This project will investigate the design and development of an end-to-end, distributed, Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure to support sustainable wildlife conservation. This project would enable the lead-supervisor to start a larger collaboration between academics in the Schools of Computer Science and Informatics (COMSC) and Biosciences (BIOSI). The PhD student will research on using IoT technologies to facilitate and augment wildlife conservation activities in-the-wild. The primary testbed for this project will be Cardiff University’s Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (LKWS; Sabah, Malaysia).
One main challenge in performing data driven research in-the-wild is deployment of efficient and effective sensing infrastructure to collect and analyse data in a sustainable manner. Traditional data analytics approaches are designed to send all the data to the cloud for decision making; however, areas such as LKWS and other protected areas in Sabah, network communication is very poor or not existent. Further, continuous data communication consumes a significant amount of energy which most of the edge nodes cannot afford. Therefore, traditional approaches are ineffective and unsustainable.
Traditionally, self-organizing (dynamic orchestration) algorithms are designed to work assisted by a central node (e.g. cloud). In this project, (novelty) our aim is to develop algorithms that can run on resource constrained edge nodes without the support of a central node.
In this project, our focus will be on (exact focus depends on candidate’s skill-set):
- Architecture
- Design and development of self-organizing and reconfigurable IoT infrastructure that integrates resources from multiple layers (sensing, edge/fog, cloud). Low-cost and off-the-shelf components will be used to develop the prototype.
- Algorithms:
- Design and development of distributed algorithms that can dynamically orchestrate IoT resources on the edge to satisfy a given sensing requirement without continuous connectivity to the cloud.
- These algorithms will also determine how to distribute data analytics workloads (among heterogeneous edge nodes) in an optimal way to satisfy given requirements and real-world constraints.
Please contact Dr Charith Perera ([Email Address Removed]) to discuss your research proposal before submitting your application.
Eligibility
A 2:1 Honours undergraduate degree or a master's degree, in computing or a related subject.
Applicants for whom English is not their first language must demonstrate their proficiency by obtaining an IELTS score of at least 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in each skills component.
How to apply:
Please contact the supervisors of the project prior to submitting your application to discuss and develop an individual research proposal that builds on the information provided in this advert. Once you have developed the proposal with support from the supervisors, please submit your application following the instructions provided below
This project is accepting applications all year round, for self-funded candidates via https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/research/programmes/programme/computer-science-and-informatics
In order to be considered candidates must submit the following information:
- Supporting statement
- CV
- In the ‘Research Proposal’ section of the application enter the name of the project you are applying to and upload your Individual research proposal, as mentioned above in BOLD
- Qualification certificates and Transcripts
- Proof of Funding. For example, a letter of intent from your sponsor or confirmation of self-funded status (In the funding field of your application, insert Self-Funded)
- References x 2
- Proof of English language (if applicable)
Please contact [Email Address Removed] to discuss this project.
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact [Email Address Removed]