[AllUsers-ISR] ISR-3 (Three) Research Grants (BI) for Master-SafeForest PROJECT

Thu May 21 16:18:45 WEST 2020

CALL FOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS FOR MASTERS UNDER THE C&D SafeForest PROJECT 

Scholarship: 3 (Three) Research Grants (BI) for Master 

Reference: nº / 045931/2020/3 

Application period: May, 28 to June, 12, 2020 

The Systems and Robotics Institute - University of Coimbra (ISR-UC) opens the call for applications for three scholarships (3) Research Grants (BI) for Master in the scope of the Industrial R&D Project on the European Scale: SafeForest - Semi-Robotics Autonomous Forest Cleaning and Fire Prevention System, with reference number / 045931/2020/3 financed by the European Fund for Regional Development, within the scope of the CENTRO-01-0247-FEDER-045931 call and by public funds from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. 

Project Description: This is a highly challenging project aiming to develop an UGV for automatic cleaning of forest spaces in order to minimize the risk of fire. In addition to the Systems and Robotics Institute - University of Coimbra, participate in the project the ADAI-Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics, the company Ingenarius, the company Silvapor and the CMU-Carnegie-Mellon Institute (one of the top Universities in the USA). The research work to be developed may be integrated into a doctoral thesis. 

Scientific Area: Electrical and Computer Engineering, or similar. 

Admission requirements: This contest can compete for Masters in the areas of Electrical and Computer Engineering, or similar, which are eligible under the rules of the FCT, IP Research Scholarship Regulation, in effect (https://www.fct.pt / support / scholarships / regulation.phtml.pt). 

Work Plan: The selected candidates will work on innovative actions in the development of robotic forest fire prevention technologies and urban-forest interfaces (WWUI), namely: 

GRANT A - Development of a self-localization/SLAM system for a Forestry Cleaning Robot (FCR) comprising the following tasks: 

1)- Specification and setup of the multi-modal sensorial apparatus of the real-time FCR self-localization system, integrating 3D LiDAR, stereo and spectral cameras, IMU and a GNSS; 
2)- Development/Integration of algorithms for the FCR self-localization system using data from the multi-modal sensorial apparatus. State of the art methodologies in the domain of signal processing, machine learning and AI will be used for this purpose; 
3)- Experimental testing and validation. 

Work Plan Orientation: Prof. Urbano J. Nunes e Luís Conde Bento 

GRANT B – Development of the multimodal artificial perception system of an autonomous cleaning robot, which will be used to build a local representation of the terrain used for navigation and a semantic representations of the surrounding environment to detect and identify objects of interest in the scene, like trees that could be of interest from the cleaning point of view or rocks/stones that could interfere with a safe cleaning operation. State of the art methodologies in the domain of computer vision, machine learning and AI will be used for this purpose. 

Work Plan Orientation: Prof. Paulo Peixoto 

GRANT C – The work plan comprises the following tasks: 

- Selection of sensors and setup of the mapping/perception for the UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle), which might include 3D lidar(s), stereo cameras, spectral cameras, IR sensors, an IMU, and a GPS; 

- UGV path planning and local navigation, taking into account safety (obstacles, animals or humans); 
- Experimental testing and validation. 

Work Plan Orientation: Prof. Aníbal Traça de Almeida and Prof. António Paulo Coimbra. 

Formalization of applications: Applications must be sent in pdf format to the following e-mail address, [ mailto:lara at isr.uc.pt | lara at isr.uc.pt ] , with the subject: SafeForest-BI Mestre/3 and the indication of the Grant ( A, B or C ). The following documentation must be sent: Curriculum Vitae (CV), qualification certificate including breakdown of the ratings obtained in the subjects of the respective course and final classification, and letter of motivation. Applicants with academic degrees obtained abroad will be required to present a Certificate of Recognition in accordance with applicable law. 

Deadline for formalizing the application: The competition is open from May, 28 to June, 12, 2020. 

Applicable legislation and regulation: Statute of the Scientific Research Fellow, approved by Law nº 40/2004 of August 18, amended and republished by Decree-Law nº 202/2012 of August 27, by Decree-Law nº 89/2013 of 9 of July, by Decree-Law No. 233/2012 of October 29, and by Law No. 12/2013 of January 29, and amended by Decree-Law No. 123/2019 of August 28, as amended (https: / /www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/estatutobolseiro) and FCT Research Scholarship Regulation, P, in force ( [ https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/regulamento.phtml.pt | https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/regulamento.phtml.pt ] ). 

Workplace: The work will be developed at the premises of the Systems and Robotics Institute - University of Coimbra (ISR-UC). 

Duration of the scholarship: The scholarships will have a duration of 6 months , with the possibility of renewal for the duration of the project, on an exclusive basis, in accordance with FCT's advanced human resources training regulation. 

Value of monthly maintenance allowance: The amount of the scholarship corresponds to € 1064.00 , according to ( [ https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/regulamento.phtml.pt | https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/regulamento.phtml.pt ] ). 

Selection methods: The selection methods to be used will be the following: curriculum evaluation, with a 50% rating for academic qualifications and 50% for the degree of satisfaction of the requirements regarding knowledge and experience. If the Jury deems it necessary, an interview can be conducted to the candidates placed in the first three positions according to the ranking resulting from the previous criteria. In this case, the final score will include the curriculum evaluation (as described above), with a 90% rating, and the interview, with a 10% rating. If none of the candidates has the appropriate profile (global assessment below 50%), the scholarships will not be awarded. 

Composition of the Selection Jury: President: Professor Doutor Aníbal Traça de Almeida Members: Professor Urbano Carreira Nunes, Professor Paulo Monteiro Peixoto. 

Form of publicity / notification of the results: The final results of the evaluation will be publicized, through a list ordered by the final grade obtained, with the candidates being notified by email. After the dissemination of the results through e-mail, the candidates must consider themselves, from the outset, notified to, if they wish, express themselves in a prior hearing within a maximum period of 10 working days after that date. At the end of this period, the selected candidate must consider himself summoned to start the scholarship. 

Cumprimentos, 

Lara Costa 

Gestora de Ciência 

Instituto de Sistemas e Robótica 

Departamento de Engenharia Eletrotécnica e de Computadores 

Pólo II, Universidade de Coimbra 

3030-290 Coimbra 

Tel: 239 796 217 (Ext: 421113) 

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