PhD in first-time-right design tools for multi-optics imaging systems

PhD in first-time-right design tools for multi-optics imaging systems

Category: PhD

1 - Working at the VUB

For more than 50 years, the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has stood for freedom, equality and solidarity, and this is very much alive on our campuses among students and staff alike.

At the VUB, you will find a diverse collection of personalities: innovators pur sang, but above all people who are 100% their authentic selves. With some 4,000 employees, we are the largest Dutch-speaking employer, in the private sector, in Brussels; an international city with which we are only too happy to connect and where (around) our 4 campuses are located.

Add to this our principle of free research - in which self-reflection, a critical attitude and an open, creative mind around scientific and social issues are central - and you have a university that is fundamentally groundbreaking and pioneering in education and research. In short: the VUB all over again.

Moreover, the VUB is a member of EUTOPIA, an alliance of like-minded European universities, all ready to reinvent themselves.

The Faculty of Engineering, Department Toegepaste natuurkunde en fotonica, Research Group Brussels Photonics is looking for a PhD‑student with a doctoral grant.

The PhD project focuses on the development of first‑time‑right design tools for multi‑optics imaging systems, to be implemented in harsh condition vision applications.

In modern perception, navigation and quality inspection applications, the demand for advanced optical vision systems has grown significantly. Current state‑of‑the‑art vision systems face three main technological barriers: operation within a limited spectral range, with a limited dynamic range or polarization diversity. Operation in harsh conditions or challenging environments is therefore often very challenging.

In this PhD, you will contribute to research that explores how to design compact, cost‑effective and robust multi‑optics imaging systems (i.e. combining multiple optical channels onto a single sensor) which can address these issues. The goal is to create a flexible toolbox for designing such multi‑optics, broadband imaging systems and to develop a methodology to assemble optical modules with high dynamic range, multi‑polarization and spectrally broadband imaging capabilities. These novel multi‑optics vision systems will be validated on generic use cases in product inspection and navigation. You will also closely collaborate with researchers taking care of establishing an AI‑based image and video processing pipeline dedicated to these novel multi‑optics systems.

This PhD research is embedded in the project HARMONY_SBO, funded by Flanders Make, the Flemish strategic research center for the manufacturing industry. Several companies are involved in the user group of the project. The goal of this strategic basic research project with 48 month duration is to design harsh‑condition aware robust multi‑optics imaging systems and validate them in product inspection and navigation applications. As a PhD researcher, you will work in an interdisciplinary team of optical engineers, system engineers and AI researchers, with access to state‑of‑the‑art simulation tools, design software, and prototyping infrastructure.

You will join the Brussels Photonics (B-PHOT) large research group of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Belgium, www.b-phot.org. Chaired by Prof. H. Thienpont, the team composed of more than 45 internationally recognized researchers is widely known for its work in fundamental and applied photonics research covering the entire research cycle from modelling and fabrication, to characterization and proof‑of‑concept demonstration. In the last 20 years, the group has built significant expertise in the field of "first‑time‑right" design of freeform‑optics‑based optical systems for various practical and industrial applications. You will therefore have the opportunity to contribute to the field in a multidisciplinary setting.

For this function, our Brussels Humanities, Sciences & Engineering Campus (Elsene) will serve as your home base.

3 - Profile

What do we expect from you?

• Knowledge about photonics and optical design is required; knowledge of opto‑mechanics, polarization filtering or spectral filtering is a strong plus;
• Good knowledge of numerical techniques and advanced computational simulation methods, in particular ray‑tracing, is required;
• Good programming skills are a strong plus. Experience with Python or a similar languages and AI‑based tools is a plus;
• Knowledge of CAD/CAE is a plus but no strict requirement;
• You are expected to have interest in working on the interface between photonics, engineering and data‑driven design;
• You are expec