PhD Position Integrated Planning and Learning for Drones

Drones have become increasingly prevalent in various domains including agriculture, environmental monitoring, search and rescue, and surveillance. To realise their full potential, new methods are needed to support autonomous decision-making within unstructured, dynamic environments.
Conventional approaches to drone mission planning often rely on predefined trajectories or reactive behaviours, limiting their versatility and robustness in real-world scenarios. In contrast, integrating planning with novel learning paradigms enables drones to dynamically adapt their actions based on environmental feedback and past experiences.
The PhD candidate will develop innovative planning algorithms which exploit elements of robotic learning. The research will especially focus on planning for small drones operating in challenging scenarios, e.g. monitoring plant parameters in greenhouses, where commonly used conventional methods fall short. The candidate will explore various techniques in robotic learning, ranging from reinforcement learning to active learning, with the aim of enhancing the autonomy, adaptability, and efficiency of embodied drone platforms in such scenarios.
The candidate will be guided by dr. Marija Popović at the Micro Air Vehicle laboratory (MAVLab), which is part of the Control and Operations department of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft. They will have access to state-of-the-art tools and facilities needed to conduct their research. They will have the opportunity to collaborate with other researchers from within the laboratory, as well as on an international level.

Requirements:

Requirements:

• An excellent degree in robotics, artificial intelligence, computer science, or a related subject at Masters level or equivalent.
• Good programming skills in python and/or C++.
• An independent scholar who wants to shape research in the field.
• An interest in interdisciplinary and collaborative research.

Beneficial:

• Hands-on experience with robot or drone hardware.
• Previous research experience.
• Knowledge of ROS.

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.

Salary Benefits:

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 € 2770 per month in the first year to € 3539 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.

32 - 40 hours per week

Mekelweg 2