PhD in Production Technology – AI-Pipeline for Industrial Sensor Data Assimilation

The doctoral student's scientific work in the project
The processing and assimilation of vast amounts of sensor data in production environments poses significant challenges, especially when it comes to automatically scanning for data quality, adapting to changing production environments (like changes in the factory floor) and facilitating cross-industry sharing of AI-solutions. There is an acute need from industries to be able to detect data quality issues from numerous sensors and of extract information from the data in a modular fashion. The overarching goal is to create an agile AI architecture that can be easily adapted to different sensor types and industries. In a new project in cooperation with Swedish industry we seek a PhD student for a position at University West. In this PhD project the PhD scholar would work on the development of a modular and agile AI architecture based on the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom (DIKW) data-processing pyramid, specifically designed for sensor data processing.

The research aims to address the industry's needs of detecting data quality issues from numerous sensors and of extracting information from the data in a modular fashion. The project focuses on answering the research questions of processing data 1) to identify and mitigate insufficient quality data, 2) extracting relevant information, and 3) facilitating smooth changes in the data assimilation process (i.e. making sure that the architecture is easily transferable across industries and across applications). The overarching goal is to create an agile AI architecture that can be easily adapted to different sensor types and industries.

The above is planned to be achieved by using a modular layered architecture. The new PhD scholar will work with academic members from the university and engineers from partnering industries to develop an agile AI architecture consists of distinct layers in the processing flow. The first layer focuses on sensor-dependent data pre-processing, encompassing data sanity checks and calibration specific to each sensor. The second layer employs sensor-agnostic machine learning techniques to transform sensor data into information using deep learning architectures. The third layer is an application-specific information processing layer that leverages symbolic processing to analyze information from the previous layer. This enables the extraction of context and goal-specific knowledge, providing users with valuable insights tailored to their objectives. Additionally, this layer facilitates user interaction to understand new needs, such as incorporating new sensors or adjusting the architecture for different industrial setups.

Subject area: Production Technology

Doctoral degree program: Production Technology Research center:
Doctoral students in Production Technology become members of the research group PTW (Production Technology West). The group collaborates with the engineering industry in the region at the Production Technology Centre, which houses an advanced research laboratory. Click here for more information about our research center. Klicka här för mer information om vårt forskningscenter.

Job description:
The research program includes, in addition to participation in third-cycle courses and other activities, the implementation of independent thesis work. Doctoral students shall primarily devote themselves to their own education. A doctoral student may, however, be engaged to a limited extent in education, research, and administration, mainly within Production Technology. Such duties, before a doctorate has been conferred, may not occupy more than 20 percent of full-time working hours (Higher Education Ordinance (SFS 1993:100) Chapter 5 section 2). 

Qualification requirements:

To qualify for appointment as a PhD, two eligibility requirements must be met: 1) basic eligibility and 2) special eligibility.

1) The basic eligibility requirements for doctoral programs as set out in the Higher Education Ordinance are as follows:

• a degree at master’s level,
• completed courses totalling at least 240 university credits of which a minimum of 60 at master’s level,
• or substantially equivalent knowledge gained in some other way whether in Sweden or abroad.

2) To fulfil the special eligibility requirements for a doctoral degree in Production Technology, a student must hold a degree at master’s level in a subject relevant to the doctoral degree subject. This degree may be in Computer science, Mechatronics, Electrical engineering, Engineering Mathematics, Engineering Physics, or equivalent, with a thesis project corresponding to at least half a year of study. The eligibility requirements may be fulfilled by studies in Sweden or abroad. For more information, please read 3.1 and 3.2 in General syllabus for the third-cycle programme in Production Technology, Ref. No U 2021/160.

Additional Qualifications: Mandatory:

• A master’s degree in computer science, mechatronics, applied physics, electrical engineering, engineering physics, or equivalent.
• Ability to communicate orally and in written English (documentary proved)
• Good cooperation skills

Other relevant but not mandatory qualifications:

• Evidence-based (through GitHub page) experience in working with ML/AI algorithms using popular tools like TensorFlow and/or PyTorch
• Experience in working with industrial sensor data
• Experience in developing new ML/AI architectures
• Documented experience of research work and scientific writing (prior publications in the subject is regarded as a merit)
• Ability to communicate in Swedish is regarded as a merit

Selection:
Selection among the applicants shall be made about the applicant's ability to benefit from the doctoral education. In the appointment, special emphasis will be placed on the applicant's ability to benefit from the doctoral education, which refers to the scientific quality of previous work as well as proposals for the focus of the thesis, the relevance of the subject and feasibility in relation to production technology.

Under item 3 in the General syllabus for doctoral studies in Production Technology, you can read more about eligibility requirements and assessment criteria.

Duration and terms of employment:
A doctoral studentship shall be valid until further notice, but no longer than until a certain point in time and never longer than one year after the completion of the doctoral degree. The first employment may be for a maximum of one year. The employment may be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time. The position corresponds to four years of full-time studies for a maximum of eight years (Higher Education Ordinance, Chapter 5, Section 7).

Application

Applications are to be submitted electronically through the University West web-based recruitment tool, Varbi.

The application must include:

• CV/Personal qualifications
  • Personal letter containing
  • Interest in the research topic.
  • Previous experience regarding the proposed research topic and its research methods and scientific theories.
  • Motive to pursue doctoral studies
  • Link to your GitHub page
  • Copies of your publications (if any) and a copy of your master’s dissertation.

Degree project of second level of higher education. Degree certificate of first and second level of higher education in the original language and in translation. Diploma Supplement in original language and in translation. Course list/transcript of all semesters for bachelor's and master's degrees in original language and in translation. Other documents which the applicant wishes to invoke.

If your degree is from a university outside of Sweden, make sure that you attach a diploma and full transcripts that makes assessing your degree easier. If your degree has not been verified by a Swedish authority you need to provide contact details to the issuing university, registrar or similar, that can verify the degree at our request.

Approved written languages regarding papers, diplomas, grades, and other relevant documents are the Scandinavian languages and English, or translations into those languages. Attach the original when submitting translated documents.

Documents that cannot be sent digitally, should be marked with ref.no R 2024/97 sent to:

University West
HR
461 86 Trollhättan Sweden

The application should reach University West no later than 2024-05-17

The Department of Engineering Sciences strives for equality and diversity in all professions. We welcome applicants with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. For us, it is natural with an inclusive working environment and that our employees can combine work with active parenthood.

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