Thesis work - Minimal statistical equivalent for Virtual Public Roads

Volvo Car Germany GmbH; Göteborgs kommun; On-site; SEK 600 000 - 800 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading automotive company in Sweden is looking for thesis workers to investigate statistical road models for vehicle durability. Successful candidates will collaborate in pairs to conduct literature reviews, data screening, and multibody simulations over the 20-week project starting January 2026. Candidates should possess a strong background in statistics and multibody dynamics. Applications are due by October 31, 2025.

Qualifications

• Background in statistics and data analysis is essential.
• Experience with multibody simulation is preferred.
• Collaboration skills are important as the thesis is done in pairs.

Responsibilities

• Conduct literature review on statistical road models.
• Screen data for relevant metrics from scanned roads.
• Perform multibody simulation using actual 3D scans.

Skills

Knowledge in statistics

Data processing

Knowledge in multibody dynamics

Education

Master's degree

Job description

Thesis work - Minimal statistical equivalent for Virtual Public Roads

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Thesis Worker at Volvo Cars

Welcome to explore the world of Volvo Cars by writing your thesis with us! As a thesis worker in our organization you are supported by a supervisor who follows you during your project. Through your thesis work you will be able to contribute to our company purpose – providing freedom to move in a safe, sustainable and personal way – from day one!

About this opportunity – Background

Vehicle durability is all about safety! Safe for use over the vehicle’s lifetime. Loads acting on the vehicle will be one of the key parameters to describe vehicle life and its long term performance. Loads can origin from what Car you drive, in what Environment you utilize your vehicle and how your Use your vehicle. Needless to say, roads are a key part of the environment traversed and being able to describe them is key for engineering.

In an ideal world all the road surfaces traversed by customer vehicles would be scanned and stored in a database. However, it would not be practical to re-simulate all the roads in the world. Thus, statistical equivalent roads, of a specific road, of a complete road network or of a specific road network used by a customer profile would be one possible approach to assess customer behaviour.

Objective
The master thesis is intended to investigate and evaluate roads and statistical road models. The end goal would be to suggest a minimal set of parameters to capture from actual roads to successfully create a statistical equivalent representation with durability metrics in focus. Also, using the minimal set of parameters, what re-creation method is suggested? Thus, focus will be on re-creating vertical loads acting on the vehicles originating from the road surface.

Scope of the thesis work

The students will work with real world 3D scanned road surfaces of varying content.

1. Literature review on statistical road models both in terms of descriptive metrics (for example: Coherence, Waviness, Roughness and Transient Extraction) as well as modelling and re-creation (for example: General Roughness, Transients, 3D Surface).
2. Data screening for relevant metrics from scanned roads including evaluation of dataset size need for a statistical base large enough for relevant re-creation.
3. Multibody simulation using actual 3D scans as well as simulation of proposed 2D and/or 3D statistical representations. I.e. a simulation to simulation comparison.
4. Correlation and evaluation of metrics and methods used for statistical representation
5. Write and present thesis report.

What you'll bring

Data extraction and analysis will require knowledge in statistics and data processing. Simulation of the scanned roads as well as re-created statistical equivalents will require knowledge in multibody dynamics. This work is preferably performed by two students in collaboration.

Duration

• The work will start in January 2026
• The duration for this thesis work is 20 weeks.
• 30 ECTS (Master academic credits) in agreement with your Thesis Advisor in University
• This thesis is to be conducted by 2 Students working in pair.

For nearly a century, Volvo Cars has empowered people to move freely in a personal, sustainable and safe way. Today, we are driving bold advancements in electrification, sustainability and automotive safety. To realize our ambitious vision, we are seeking innovative minds who are ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow – today.

In our company, we believe extraordinary things are achieved by ordinary people with the drive to make a difference.

Ready to take the next step?

Applications should include your CV and a brief personal letter stating your interests within the given area and your thoughts and credentials. Submit your CV in English

Applications must be received no later than 31st of October 2025. We are prioritising direct applications to ensure a fair and efficient application process.

For questions regarding the recruitment process, please contact Recruiter Radoslaw Piela at [e-mail].

For specific questions about the position, please reach out to Hiring Manager Linus Wågström at [e-mail].

Welcome with your application!