MulsEAV: Integrating Mulsemedia Experiences in Autonomous Vehicles - Collaborative Studentship
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It is expected that by 2025, the UK will increasingly see self-driving vehicles on the roads across the country which will enable new ways for people and goods to move around. Optimising the on-board and off-board experience of passengers is therefore paramount for high social buy-in and widespread adoption. This Ph.D. research project aims to develop and validate a range of novel, multimodal technologies and solutions that serve to support the user experience, perception and usability of the overall vehicle boarding journey. To this end, Mulsemedia and Mixed Reality (MR) approaches will be investigated to facilitate the design of vehicles that are optimised for quality of experience, health, and well-being across different contexts and users.
The project is for a 4 year FT Ph.D. jointly funded by Research England and Tampere University (Finland). The studentship includes FT Fees paid at the current UKRI rate for 4 years and an FT stipend at approx £20662 per annum subject to satisfactory progression and an increase announced by UKRI each year.
This project also includes a 6 Month placement with our partner Tampere University (Finland), where you will learn about system design and prototype generation.
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Eligibility
We are looking for exceptional candidates who have a strong interest in the proposed research topic. Essential criteria include a good First or Upper Second-class Honours degree (1st or 2:1) in Computer Science, Multimedia/Games, Design or a related field, strong academic writing skills, and with strong technical skills. The candidate must be highly motivated, creative, independent, work well as part of a team, organised, and with excellent time-management skills.
Desirable criteria include a Masters-level degree in a relevant field(s), experience with Extended Reality (VR, AR, MR) and strong programming skills (e.g., C#, Python). Prior experience with sensor technologies is also desirable.
How to apply
Please email your application documents (see list below) in a single PDF file by 17:00 on 31st July 2023 to Dr Fotois Spyridonis Fotois.spyridonis@brunel.ac.uk and the PGR Office at cedps-pgr-office@brunel.ac.uk Interviews will take place at the beginning of September 2023.
- Your up-to-date CV;
- Your personal statement (300 to 500 words) summarising your background, skills, and experience;
- Your Undergraduate/Postgraduate Masters degree certificate(s) and transcript(s);
- Evidence of your English language skills to IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent, 6.0 in all sections), if appropriate;
- Contact details for TWO referees, one of which can be an academic member of staff in the College.
Remember to state the title of the project at the top of your personal statement.
George Ghinea - I am a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Brunel University London. I obtained my BSc. Degree with Computer Science and Mathematics majors from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. I later went on to obtain BSc. (Hons.) and MSc. Degrees, both in Computer Science, from the same university. I was awarded my PhD – Quality of Perception: An Essential Facet of Multimedia Communications - from the University of Reading, UK, in 2000. In it, I proposed the Quality of Perception metric, a precursor of the Quality of Experience (QoE) concept now widely known. However, whilst QoE is still a concept, QoP is a concrete metric. Thus, recognising the infotainment duality of multimedia, QoP not only characterises the subjective enjoyment associated with experiencing multimedia presentations, but also how such presentations aid a person\'s ability to assimilate informational content.
My research activities lie at the confluence of Computer Science, Media and Psychology. In particular, my work focuses on the area of perceptual multimedia quality and how one builds end-to-end communication systems incorporating user perceptual requirements. I have applied my expertise in areas such as eye-tracking, telemedicine, multi-modal interaction, and ubiquitous and mobile computing. I am particularly interested in building human-centred e-systems, particularly integrating human perceptual requirements. My work has been funded by both national and international funding bodies – all of it being collaborative work with other teams and stakeholders I have been privileged to be involved with. I have also been honoured to supervise 33 PhD students to completion and to have published over 350 high-quality research articles with them and other research collaborators.
Currently, my research pursuits are centered on extending the notion of multimedia with that of mulsemedia – a term which I have put forward to denote multiple sensorial media, ie. media applications that go beyond engaging the by now traditional auditory and visual senses, engaging three of our other human in a realistic manner akin to our experiences of everyday life.