Doctoral student in perception for dynamic scene understaning

Third-cycle subject: Computer scene with specialisation in robotics, perception and learning

This project addresses generalizable 3D dynamic scene understanding for autonomous systems, with a focus on scene flow estimation. A key challenge is that current methods fail to generalise across different sensor configurations and environments, and treat motion estimation as an isolated geometric task disconnected from downstream safety requirements. The goal is to develop a self-supervised, multi-modal model that fuses LiDAR geometry and camera semantics to learn motion representations that generalise zero-shot to unseen real-world scenarios, and are directly aligned with the safety and efficiency needs of autonomous planning that goes beyond standard geometric metrics. The starting point for the project is our state-of-the-art work on self-supervised scene flow (https://github.com/KTH-RPL/OpenSceneFlow). The position is at the department of Robotics, Perception and Learning and is funded by Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP), https://wasp-sweden.org/. The student will be connected to the graduate school within WASP: https://wasp-sweden.org/graduate-school/.

Supervision: Patric Jensfelt is proposed to supervise the doctoral student. Decisions are made on admission

Admission requirements:
To be admitted to postgraduate education (Chapter 7, 39 § Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility in accordance with either of the following:

• passed a second-cycle degree (for example, a master's degree), or completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 second-cycle higher education credits, or acquired, in some other way within or outside the country, substantially equivalent knowledge
• In addition to the above, there is also a mandatory requirement for an English equivalent to English B/6.

Selection
In order to succeed as a doctoral student at KTH you need to be goal-oriented and persevering in your work. During the selection process, candidates will be assessed based obased on their ability to:

• independently pursue his or her work
• collaborate with others,
• have a professional approach and
• analyse and work with complex issues.
• After the qualification requirements, great emphasis will be placed on personal skills.

Target degree: Doctoral degree

Information regarding admission and employment
Only those admitted to postgraduate education may be employed as a doctoral student. The total length of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education in four years. An employed doctoral student can, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within their role, e.g. training and administration. A new position as a doctoral student is for a maximum of one year, and then the employment may be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time.

As a doctoral student, you are entitled to a workplace with many employee benefits and a monthly salary according to KTH’s Doctoral student salary agreement. Read more about Doctoral studies (PhD) | KTH | Sweden.

To apply for the position
Apply for the position and admission through KTH's recruitment system. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the advertisement.

Applications must include the following elements:

• Copies of diplomas and grades from previous university studies and certificates of fulfilled language requirements (see above).
• Translations into English or Swedish if the original document is not issued in one of these languages. Copies of originals must be certified.
• CV including your relevant professional experience and knowledge.
• Application letter with a brief description of why you want to pursue research studies, about what your academic interests are and how they relate to your previous studies and future goals. (Maximum 2 pages long)
• Representative publications or technical reports. For longer documents, please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text.
• Applications must be received at the last closing date at midnight, CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

Other information
For information about the processing of personal data in the recruitment process. It may be the case that a position at KTH is classified as a security-sensitive role in accordance with the Protective Security Act (2018:585). If this applies to the specific position, a security clearance will be conducted for the applicant in accordance with the same law, with the applicant's consent. In such cases, a prerequisite for employment is that the applicant is approved following the security clearance. We firmly decline all contact with staffing and recruitment agencies and job ad salespersons.

Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.