Open Researcher Position: Self-Calibration for Autonomous Drones (Closed)

Within the recently established Karl Popper doctoral school on networked autonomous aerial vehicles with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and T-Mobile as external collaboration partners we are looking for a highly motivated researcher (PhD student) with an outstanding track record in their technical education and academic career.

The successful applicant will perform the following tasks:

Tasks and responsibilities:

• Independent research with the aim to submit a dissertation and acquire the PhD Degree in the field of self-calibration for autonomous drones
• Presentation of scientific results in journals and at conferences
• Contributing to the tasks and milestones of the current projects in the research group
• Student mentoring and team work

The employment rate is 100% (40 hours per week; Uni-KV: B1) with a yearly renewal of the contract. The minimum monthly gross salary amounts to €2731 (14 times per year) and can increase in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement in the case of consideration of previous occupational experience. The expected starting date is as soon as possible.

The University of Klagenfurt is a young and vibrant campus university hosting 10,000 students. It is located in the southern part of Austria, a region with outstanding quality of life at the intersection of Alpine and Mediterranean culture. Offices and laboratories are located in the well-equipped Lakeside Science & Technology Park. The Faculty of Technical Sciences at the University of Klagenfurt has over 10 years of experience in performing research with small drones, with a strong emphasis on wireless communication, distributed coordination, autonomous navigation, path planning, and system aspects (see Dronehub K). Our team is very international with English being the working language. Successful applicants will be encouraged and supported to publish their work in high-ranking journals and proceedings, and will have the opportunity to cooperate with our world renowned international partners from science and industry. We specifically encourage and support close and open collaboration with our peers both internationally and at the University. Our young research group provides a highly dynamic, familiar, and friendly attitude and thus a collaborative and inspiring work environment with highly modern infrastructure, which is continuously updated and upgraded.

The project to which this current position is allocated to will specifically investigate research questions in self-calibration techniques in multi-sensor fusion frameworks. A special focus of the project is the inclusion of different sensor modalities to a state estimator framework in order to achieve robust and precise localization information of a mobile system. The project aims at using this information on real systems for on-board online closed loop control and navigation.

Required qualifications:

• A university degree (Master or Diplom-Ingenieur) in electrical engineering and information and communication engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science or related field, graded with excellent academic success.
• Proven knowledge and extensive experience in at least one of the following areas: Probabilistic state estimation, vision-based navigation, multi-modal sensor fusion, autonomous (aerial) vehicle guidance and navigation.
• Proven programming skills in the languages Matlab, C / C++, ROS.
• Fluent in English both spoken and written.

Candidates must meet the required qualifications by the starting date latest.

Desired qualifications:

• Good knowledge of cooperative software development with GIT or SVN.
• Scientific publications in one or more of the above areas.
• Relevant international or practical experience.
• Basic experience in student supervision and research projects.
• Fluent in German both spoken and written.
• Social and communication skills, ability to work independently.

The position is aimed at the scientific training of graduates of a diploma or master program with the goal of a PhD thesis in engineering. Applications from persons already holding such a degree can therefore not be taken into account. The Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt intends to increase the number of women on its faculty, particularly high-level positions, and therefore specifically invites applications by women. Among equally qualified applicants women will receive preferential consideration. People with disabilities or chronic diseases who are qualified are explicitly invited to apply.

The application must be submitted electronically in pdf format to Melissa Aichholzer (Melissa.Aichholzer (at) aau.at) at the Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt using the code [CNS/1801] in the subject line. The application must be written in English and include a letter of motivation, the curriculum vitae (with photo and information about the degrees including date/place/grade, the experience acquired, the thesis title, the list of publications if any and any other relevant information), copy of the degree certificates and transcripts of the courses, and any certificate that can prove the fulfillment of the required qualifications (e.g., the submission of the final thesis). The deadline for the applications is 18th of February 2018.

General information for applicants is available on www.aau.at/jobs/information. Information about research on Networked Autonomous Aerial Systems at Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt is available on http://uav.aau.at. Further information about the related doctoral school is provided on www.aau.at/en/research/research-profile/karl-popper-kolleg. Additional information on the Control of Networked Systems Group is available on http://sst.aau.at/cns or by contacting Prof. Dr. Stephan Weiss, +43 463 2700 3571, Stephan.Weiss (at) aau.at. Short-listed candidates will be invited to an interview. Travel and accommodation costs incurred during the application procedure cannot be reimbursed.