PhD: Safe Autonomy for Hybrid VTOL UAVs

Karlstad University; Leuven; Sur place; EUR 26 000 - 32 000; Plein temps

Avantages offerts par ce poste

Fully funded PhD scholarship

Drone cage access and motion capture

State-of-the-art lab facilities

Résumé du poste

KU Leuven invites applications for a PhD position focused on safe autonomy of hybrid VTOL UAVs, addressing fault-tolerant control, robust state estimation, and safety-aware planning. The project is embedded within the Mechatronics Group and RAM division, with strong ties to industrial partners and international collaboration.

The chosen candidate will pursue a Mechanical Engineering PhD at KU Leuven, benefiting from state-of-the-art facilities such as a drone cage, motion capture, and

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Mechanical/Electrical/Mechatronic/Robotics, Control, CS, Aerospace or related field.
• Proficient in written and spoken English.
• Experience with aerial robotics, flight dynamics/control, state estimation, sensor fusion, and safety verification.

Responsabilités

• Advance fault-tolerant, transition-aware flight control for hybrid VTOL platforms.
• Develop resilient state estimation with sensor fusion.
• Design risk- and contingency-aware mission planning.
• Build runtime assurance and verification frameworks for certifiable autonomy.

Connaissances

Python

C++

ROS

MATLAB/Simulink

Embedded hardware

Formation

Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Outils

PX4/ArduPilot

Gazebo

Description du poste

KU Leuven invites applications for a PhD position focused on safe autonomy of hybrid VTOL UAVs, addressing fault-tolerant control, robust state estimation, and safety-aware planning. The project is embedded within the Mechatronics Group and RAM division, with strong ties to industrial partners and international collaboration.

The chosen candidate will pursue a Mechanical Engineering PhD at KU Leuven, benefiting from state-of-the-art facilities such as a drone cage, motion capture, and