Tiny Machine Learning on Batteryless Sensors

A Ph.D. scholarship will be opening soon in Embedded Systems and the Internet of Things at the Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science , University of Trento, Italy.

Research Topic

The focus of the Ph.D. research is the new generation resource-constrained IoT edge devices, which can even operate without batteries by using ambient energy only, e.g., solar power or radiofrequency harvesting. These devices can store only a small amount of energy in their capacitors and do not include batteries. A big challenge is to keep them sensing, computing, and communicating efficiently under small energy budgets. The goal of this Ph.D. project is to design and implement the missing fundamental ML pipeline for batteryless devices. The objective is to open the door for the significantly reduced carbon footprint of modern ML-based IoT applications.

The proposed research will be on the intersection of the following topics:

• Batteryless, Energy Efficient and Low-Power Computing
• Machine Learning on Microcontrollers (Tiny Machine Learning)
• Software for Embedded Systems
• Low Power Communications and Networking

Mandatory Requirements

• A master's degree (or equivalent) in computer science and engineering, electronics, and electrical engineering.
• English level certification (TOEFL or others). The language of our research group is English.

Prior knowledge on the following topics is a plus but not mandatory:

• Relevant publications (and/or M.Sc. thesis) on the above-mentioned research topics
• Programming Microcontrollers and Interfacing Sensors
• Machine Learning Algorithms
• C/C++/Assembly Language
• FPGAs and Hardware Description Languages
• PCB Design and Basic Electronics
• Low-power communication (Backscatter, BLE, Visible Light Communication, etc.)

Expression of Interest

If you are interested in applying for the scholarship, please contact Dr. Kasim Sinan Yildirim via email ([email protected] and [Ph.D.-ML-2021] as the subject of the email) by sending your CV (including three references and your previous publications). Only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted for further steps.

The Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science (DISI)

The Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science (DISI) is a leading and fast-growing research institution, characterized by a young and international faculty and by a large, international student population. Indicators for scientific production place the department among the top in Europe. The Department and the Ph.D. school closely collaborate with and operate in, a rapidly growing research and innovation environment characterized by top-class research centers and an increasing number of industrial research labs, including the Italian co-location center of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

Trento

Trento is a vibrant city with a beautifully preserved historic center, consistently ranked among the best cities for quality of life in Italy. It offers a variety of cultural and sports opportunities all year-round, as well as excellent food and wine.