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The Department of Electrical and ICT Engineering Technology in the Faculty of Applied Engineering is looking for a full-time (%) doctoral scholarship holder in the field Biomimetic Echolocation and Autonomous Aerial Robotics with a focus on FPGA-based sensor design and signal processing. The position is within the Cosys-Lab research group, under supervision of prof. Jan Steckel and prof. Walter Daems.
Position
1. You will work actively on the preparation and defence of a PhD thesis that is part of the FWO project ‘ECHO-FLIGHT’. This project builds on nearly two decades of research in 3D in-air sonar and bat echolocation to enable, for the first time, full-scale quadrotor UAV control based primarily on echolocation. Unlike prior UAV echolocation systems, which lack key biological features such as wideband sensing and HRTF-based spatial encoding, this project explicitly incorporates the mechanisms that underpin the remarkable spatial perception of bats. By leveraging array signal processing to synthesize morphology-induced HRTFs without physical replicas, the project offers a flexible, high-fidelity and scalable approach to biomimetic airborne sonar.
You will be responsible for the implementation and development of biologically inspired echolocation systems for aerial robots, with an emphasis on wideband acoustic sensing, HRTF modelling and spatial perception inspired by bat echolocation. You will design and validate signal processing pipelines for real-time echo-based localization and scene understanding on resource-constrained UAV platforms.
2. You will publish scientific articles related to the research project.
3. You will collaborate closely with another PhD student in the same project, responsible for the development of the control system for the quadrotors.
4. You will carry out a limited number of teaching and research support tasks for courses related to cyber-physical systems and applied image/data processing.
Profile
5. You hold a Master degree in Computer Science, Electronics Engineering or you will have obtained it by the time you start work.
6. You can demonstrate good study results.
7. Your teaching competences are in line with the University of Antwerp’s .
8. Your research qualities are in line with the faculty and .
9. You act with attention to quality, integrity, creativity and cooperation.
10. You have a strong background in signal processing, with emphasis on acoustics, array processing, or time–frequency analysis. You are eager to learn and broaden your knowledge through a curious and scientific mindset.
11. Proficiency in scientific programming (Python and/or MATLAB) and experience with C/C++ are an advantage.
12. You have the ability to design, conduct, and analyse controlled experiments, both in simulation and with real sensor data.
13. Experience with FPGA design for signal processing applications is an asset.
What we offer
14. We offer a doctoral scholarship for a period of two years. Following a positive evaluation the scholarship can be renewed for another two years.
15. You will submit an application to the Flemish science fund (FWO) for a full doctoral scholarship during the first year of your appointment.
16. The planned start date is 1/3/ or as soon as possible after that date.
17. Your monthly scholarship amount is calculated according to the for doctoral scholarship holders.
18. As a doctoral researcher, you will have access to a wide and varied range of courses and an educational credit through the .
19. You will receive ecocheques, Internet-connectivity allowance, and a bicycle allowance or a full reimbursement of public transport costs for commuting.
20. You will do most of your work at Campus Groenenborger in a dynamic and stimulating working environment.
21. Find out more about working at the University of Antwerp .
22. The selection committee reviews all applications as soon as possible after the application deadline. As soon as a decision is made, we will notify you. If you are still eligible after the pre-selection, you will be informed about the possible next step(s) in the selection procedure.