Information on this PhD research area can be found further down this page under the details about the Widening Participation Scholarship given immediately below.
Applications for this PhD research are welcomed from anyone worldwide but there is an opportunity for UK candidates (or eligible for UK fees) to apply for a widening participation scholarship.
Widening Participation Scholarship: Any UK candidates (or eligible for UK fees) is invited to apply. Our scholarships seek to increase participation from groups currently under-represented within research. A priority will be given to students that meet the widening participation criteria and to graduates of the University of Salford. For more information about widening participation, follow this link: https://www.salford.ac.uk/postgraduate-research/fees. [Scroll down the page until you reach the heading “PhD widening participation scholarships”.] Please note: we accept applications all year but the deadline for applying for the widening participation scholarships in 2024 is 28th March 2024. All candidates who wish to apply for the MPhil or PhD widening participation scholarship will first need to apply for and be accepted onto a research degree programme. As long as you have submitted your completed application for September/October 2024 intake by 28 February 2024 and you qualify for UK fees, you will be sent a very short scholarship application. This form must be returned by 28 March 2024. Applications received after this date must either wait until the next round or opt for the self-funded PhD route.
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Project description: UAV inspection has become a trend in application ranging from search-and-rescue to maintenance. The later will be the main focus of this research proposal and the deployment of a UAV to be able to visit predefined goal locations around a building, a bridge, or a construction site and inspect for cracks, corrosion, or whether wear out has occurred around the inspected area. Anomaly detections will be logged and reported to an inspection manager for maintenance actions.
Autonomous local docking-navigation of a UAV has many applications throughout the scope of this vehicles outreach. SLAM (VSLAM/Lidar SLAM) poses a ‘honing-in’ docking method to safely navigate and avoid obstacles in a stable, controlled manner. Many docks (landing zones) are not situated on a fixed point in space, demanding a thorough computational docking system that quickly adapts to an ever-moving target. To achieve safe, stable and controlled docking and decent, the algorithms that induce such SLAM methodologies require quick computing times and thorough extremities for the ever-changing, demanding nature of the exercise. In pursuit of this success, the most opportunistic 3D-SLAM methodology (vision or laser) must be applied, taking into consideration effects of noise, range, frequency and accuracy.
Robot Operating System (ROS) offers a wide-range of UAV models that incorporate different hardware renditions available in the area of focus. It is the ideal tool to test and impose different systems onto a UAV model, trailing different strategies with alternate sensory capabilities. Therefore, ROS will be ideal in the use of the above autonomous scenarios for inspection and docking as a full circular (open-ended) solution, which will be cost effective and time saving for the construction industry.
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