Research Opportunities at the College of Engineering & Built Environment

Self Funded Opportunities

Research at the College of Engineering & Built Environment focuses on the following six areas:

ICT including Antenna & HF Research, Design and Applications, Photonics (Optical Sensing and Communications), Wireless Communications, DSP: Audio & Speech Processing, Bio-imaging and Computer Vision Systems, Cryptology, Information Security,
Materials Characterization (Elastomers and Smart Materials)
Environmental Sustainability including Energy & Transport
Biomedical Engineering, Assistive Technologies & Health Informatics
Enabling - Numerical Modelling and Simulation
Emerging - Engineering Education

We are currently looking for self-funded applications for the projects listed below. If you are interested in sending your application to us, please click here.

1. Development of Live ExoProsthesis in Canines

Name of Supervisor(s): Michael Ring, michael.ring@dit.ie, Dr. Glyn Heath of Salford University and Professor John Innes of the University of Liverpool

Project Description: There are an estimated 10 million human amputees worldwide. Prosthetic limbs have been developed in various forms to aid amputees in rehabilitation. The aim of prostheses is to replace, as well as possible, the function and normal appearance lost by amputation. Previous research in universities and companies in Ireland and the UK has focused on the development of effective prostheses for small animals. Significant progress has been made recently - most notably, the authors have adapted a recent invention for fixation of human digit prostheses, for use in small animals. However, a reliable working mechanism for a prosthesis that acts in a similar manner to the original live limb remains an elusive goal. This research aims to bring together the current approaches and leverage DIT’s expertise in mechanism design and stress analysis to design, analyze and manufacture prototypes of an actively controlled exoprosthesis which will work in conjunction with the previously developed attachment system. Various designs will be produced for the front or hind limbs of a canine and will aim to act in a similar manner to the original live limb. Testing will be performed on various prototypes evaluating their performance under various dynamic conditions. This work will be carried out in conjunction with Doctor Noel Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick Orthopedic/Neurology Referrals, Dr. Glyn Heath of Salford University and Professor John Innes of the University of Liverpool.

Subject Area: Biomedical Engineering

2. Modelling and Design of Process for Producing Waste Derived Synthetic Aggregate

Name of Supervisor(s): Dr. Mick Mc Keever; mick.mckeever@dit.ie

Project Description: The objective of this project is to design a new type of processing technology to manufacture aggregate from waste by integrating control and automation directly into the system. The energy consumption of the process will be improved by using modelling and control techniques to capture waste heat and distribute it back into the process efficiently. Two main skills are required to conduct this project. The first is a good understanding of heat transfer and associated mathematical modelling techniques. The second skill required is an understanding of process control and automation. This project is broken into three parts. The first stage is to design a steady state model of the system to size system components, operating ranges and energy efficiency. The second stage of the project is to design a dynamic simulation model of the system capable of modelling the system during start-up and operating mode to model system thermal behaviour. The third part of the project examines the performance of the process operating using closed loop control to optimise the systems performance. The project model will be implemented using Matlab, Simulink, and Comsol Multiphysics and requires an in depth knowledge of these packages

Subject Area: Environmental Sustainability

Profile of Candidate to Be Recruited: The successful candidate should possess an Honours Degree at 2.1 classification or higher in one of the following disciplines, but must equally show an interest in and an aptitude for the research project. Graduate from the following disciplines will be considered: Electrical Engineering (Control Systems and Systems Modelling and Computing), Mechanical Engineering (Control and Modelling and Heat Transfer), Chemical Engineering (Process control and Computing), Physics Graduate (Thermodynamics and Heat transfer and Computing).Student should have a good knowledge of mathematics and computer control systems, computer modelling and simulation. It would be an advantage to have a good understanding of Matlab and Simulink and a further advantage to know Comsol Multiphysics.

3. A New Stirling Engine for Sustainability

Name of Supervisor(s): Prof. Jim McGovern; jim.mcgovern@dit.ie

Project Description: The purpose of this project will be to develop a new Stirling Engine configuration and design for sustainable-energy-use applications in areas ranging from concentrating solar collectors to power or transport applications using bio-fuels to combined heat and power or even combined heat, power and cooling. The project will build on research that has been undertaken by a previous postgraduate researcher and will involve international collaboration. The basis for developing a new configuration and design will be comprehensive and rigorous modelling of the cycle and of all processes and components of the engine. Virtual construction and performance evaluation of the proposed design and configuration will be a cornerstone of the project. It is hoped that project collaborators in other institutes will support this activity in the areas of experimentation, component or engine testing and the development of implementable models for various processes or subsystems. The further-development of existing collaboration will also be a task of the research student. Papers will be published at international conferences and in peer-reviewed journals. It is also intended to identify patentable concepts suitable for commercial spin-off.

Subject Area: Environmental Sustainability - Energy

Profile of Candidate to Be Recruited: A first class honours or second class grade 1 degree in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related discipline will be required. A strong aptitude for mathematics and for programming will be required: Wolfram Mathematica will be the main tool for analysis and modelling. Excellent knowledge of Thermodynamics and of Heat Transfer will be expected. An aptitude for visualisation in three dimensions and solid modelling will be necessary as it is intended to construct and fully analyse a solid model of the engine. Lastly, the candidate should have good ability for experimentation and excellent writing skills in English.

4. An intelligent sensor system to enhance therapeutic exercise programmes for osteoarthritis and facilitate monitoring of patient performance

Name of Supervisor(s): Dr Graham Gavin; graham.gavin@dit.ie, Dr. James Condron, Dr Ted Burke

Project Description: Worldwide, it is estimated that 10% of men and 18% of women aged over 60 years have symptomatic osteoarthritis. It is second only to cardiovascular disease as a cause of disability in the elderly in the western world. The hip is the joint most commonly affected, after the knee, with a prevalence of 5% in the over-60 year olds in the United States. The number of people with disability due to osteoarthritis is expected to double by the year 2020 and as the population ages the requirement for hip replacement could increase by at least 40% in the next three decades. The long-term success of hip and knee replacement surgery is determined by a number of factors including pre-operative issues and surgical factors. Another important component is post-operative rehabilitation and physiotherapy management. This project proposes the development of a physiotherapy aid, consisting of wearable sensor technology and motion analysis software, primarily for the hip and knee. It is envisaged that this system would have a dual role. Firstly, it would facilitate a controlled exercise programme for individuals with osteoarthritis (either a general therapeutic programme or one specific to arthroplasty). Secondly, it would allow movement irregularities (e.g. asymmetrical gait) to be monitored over time, facilitating early detection of problems and timely medical or therapeutic intervention. Before and after hip replacement surgery, patients are directed to follow a targeted exercise regime, typically under the direction of a physiotherapist. Ongoing compliance is dependent upon the patient since a physiotherapist cannot be present each time the exercises need to be performed. The proposed wearable sensor system could provide feedback to the patient to help them perform the required actions correctly. Information can also be relayed to a physiotherapist at a remote location to allow them to monitor the patient's compliance and condition (e.g. degree of movement) over time.

Subject Area: Biomedical Engineering & Assistive Technologies

Profile of Candidate to Be Recruited: The candidate should be a graduate of biomedical, mechanical or electronic engineering or science, ideally with some experience in the biomedical area.

5. Auto-Charge

Name of Supervisor(s): Tom Corrigan; tom.corrigan@dit.ie, Roisin Byrne

Project Description: In November 2008, the Green Party's Energy Minister (Eamon Ryan) and the Transport Minister (Noel Dempsey) set out the Government's plans for the mass deployment of electric vehicles in Ireland. The Government has set a target of 10% of all vehicles in the transport fleet to be powered by electricity by 2020. This will represent some 250,000 cars on Irish roads over the next 12 years. Electric vehicles are central to the government’s strategic plan and will underpin the reduction of Ireland’s fossil fuel bill and help meet climate change challenges. Importantly, they will bring major investment and jobs to Ireland as we become a centre for electric vehicles. This plan will stimulate the motor, electricity and green technology industries and will help the economy to recover from its current economic state. According to a report by NCB (National City Brokers) there will be in the region of 3.3 million cars on the road in Ireland by 2020, meaning that the governments target of 10% would equate to 330,000 cars alone; not including trucks, buses, motorbikes etc . Substantial research has been undertaken by the motor industry (e.g. Renault-Nissan) to ensure the introduction of electric vehicles on the market. One constantly changing factor is the battery technology of these vehicles in terms of the range that a battery can provide and the speed at which it can charge and store energy. In order to accommodate this growing electric vehicle market, the necessary infrastructure must be developed and put in place for charging electric vehicles in public places in Ireland. There is a number of charging stations currently on the market, particularly in France and the US, but there are safety and security issues associated to those designs as well as their unsuitability for the Irish electricity grid system. Therefore, the aim of this proposed ABBEST Scholarship will be for the postgraduate student to develop: a more robust mechanical design for a charging station which would be suited to the Irish electricity grid system and minimise vulnerability to damage by by-pass traffic and by criminal attacks. The newly developed charging station would have an advanced reliable charge- point web-based network architecture designed for the benefit of Irish subscribers (both of private cars and commercial vehicles) and suited to the Irish utility.

Subject Area: Environmental Sustainability - Transport

Profile of Candidate to Be Recruited: should have an honours degree (2.1 or higher) in Transport Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and/or other suitable discipline; Have experience in product design; Have knowledge of national and international energy practices, policies and regulations; Possess experience in disseminating outcomes and results of research; Be familiar with DIT, national and international research policies and schemes; Be familiar with DIT core areas of research activities/strengths. Possess strong communication skills and have experience in overseeing detailed research projects; Capable of using his/her own initiative; A flexible approach, good priority setting skills, and the ability to deal with multiple tasks when required. Computer literature.

6. Touch/Talk, Design and Development of an Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC)

Name of Supervisor(s): Bernard Timmins, bernard.timmins@dit.ie, Dr. Gary Bargary of University of Cambridge, Ms. Siobhan Long, Dr. Fiona Timmins of Trinity College Dublin

Project Description: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) are structures, methods and devices used to assist people with communication challenges. The influence of economies of scale leads to AAC devices designed for multiple uses. Thus a gap exists between user need and device capability. This is a major contributing factor to a 30% abandonment rate of AAC devices. In an attempt to address these gaps Enable Ireland’s National Assistive Technology Training Service and DIT’s Department of Applied Technology have conceived a design for a Speech Generated Device (SGD) (“Touch/Talk”) that is user configurable and will communicate expressive terms in appropriate tones. The latter consists of a durable casing holding an off the shelf handheld PC. Control of this will be through a unique input device; designed to provide for a variety of inputs from single switch to multiple inputs such as a mouse or joystick. SGD solutions are high tech and have low sales thus leading to high cost (approx €20,000). This project aims to analyse Touch+Talk a low cost, generic, and user configured solution contrary to high cost, high abandonment rate devices on the market. The project has already received positive reviews from customers and in the national media and conferences.

Subject Area: Assistive Technologies

7. Stochastic Analysis of Residential Energy Balances and Economic Performances

Name of Supervisor(s): Dr Colin Caprani, colin.caprani@dit.ie, Dr Aidan Duffy

Project Description: Ireland is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33% by 2020. Residential energy consumption accounts for one quarter of national emissions. Therefore significant reductions must be made from existing housing. One major policy option is the widespread introduction of renewable energy systems (RES) which generate heat and power. The uptake of RES technologies is inhibited because existing energy assessment tools do not allow occupants or designers to accurately assess the performance of RES in individual dwellings. Instead, they use aggregated deterministic models of RES technologies and demand. This also hinders policymakers since there is not sufficient information to target initiatives at particular domestic subsectors. This research will build stochastic energy balance and economic performance models for RES and demand patterns. Demand and supply profiles with limited data will be statistically characterized and used, together with energy balance models, to derive probability distributions of key dependent variables allowing RES better appraisal and informing policymakers. The work builds on the Dublin Energy Laboratory’s Energy Policy in Domestic Dwellings project (Stand III), EFONET (FP7), and other research projects. It is interdisciplinary, industry-focused and will help the participants to develop the academic track record in Energy research to apply for large-scale research funding.

Subject Area: Environmental Sustainability – Energy

Profile of Candidate to Be Recruited: The student to be recruited will have received a First Class Honours Degree in Civil/Structural Engineering or a related field. Candidates with a high Second Class Honours Degree may also be considered. Candidates are expected to have a skill set appropriate and readily applicable to the problem. In particular, candidates should be proficient at numerical computation and have a working knowledge of basic statistics. Personally, the candidate will have demonstrated a commitment to engineering excellence, initiative and an ability to work alone, and a keen desire to solve complex problems

8. The Governing Form of Traffic for Highway Bridge Loading

Name of Supervisor(s): Dr Colin Caprani, colin.caprani@dit.ie, Prof. Eugene O’Brien of University College Dublin.

Project Description: Highway infrastructure is subject to degradation over the course of its design life, just as its traffic and freight volumes increase year on year. Consequently, there is a substantial cost to society of maintaining such infrastructure. Whilst the strength of existing infrastructure can be assessed with reasonable accuracy, loading cannot be. Since the EU spends over €6 billion annually on bridge rehabilitation, there is the potential for large savings to be made through more accurate estimation of bridge loading. This work will build on the existing methods in the area to significantly increase the accuracy with which bridge loading can be assessed. To further the state of the art it is proposed to adopt micro-simulation traffic models generally used to predict traffic flow in cities, around proposed developments and other such applications. Critically, congested and free-flowing traffic can occur naturally within this modelling framework. This means that both congested and free-flowing loading scenarios are accounted for; something not previously done for bridge loading. The result of this increase in accuracy of load estimation will be a reduction in the replacement and rehabilitation requirements for infrastructure. Consequent savings across Europe are thereby potentially billions of euro annually.

Subject Area: Environmental Sustainability – Transport

9. Image based Predictive Measurement of Solar Irradiance to Control a Solar Collector

Name of Supervisor(s): Dr. Mick Mc Keever, mick.mckeever@dit.ie, Dr. Jane Courtney, Dr. Sarah Mc Cormack

Project Description: The objective of this project is to use predictive measurements of solar energy levels to control a solar collector. The collector is heated by solar energy. Collector energy is transferred to a storage tank by circulating liquid through the internal piping in the collector. An automatic control system regulates the flow of liquid between the collector and tank. At steady state, energy transferred to the circulation liquid is equal to absorbed solar energy. Changing solar orientation, or clouding, affects steady state conditions and the controller may have difficulty tracking sudden energy level changes. One solution is to predict future changes in solar energy levels shortly before they occur and take corrective action to smooth the transition between steady state levels. Computer vision techniques will be used to extract information about the field of vision of the solar collector and will be used to gather data on sun position, tracking of clouds and future solar energy levels. Modelling and simulation will be used to design an automatic controller that incorporates solar energy level predictions. A dynamic model of the solar collector will be used to compare the relative improvement in performance of the solar collector using both controllers.

Subject Area: Environmental Sustainability – Energy

Profile of Candidate to Be Recruited: The successful candidate should possess an Honours Degree at 2.1 classification or higher in one of the following disciplines, but must equally show an interest in and an aptitude for the research project. Graduate from the following disciplines will be considered: Electrical Engineering (Control Systems and Systems Modelling and Computing), Mechanical Engineering (Control and Modelling and Heat Transfer), Chemical Engineering (Process control and Computing), Physics Graduate (Thermodynamics and Heat transfer and Computing), Mathematical Science Graduate (Modelling and Simulation and Computer Vision). Student should have a good knowledge of mathematics and computer control systems, computer modelling and simulation. It would be an advantage to have a good understanding of Matlab and Simulink.

10. Developing novel Assistive Technologies Based on Smart Spaces

Name of Supervisor(s): Ciaran O’Driscoll, ciaran.odriscoll@dit.ie, Dr. Fred Mtenzi, Prof. Gerald Farrel

Project Description: A smart space is a pseudo intelligent area that can reconfigure itself and its resources automatically based on predefined profiles for specific users. This can be done using a predefined schedule or in an event-driven manner based on the arrival of specific individuals (O'Driscoll 2008)or the activation of certain devices. Pervasive availability of mobile devices and wireless networks has encouraged research in ubiquitous computing. In particular location awareness is a key issue for ubiquitous computing environments. Various types of spatial information constitute a significant aspect of a systems context, focusing on context-as-process rather than context-as-state (Coutaz et al 2002). This information can be used to configure a smart space to cater for the changing needs of the user (Tesoriero et al 2008). A variety of distributed and centralised technologies can be used to implement these smart spaces. This Ph.D. research proposes to extend Context Aware Smart Classroom into the area of assistive technologies and to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of different technologies to develop a novel framework to support developing assistive technology applications in the Home environment. This project will extend current research in the Ubiquitous Computing Research Group, (UCRG), http://www.csr.dit.ie/, of DIT, into data fusion and location aware mobility. UCRG, founded in 2005 by Ciaran O’Driscoll and Mark Deegan of the School of Computing, currently has 9 Ph.D. and 2 M.Phil. post-graduates.

Subject Area: Assistive Technologies, ICT

Profile of Candidate to Be Recruited: A suitable student will be knowledgeable in the area of computer engineering with an interest in education. There will be a need to work with a variety of different technologies such as LAN, WLAN, Bluetooth, RFID and have experience in programming in Java. Knowledge of data fusion techniques and their application would be desirable. Assistive technology theory and practise will be taught as part of the research programme

11. Chemical gas trace and electric field sensor based on a macrobending fiber structure

Name of Supervisor(s): Dr. Pengfei Wang, pengfei.wang@dit.ie, Dr. Yuliya Semenova, Prof. Gerald Farrell

Project Description: Optical fiber can be used in a number of ways as a sensing element. Fiber sensors offer advantages such as immunity to electromagnetic interference and ease of fabrication. Recently, a number of types of optical fiber sensors have been proposed for applications in growth areas for chemical gas trace utilizing fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and electric field sensing using micro-ring resonators on side-polished fiber. However, an FBG has the disadvantage that as the concentration of chemical gas trace is measured by estimating a small wavelength shift, the interrogation system to extract the displacement value is complex, while the micro-ring on side-polished fiber approach for electric field sensing also suffers from the complex fabrication process. This project will investigate the development of macrobending fiber based chemical gas trace and electric field sensor for applications in optical sensing, the approach offers the advantages of a much simpler configuration and ease for fabrication for the actual sensor by comparison to other technologies. The research will be carried out in the Photonics Research Centre at DIT. The successful applicant will also collaborate with the College of Electronics Science and Engineering of Jilin University (China), under the direction of Prof. Jie Zheng and Prof. Daming Zhang.

Subject Area: ICT, Photonics (Optical Sensing and Communications)

Profile of Candidate to Be Recruited: Minimum Requirements: A good honours graduate with a 2.I honours or better in Applied Physics or Electronic Engineering or a related discipline, along with exposure in their undergrad programme to optical fiber sensing or optoelectronics. Desirable: A Masters degree and some exposure to research and publication in the field of photonics, preferably in the areas of fiber optic sensors. These requirements are in keeping with the profile of the existing four Ph.D students in the Photonics Research Centre at DIT.

12. Personalising the online experience by building realistic humans

Name of Supervisor(s): Dr Jane Courtney, Jane.Courtney@dit.ie, Prof. Paul Whelan, DCU

Project Description: The face of the Internet is changing. Glimpses of its future can be seen in web applications today: in virtual worlds such as Second Life™ (which has grown to a population of 12.2 million since its launch in 2001), in online games such as World of Warcraft™ (which has grown to a population of over 10 million since its launch in 2004) and in the success of virtual dressing rooms such as My Virtual Model™. These applications share a common need – to help people form a virtual identity. This proposal introduces a technique to do just that. By building personalised 3D models or avatars, users will be able to experience virtual worlds, not as pre-defined cartoon-like characters, but as themselves. In existing avatar-building techniques, users are required to manually input their measurements. In this proposed project, these measurements will be acquired automatically from images of the user. The final design will be usable either as a plug-in to existing systems (virtual dressing rooms, games, virtual chat rooms, etc.) or as a stand-alone system. The resultant technique has many applications beyond the Internet in such fields as biomedical engineering, physiotherapy, crash testing, gaming, special effects, virtual surgery and many more.

Subject Area: ICT, Computer Vision Systems

Profile of Candidate to Be Recruited: The ideal candidate will hold an honours degree from a fully accredited honours degree-level computer science, electrical or electronic engineering course. The successful candidate should have programming experience, preferably in C, and an interest in the area of computer vision. Previous experience in vision systems would be a bonus but is not essential. The student should be independent and self-motivated with good communication skills.

Making an Application

If you are interested on one or more of the above projects, please fill out our application form available here.

For further information on current research opportunities in the College of Engineering & Built Environment, please contact

Dr. Marek Rebow

College Head of Research
T: 01 402 2970
E: marek.rebow@dit.ie

Research and Enterprise