- development/funding-for-postgraduate-training/eligibility-for-studentship- funding/ https: // www. postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/finance/fees https: // www. cambridgetrust.org/scholarships/

Applications should be made online on https: // www. postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/application-process/how-do-i-apply stating course code EGEGR3 with Sensor development for autonomous large-area monitoring and fault detection in expressways with Supervisor Professor Fumiya Iida/ Dr Thomas George Thuruthel stated on the form.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

Department of Engineering, Cambridge

NM34595

Studentships

7 December 2022

16 May 2023