PhD position in neuromorphic control (MSCA ELEVATE network) : sensing at scale

A PhD research position is available at the KU Leuven, in the frame of the EU MSCA project “ELEVATE” (GA 101227453) coordinated by Prof. Rodolphe Sepulchre.
The PhD project “Sensing at scale” will be co-supervised by Prof Sepulchre (KU Leuven) and Prof Conradt (KTH). The researcher will be based in Leuven (Belgium) but the project will include an international secondment of at least six months at KTH (Sweden).

The neuromorphic control group headed by Prof. Rodolphe Sepulchre is part of the STADIUS centre, itself part of the department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT) at KU Leuven.
The group hosts about 10 international PhD and postdoc researchers and carries research with different funding sources, including the ERC advanced grant “SpikyControl” (2023-2028).
The key objective of the ongoing research is to develop a novel control theory for the scalable analysis and design of neuromorphic systems.
Website of the PI: https://sites.google.com/site/rsepulchre

The funded PhD will be part of the MSCA Doctoral network ELEVATE (2026-2030). The network has the ambition to educate a new generation of information engineers able to address those challenges through a unique environment combining leading international recognition in complementary scientific disciplines, a diverse range of companies at the forefront of event-based technology, and a culture of machine design inspired by the challenge of further digitalizing our societies with a focus on sustainability, security, and ethics.
Website of the ELEVATE project: https://www.elevate-dn.eu/

Scientific description of the PhD project “Sensing at scale”: Irrespective of the environment, an event-camera system has a given data rate, a given spatiotemporal bandwidth and a given
pixel sensitivity. The choice of the resolution is a critical design choice: increased accuracy translates into increased latency and energy consumption. The project will demonstrate that event-based sensing can be coupled with active filtering in order to maximize the sensor informativity by online modulation of its spatiotemporal resolution. The concept of informativity will be defined as the mismatch between an internal model of the environment and the current measurement. The project will aim at developing a methodological framework akin to the internal model principle of control theory but in an event-based context. The driving application will be the manipulation of a robot arm equipped with one or several event cameras.

Project

The PhD researcher will

● carry out fundamental research on active sensing “at scale” with the view of increasing the applicability of event-vision sensors to robotic control tasks.

● monitor the work plan of her/his individual research project and make sure that milestones are achieved and deliverables are finalized in a timely manner;

● actively participate in research meetings and all training and network activities of the ELEVATE consortium.

● enroll in a doctoral training program at the Arenberg Doctoral School, and adhere to the doctoral school’s coursework requirements for PhD researchers;

● possibly  assist in the supervision of Master thesis students and perform a limited amount of teaching activities (max. 3h per week).

Profile

● Candidates must hold a Master degree in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent), have a solid mathematical background (e.g. in control theory and optimization) and have taken specialized courses in at least one of the following disciplines: advanced control design, event-based systems, active sensing, neuromorphic engineering, vision for robotics.

● Research experience (e.g. through Master thesis work or research internships) in control theory or event-camera sensing is considered a strong asset.

● Experience with scientific computing in Matlab, Python, or Julia is required.

● Excellent proficiency in the English language is required, as well as good communication skills, both oral and written

Applicants must satisfy the mobility rule of the MSCA network funding scheme, that  is, not have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Belgium for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date. 

Offer

● An exciting international research environment at the forefront of neuromorphic control engineering.

● The international visibility,  excellence,  mobility opportunities, and competitive salary arrangements of doing a PhD in  a MSCA EU research.

● A PhD title from one of Europe’s top universities (after approximately 4 years of successful research).

● A thorough scientific education in the frame of a doctoral training program.

● The possibility to participate in local as well as international courses, workshops and conferences.

● The possibility to perform research visits to internationally renowned research labs in Europe.

● Networking opportunities with some of the leading industrial companies interested in neuromorphic engineering

https://www.elevate-dn.eu/

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. ir. Rodolphe Sepulchre, tel.: +32 16 32 53 33, mail: [email protected] or Mrs. Aldona Niemiro-Sznajder, tel.: +32 16 32 96 07, mail: [email protected].

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