Thesis work - Minimal statistical equivalent for Virtual Public Roads

Volvo Cars; Göteborgs kommun; On-site; SEK 600 000 - 800 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading automotive company in Sweden is seeking thesis workers to investigate roads and statistical models. The project involves data extraction and multi-body simulation, requiring partners for collaboration. Knowledge in statistics and multi-body dynamics is essential. Applications are due by October 31, 2025, with a project duration of 20 weeks.

Qualifications

• Ability to conduct literature reviews on statistical road models.
• Experience in multi-body simulation and data analysis.
• Capability to write and present a thesis report.

Responsibilities

• Investigate and evaluate roads and statistical road models.
• Perform multi-body simulations using actual 3D scans.
• Collaborate with another student on the project.

Skills

Knowledge in statistics

Data processing

Knowledge in multi-body dynamics

Education

Master's degree

Job description

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 you 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 behavior.

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.

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

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.

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.

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].