Your research goal will be to create a system that monitors a given area but in a privacy-preserving manner (without using cameras).

Monitoring is central to the efficient and safe operation of smart homes, buildings, and cities. For example, monitoring systems may need to report an intruder breaking into a house or request help for an elder person living alone that has fallen.

The challenge is that most monitoring systems rely on cameras and citizens are becoming increasingly concerned about their abuse by governments or corporations.

Together with a leading Dutch company, Signify, we aim at investigating monitoring platforms that cannot provide personalized information even if they are hacked.

Our work will use sensors such as mmWave radars that provide limited information to maintain privacy. This limited information will be combined with deep learning techniques to identify events of interest.

To achieve our goal, the research work will focus at the intersection of deep learning and embedded systems. We want to develop a system that is accurate but works with limited computational and energy resources.

The PhD research will include a holistic approach, including the design of the embedded system, the optimization of the machine learning models and the connection with the edge and cloud services.

This position is a joint collaboration with Signify, a leading Dutch company formerly known Philips Lighting. During the PhD, the candidate will spend around 80% of the time in Delft and the remaining time in Eindhoven where Signify is located.

The applicant should have a Master Degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field. A solid knowledge of embedded systems and/or deep learning is required.

The position demands a strong background to build new prototypes and perform experimental work. The successful applicant should have good English language proficiency and a team player personality.

Prior knowledge on mmWave radars is a plus but not required.

Doing a PhD at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.

Fixed-term contract: 4 years.

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1,5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2,5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, increasing from € 2.872,- per month in the first year to € 3.670,- in the fourth year. As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

For international applicants, TU Delft has the Coming to Delft Service. This service provides information for new international employees to help you prepare the relocation and to settle in the Netherlands. The Coming to Delft Service offers a Dual Career Programme for partners and they organise events to expand your (social) network.

Delft University of Technology

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) brings together three scientific disciplines. Combined, they reinforce each other and are the driving force behind the technology we all use in our daily lives. Technology such as the electricity grid, which our faculty is helping to make completely sustainable and future-proof. At the same time, we are developing the chips and sensors of the future, whilst also setting the foundations for the software technologies to run on this new generation of equipment – which of course includes AI. Meanwhile we are pushing the limits of applied mathematics, for example mapping out disease processes using single cell data, and using mathematics to simulate gigantic ash plumes after a volcanic eruption. In other words: there is plenty of room at the faculty for ground-breaking research. We educate innovative engineers and have excellent labs and facilities that underline our strong international position. In total, more than 1000 employees and 4,000 students work and study in this innovative environment.

Click here to go to the website of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science.

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Marco Zuniga (m.a.zunigazamalloa@tudelft.nl).