Job description
For a vehicle to function autonomously, it should be fully aware of its surroundings, own location and state. For platooning, vehicles in addition need the location and state of (at least) their predecessor. When considering both longitudinal and lateral control in platooning, this becomes even more relevant in order to avoid corner cutting.
For determining position information, sensors signals (e.g. RADAR, camera, IMU) on the ego vehicle have to be fused. One therefore needs to create an observer that fuses all relevant signals incorporating the (sometimes poor) reliability of sensor outputs. Subsequently, this needs to be combined with communicated trajectories and positions of upstream vehicles to plan a coherent path to be followed. In addition, as the path to be followed is dependent on the road layout, it should not only be coherent but also feasible. Finally, the generated path should also be tracked within the physical boundaries imposed by the road layout.
This research should answer the following two questions:
- How to reconstruct the position information of the preceding vehicle such that it can be used for cooperative vehicle following?
- How should the path tracking controller look like in order to achieve convergence to the path of the preceding vehicle within reasonable error bounds infinite time and to also achieve string stability?
Based on practical limitations, e.g., road layout, bounds should be determined indicating the performance of the closed loop control system. This research will make it possible to achieve real-world longitudinal and lateral cooperative driving and provides both a theoretical and practical foundation. From this, various research opportunities arise, e.g., the extension to heterogeneous platoons. By eliminating corner cutting it sets the foundations for achieving cooperative driving in urban environments, which is still an open research area.
For practical implementation, several cooperative automated vehicles are available in the Automotive Lab, which have successfully been used in cooperative driving experiments.
Job requirements
We are looking for a candidate who meets the following requirements:
- You are a talented and enthusiastic young researcher;
- You have MSc degree (or equivalent) in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems & Control, Automotive Technology, or a related discipline;
- You have a strong theoretical background;
- You have experience and interest in experimental work;
- You have good communication skills and the attitude to participate successfully in the work of a research team;
- You are creative, ambitious, organized, and persistent;
- You have good command of the English language (knowledge of Dutch is not required).
Conditions of employment
- A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university with the possibility to present your work at international conferences;
- A full-time employment for four years, with an intermediate evaluation (go/no-go) after nine months;
- To develop your teaching skills, you will spend 10% of your employment on teaching tasks;
- To support you during your PhD and to prepare you for the rest of your career, you will make a Training and Supervision plan and you will have free access to a personal development program for PhD students (PROOF program);
- A gross monthly salary and benefits (such as a pension scheme, pregnancy and maternity leave, partially paid parental leave) in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement for Dutch Universities;
- Additionally, an annual holiday allowance of 8% of the yearly salary, plus a year-end allowance of 8.3% of the annual salary;
- Should you come from abroad and comply with certain conditions, you can make use of the so-called ‘30% facility’, which permits you not to pay tax on 30% of your salary;
- A broad package of fringe benefits, including an excellent technical infrastructure, moving expenses, and savings schemes;
- Family-friendly initiatives are in place, such as an international spouse program, and excellent on-campus children day care and sports facilities.
Information and application
TU/e
Located in the Brainport region, which attracts 40% of all Dutch spending on research and development, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is one of Europe's leading research universities, and part of the prestigious EuroTech Universities Alliance (https://eurotech-universities.eu/). TU/e offers graduate engineering programs and post-graduate technological design, PhD and teacher-training programs. The mission is to educate students to become leading industrial professionals and academic scientists, and to generate and valorize ground breaking scientific knowledge, by building and supporting the industrial activities in the region and far beyond.
Diversity
We are an inclusive university community. Diversity is one of our most important values. We believe that engaging in international activities and welcoming students and staff from a wide variety of backgrounds enhances the quality of our education and research. We are always looking for people who can enrich our world with their own unique perspectives and experiences.
More information
If you would like know more about the positions, please contact dr. Tom van der Sande, email T.P.J.v.d.Sande[at]tue.nl, or dr. Erjen Lefeber, email A.A.J.Lefeber[at]tue.nl.
For information about terms of employment, click here or contact HR Services, email HRServices.Gemini[at]tue.nl.
Application
We invite you to submit a complete application by using the 'apply now'-button on the page https://jobs.tue.nl/en/vacancy/phd-cooperative-autonomous-driving-vehicles-where-are-we-909417.html.
The application should include a:
- a cover letter explaining your motivation and suitability for the position;
- a list of courses and grades from your Master's programme;
- a curriculum vitae;
- a scientific report in English, written by yourself (e.g. MSc thesis, traineeship report or scientific paper)
- copies of diplomas with course grades (transcripts);
- two references (name, affiliation, and contact information) who are willing to provide letters of reference.
Both national and international applications to this advertisement are appreciated. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Promising candidates will be contacted by email.
Submit your application via https://jobs.tue.nl/en/vacancy/phd-cooperative-autonomous-driving-vehicles-where-are-we-909417.html. We do not respond to applications that are sent to us in a different way.
