AI (Artificial Intelligence) enabled autonomous robots integrated with an intelligent sensing system for the non-disruptive inspection of utility and sewage systems

We are recruiting new Doctoral Researchers to our EPSRC funded Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) PhD studentships starting 1 October 2023. Applications are invited for the project AI (Artificial Intelligence) enabled autonomous robots integrated with an intelligent sensing system for the non-disruptive inspection of utility and sewage systems

Successful applicants will receive an annual stipend (bursary) of approximately £19,668, including inner London weighting, plus payment of their full-time home tuition fees for a period of 42 months (3.5 years).

You should be eligible for home (UK) tuition fees there are a very limited number (no more than three) of studentships available to overseas applicants, including EU nationals, who meet the academic entry criteria including English Language proficiency.

You will join the internationally recognised researchers in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

The Project

Traditional manual maintenance of pipelines which requires digging of ground to get access to pipelines is ineffective because of safety issues, high cost and limited human vision. Thus, serious faults are often missed in the pipeline which causes failures such as leaks in the system.

Thus, this project aims to design and develop AI (Artificial Intelligence) enabled autonomous robots integrated with an intelligent sensing system for the non-disruptive inspection of utility and sewage systems.

Please contact Dr Md Nazmul Huda at mdnazmul.huda@brunel.ac.uk for an informal discussion about the studentships.

Eligibility

Applicants will have or be expected to receive a first or upper-second class honours degree in an Engineering, Computer Science, Design, Mathematics, Physics or a similar discipline. A Postgraduate Masters degree is not required but may be an advantage.

Skills and Experience

Applicants will be required to demonstrate their ability to demonstrate his/her strong programming skills and experience in robotics (experimental, modelling and/or analytical experience), machine vision and machine learning algorithms, and CAD software such as Solidworks or equivalent. The applicant should be highly motivated, able to work independently as well as in a team, collaborate with others and have good communication skills.

How to apply

There are two stages of the application:

1.Applicants must submit the pre-application form via the following link https://brunel.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/epsrc-dtp-23-24-pre-application-form-brunel-university-lon-3 by 16.00 on Friday 26th May 2023.

2.If you are shortlisted for the interview, you will be asked to email the following documentation in a single PDF file to cedps-studentships@brunel.ac.uk within 24hrs.

Your up-to-date CV;
Your Undergraduate degree certificate(s) and transcript(s) essential;
Your Postgraduate Masters degree certificate(s) and transcript(s) if applicable;
Your valid English Language qualification of IELTS 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in each section) or equivalent, if applicable;
Contact details for TWO referees, one of which can be an academic member of staff in the College.

Applicants should therefore ensure that they have all of this information in case they are shortlisted.

Interviews will take place in June 2023.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Md Nazmul Huda - Dr M Nazmul Huda received his BSc (Hons) degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh in 2008, his MSc by Research degree in Computing Science from Staffordshire University, UK in 2011 and his Ph.D. degree in Robotics and Control from Bournemouth University, UK in 2016. At present, he is a Senior Lecturer in Electronic and Electrical Engineering at Brunel University London and supervising several PhD students in robotics, artificial intelligence and renewable energy. Before joining at Brunel University London, he has held several academic/research positions at Coventry University, Cranfield University, Bournemouth University, Staffordshire University and Bangladesh. He has more than ten years of experience in performing research and leading research projects in robotics, control and machine learning funded by various funding bodies including EPSRC and Innovate UK. He has filed a patent and published papers on flagship journals and conferences. He is a member of IET, IEEE, IEEE RAS and EPSRC associate peer review college. He has been nominated as a regular reviewer for EPSRC grants applications. He has been collaborating with internal and external academic and industrial partners and actively developing research proposals as a PI and Co-PI for internal and external funding calls including Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust and High-Volume Transport. He also serves as a reviewer for many flagship journals and conferences in robotics, control and artificial intelligence including IEEE ICRA, IEEE IROS, IEEE SSRR, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L) etc.

Related Research Group(s)

Computer Science for Social Good - Our group works with partners in the Global South to lead and promote interdisciplinary research in the field of computer science and social good. We focus on investigating and developing new ways and innovative technologies to address challenging socio-economic problems.

Design and Manufacturing - Developing products, services and manufacturing processes that will deliver economically and environmentally sustainable solutions, based on design principles derived from an understanding of human capabilities and limitations.

Robotics and Automation - We carry out world-class research in robotics and autonomous systems, exploiting and exploring opportunities to develop innovative solutions for industrial and societal applications.