PhD Studentship - Multi-robot Cyber-physical Systems for Solar Farm Health Monitoring and Maintenance

Research theme: "Robotics", "Artificial Intelligence", "Communication Engineering", "Networks"

How to apply: www.rainz-cdt.ac.uk

This 4 year PhD project will start on 22/09/2025. The studentship will cover full tuition fees at the Home student rate and a maintenance grant, starting at the UKRI minimum of £19,237 pa which may increase with indexation each year. The Studentship also comes with access to additional funding in the form of a research training support grant which is available to fund conference attendance, fieldwork, secondments, etc.

Funding for this RAINZ studentship is provided by EPSRC and BP.

This studentship is offered by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence for Net Zero (RAINZ CDT) which is a partnership between three of the UKs leading universities (University of Manchester, University of Glasgow and University of Oxford).

Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) is an essential enabling technology for the Net Zero transition in the UK’s energy sector. However, significant technological and cultural barriers are limiting its effectiveness. Overcoming these barriers is a key target of this CDT. The focus of the CDT’s research projects will be how RAS can be used for the inspection, maintenance, and repair of new infrastructure in renewables (wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, hydrogen) and nuclear (fission and fusion), and to support the decarbonization of existing maintenance and decommissioning of assets.

RAINZ_CDT

Year 1: You will spend the first year of the CDT at the University of Manchester undertaking taught MSc studies and research training. You must achieve an average of 65% or higher in your MSc taught assessments to be considered for progression to the PhD studies.

Note: you will not graduate with an MSc. If you meet the progression criteria, you will transition directly onto the PhD.

Years 2 – 4: You will move to your host institute to undertake your PhD research, which will be complimented with a comprehensive cohort training and employability development programme.

About this Project

Year 1 MSc Course: MSc Communications and Signal Processing

Year 2 – 4 PhD Location: University of Glasgow

The increased utilisation of interconnected groupings of robots to perform complex, collaborative tasks has revolutionised industries, from manufacturing to remote exploration. This increase is due to various factors including reduced hardware costs, the development of real-time and embedded technologies and widespread acceptance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its many forms. In addition, the rise of autonomous operation of trustworthy collaborative robotic systems poses significant technical challenges regarding high-fidelity synchronisation and connectivity, where even small delays or interruptions in communications can lead to inefficiencies in degraded performance or system failures.

As well as ensuring multi-agent, autonomous systems are designed to satisfy their specified operational requirements safely and reliably, these systems must be sustainable and resource-resilient and have minimal impact on their immediate environment. These are essential considerations for any cyber-physical robotic system in that they define its carbon neutrality.

Applicants should have a First or strong Upper Second-class honours degree (2:1 with 65% average), or international equivalent, in Engineering with evidence of previous study in communication and signal processing engineering fundamentals.

Applications should be made through the RAINZ CDT website: www.rainz-cdt.ac.uk. Informal enquiries can be made by emailing rainz@manchester.ac.uk. 

Advert information