Postdoc Positions in the Robotics and Internet of Things Lab of Prince Sultan University
Job Description
The Robotics and Internet of Things lab at Prince Sultan University offers Postdoc positions for outstanding fresh PhD holders, in five main areas:
- Internet of Things: We work on a broad scope of IoT applications. One of our objectives is to develop solutions for large-scale IoT systems that guarantee the quality of service and also meeting IoT requirements, namely scalability, energy-efficiency, interoperability, etc. We consider concrete use cases related to smart city (e.g smart parking, waste management, smart grid, etc). We have strong collaboration with big IoT companies in Saudi Arabia, namely Elm Company and MachinesTalk. We also would like to investigate the effectiveness of edge computing strategy is dealing with the scalability of the IoT and reducing the processing load and energy consumption in data centers. In addition, we leverage the use of service-oriented architecture to develop things as services in the cloud, such as a robot as a service, drone as a service, etc. We have already developed our own platform for the monitoring and control of robots and drones over the Internet. We are extending this platform to support multi-robot collaboration, in addition, to the integration of security and safety functions.
- Unmanned Aerial Systems: We have been working extensively the last year into developing cloud based systems to control and monitor UAVs over the Internet. We are currently interested in developing intelligent algorithms for multi-drone collaboration using a centralized approach by leveraging connectivity to the cloud. In addition, we aim at investigating the security and safety aspects of UAVs. We have also interest into developing applications for UAVs using computer vision.
- Deep Learning: We are interested in the application of Convolutional Neural Networks in computer vision application as a borad topic. In particular, we are actively working on object detection, and semantic segmentation of aerial images for surveillance purposes and IoT-driven applications. In addition, we work on generative adversarial networks (GANs) in the context of semantic segmentation. We are also interested in people behavior monitoring and scene analysis for security purposes. We are also open to hot emerging topics in deep learning.
- Self-driving and smart vehicles We aim at developing solutions for future autonomous vehicles by considering two mains areas: (1) the use of deep learning and reinforcement learning approaches to develop algorithms for safe self-driving cars. We aim using ROS for the development of solutions. (2) leverage communication between vehicles (i.e. V2X communication) using the IoT infrastructure to promote smart transportation systems.
- Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS): We are interested into the real-time guarantees and quality-of-service of communication protocols used in cyber-physical systems such as low-power personal area networks (LPWPAN) namely IEEE 802.15.4 and its variants, RPL, ZigBee, etc. We aim at developing CPS systems that are connected using wireless communication and provide reliable services for time-critical applications.
The mission of the Robotics and Internet of Things lab is to develop innovative solutions for these three areas. In particular, we aim at developing protocols, services and intelligent algorithms to use these systems through the Internet while integrating them into the cloud. The objective of cloud integration is to (1) virtualize the access to these systems through abstract interfaces, (2) take advantage of cloud resources to offload computations from these systems to the cloud. We are also interested in developing deep learning solutions to analyze data collected from robots/drones/sensors in different contexts of applications, such as surveillance, people behavior monitoring, self-driving systems, disaster management, crowd management, etc.
The candidate must demonstrate to have strong technical skills and to be eager to address scientific challenges and problems, and to be very dynamic.
The candidate must have sufficient background to work on any project in the above research interest and must demonstrate some previous experience with the related topics.
Working Environment
The postdoc candidate will be working in a professional research environment and we will provide him with technical and financial support to drive projects and promote his research experience. We offer an easy and fast process for applying and getting grants for seed projects. The postdoc candidate will work in a team and will be involved in different scientific activities. He will be also dedicated to research and not worried about administrative issues. Teaching will be either 0 (likely) to one-course max per semester. The RIOTU Lab provides all logistics and resources to promote the productivity of the post researcher.
Key Performance Indicators
The evaluation criteria of a postdoc will be based on an annual evaluation report that takes into account several metrics including the number of publications, quality of publications (focus on journals), the number of research proposals submitted, attracted grants, mentored students etc. There will be a scale for every metric.
The postdoc is expected to produce at least 3 journal publications a year. Of course, we will provide all technical and financial assistance for the postdoc to maximize his research productivity.
After the postdoc
The postdoc contract may span over one year or two years periods. Postdoc candidates with successful research experience during the postdoc duration will be offered a position of an assistant professor, upon approval of the higher management.
Skills / Job Requirements
- Hold PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics or related fields
- PhD degree obtained in the last three years
- Has published at least 3 high quality journal papers during his PhD (minimun eligbility requirement)
- Research interest and expertise in one of the aforementioned areas of interest
- Good programming and software development skills
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and in a team
- Be very dynamic and self-motivated
- Excellent writing skills of technical and research papers in English
- Excellent spoken skills in English
- Excellent communication skills and a proven ability to deliver on challenging software development tasks
Applications will be open until otherwise notified.
Benefits
The Fellowship provides:
- Monthly salary (based on the research record)
- Round-trip economy airfare
- Medical insurance
- Conference and fieldwork grants
- Additional financial benefits (provided in the job offer)
How and what to apply?
Interested individuals should email their curriculum vitae, a research statement, a sample of publications, and two letters of reference (under a separate cover) to Dr. Ahmed Yamani (rector@psu.edu.sa) at the Rector Office at Prince Sultan University and to the Robotics and Internet of Things Lab (riotu at psu dot edu dot sa).