Then, the Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng) programme Robotics  is very interesting for you. The PDEng programme is a 2-year post MSc technological programme with a focus on technological design. This programme at the University of Twente contain an educational part that will be followed at the University, and a design project that will be carried out at Schuitemaker Machines in Rijssen. The educational programme will have an in-depth and broadening character with ample attention for professional development and will be partly tailored to the design project. In collaboration with Schuitemaker, high level, creative and new designs for complex issues will be aimed at.

PDEng Design Project - For dairy farmers, up scaling is becoming increasingly important. Feeding is one of the most important daily routines in dairy farming, but time consuming. Automation of the feeding process will significantly improve the efficiency of dairy farming in terms of better performing livestock, saving costs of labor and more time and focus on other farm activities and family.

Schuitemaker decided to develop a complete autonomous solution and started to develop the Innovado in 2007. In 2012, the project has made a new start and improved both the feeding processes and the security system, as well as the operating system. The Innovado now uses commercial technologies that were not available in 2007. This has resulted in the current type https://youtu.be/Uw-pVl1Y45o.

The system architecture is based on the architecture of a production machine; that means that the system carries out sequential actions and follows a programmed route. The system cannot solve disruptions itself and depending on the kind of disruption, the farmer has to be called in. The used technologies for Innovado include GPS, RFID, IMU, Lidar, standard safety techniques, automotive PLC techniques and an IPC.

The next generation Innovado should allow be a more freely roaming vehicle that is capable of autonomously creating alternative paths and finding its way around obstacles.

The last PDEng assignment (finished in February 2017) covers these two aspects, first the development of proof of concepts for a new localization system and secondly the development of a path finding system. The theoretical prototype makes use of robot_localization in ROS and other proven models, but the map still has to be created manually at the moment.

The challenge of this PDEng project is to further develop this next generation machine to an working practical prototype of an autonomous robot, that is ready for the future and can be produced in series. In this next assignment the focus is on minimizing the implementation time of the robot, which automatically has to construct an map from its unknown operational environment, based on SLAM algorithms.

Questions for this assignment among others:

1. Is it possible in the current operational environment to successfully navigate and map with SLAM algorithms? If yes, select and prove during practical testing the suitable sensors for outdoor SLAM solutions.
2. Is it possible to vary the route as much as possible within its operating environment?
3. Make it possible (including practical tests) to replace or optimize the current object detection and safety system by means of other technologies? (vision?)

The exact planning and implementation of the hardware (test setups) will be established in further consultation.

We are searching for the best MSc graduated candidates (or graduates with several years of experience) in the field of robotics, with demonstrable engineering skills with ROS and affinity with design and multidisciplinary assignments. Besides, you must have the ambition and talent to accelerate in finding solutions / creating designs for complex robot technological issues with a multidisciplinary character. Important professional skills are English language skills, communication and interpersonal skills, teamwork, initiative and self‐reflection.

Candidates with a non-Dutch qualification and who have not had secondary and tertiary education in English can only be admitted with an IELTS-test showing a total band score of at least 6.5, internet TOEFL test (TOEFL-iBT) showing a score of at least 90, or a Cambridge CAE-C (CPE).

Please send your letter of motivation, with a curriculum vitae, a list with grades of courses attended, references and, if applicable, a list of publications before June 1, 2018, through the link below.

If you have any further questions about this vacancy of the PDEng programme in Robotics, please contact Dr.ir. D. Dresscher: email: d.dresscher@utwente.nl

General information about PDEng programmes you can find at our website.

 

Schuitemaker Machines offers you a contract for 24 months. During these two years you follow a tailor made post-master design programme with a combination of education at the University of Twente(50%) and working on a design project at Schuitemaker in Rijssen (50%). During these two years you will be supervised by a team of experts from both Schuitemaker and the University of Twente.
The salary will be € 1.828 gross per month. Additionally, the University of Twente provides excellent facilities for professional and personal development, a holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus.

On successfully completing the programme, you will receive a certified degree. You will be entitled to use the academic degree Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng) and will be registered as a Technological Designer in the Dutch register kept by the Royal Institution of Engineers in the Netherlands (KIVI). 

The University of Twente. We stand for life sciences and technology. High tech and human touch. Education and research that matter. New technology which drives change, innovation and progress in society. The University of Twente is the only campus university in the Netherlands; divided over five faculties we provide more than fifty educational programmes. The University of Twente has a strong focus on personal development and talented researchers are given scope for carrying out pioneering research.

The faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) comprises three disciplines that shape Information and Communication Technology. ICT is more than communication. In almost every product we use mathematics, electronics and computer technology and ICT now contributes to all of societies' activities. The faculty works together intensively with industrial partners and researchers in the Netherlands and abroad and conducts extensive research for external commissioning parties and funders. The research which enjoys a high profile both at home and internationally, has been accommodated in the multidisciplinary research institutes MESA+, CTIT and MIRA.