EPSRC FIBE2 CDT PhD Studentship with Trimble: Digitising the Road Network

This is a four-year (1+3 MRes/PhD) studentship funded through the Cambridge EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Infrastructure and Built Environment: Resilience in a Changing World (FIBE2 CDT). The FIBE2 CDT aims to develop the next generation of infrastructure professionals who can create, shape and deliver the national vision for UK infrastructure, who will be equipped with a versatile and cross-disciplinary skill set to meet the most complex emerging challenges and contribute effectively to better infrastructure decision-making in the UK. Further details can be found at
https://www.fibe-cdt.eng.cam.ac.uk/

The project is funded in collaboration with Trimble, a company that is transforming the way the world works by delivering products and services that connect the physical and digital worlds.

There is a growing awareness that road network owners are managing millions of road miles and associated assets with data that is too little or too outdated but most of all not integrated. This leads to suboptimal network management and utilisation of the massive investments made by the UK government into building and maintaining a state of the art road network. The Digital Twin concept offers a theoretically viable solution to this problem. However, we currently do not know (i) how to structure a road Digital Twin or (ii) how to cost-effectively construct and maintain it. This project aims to address these two knowledge gaps.

The project will focus on geometry and visual data of expressways only to maintain feasibility. This project will attempt to address two objectives. The first objective is to design and propose a feasible data structure of a geometric Digital Twin for road assets. The second objective is devise, implement and test a method to cost-effectively construct and maintain this road asset Digital Twin.

Applicants should have (or expect to obtain by the start date) at least a good 2.1 degree in a Bachelors or Masters in any Engineering discipline or Computer Science. They should have some computing skills or experience, and very good English language skills.

For general enquiries, please email cdtcivil-courseadmin@eng.cam.ac.uk . For project-specific enquiries please e-mail Dr Ioannis Brilakis (ib340@cam.ac.uk ).

FIBE2 CDT studentships are fully-funded (fees and maintenance) for eligible UK students. International (including EU) students will be considered for partial funding (home-level fees and maintenance) from the DTP. We recommend that international students apply by 3 December, in order that they can also be put forward for funding from the Cambridge Trust for the home-overseas fee difference if selected.

Further details about eligibility and funding can be found at:
https://epsrc.ukri.org/skills/students/help/eligibility/
https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/finance/fees
https://www.cambridgetrust.org/scholarships/

To apply for this studentship, candidates must apply through the University's Graduate Admissions application portal. The portal is at: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egegpdfib . There is a £70 fee for PhD applications. "Digitising the Road Network" should be quoted as the project title on the form and Dr Ioannis Brilakis identified as the potential supervisor.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.