PRR Project

Summary

The selected candidate will be integrated in the SoftCPS laboratory of ISEP (www.isep.ipp.pt/softcps), associated with the Computing for Embedded and Cyber-Physical Systems area of INESC TEC. SoftCPS team members have more than 25 years of research experience in the domain of embedded and cyber-physical systems, with a wide range of national and international activities.Within the laboratory, the hired PhD will be responsible for promoting research activities in the domain of embedded computing systems, in particular developing the research topic of advanced computing platforms for autonomous systems.Embedded systems are nowadays omnipresent in our environment, with applications as diverse as smart watches and automotive autonomous systems, air quality systems and renewable generation control. Their development went from the small-scale development of isolated embedded monitoring and control devices to the development of complex, connected, system of systems, integrating hardware, software, control and the physical processes. The emergence of the concept of Cyber-Physical Systems is a recognition of the interrelation between both computing and physical worlds, being a fundamental part of smart applications in domains such as manufacturing, smart cities, energy communities, transportation or health.However, the increase in the complexity of systems (and of systems of systems), the challenging requirements on high performance of autonomous systems, the dependability and cybersecurity requirements of cybers-physical systems, etc, are challenging the way embedded computing systems are developed. Software moved from centralized self-contained applications to distributed intelligent components, which requires both novel middleware and runtimes, as well as new and improved development approaches. Processor architectures moved from single-core to multi and many-core including heterogeneous accelerator devices such as GPUs, DSPs or FPGAs, requiring software to cope with concurrent and parallel synchronous and asynchronous computation.The emergence of connected autonomous systems introduced the need to develop software for a compute continuum which includes computation in highly heterogeneous devices, from small IoT platforms, to the cloud, but within a single software ecosystem. And, finally, the emergence of Edge AI; where AI components are considered not only in the applications executing on the Edge (AI on Edge), but, and as challenging, as enablers of more flexible and efficient Edge management (AI for Edge). The embedded infrastructure needs to become intelligent to support intelligent applications, whilst meeting requirements such as real-time, safety and security, using advanced hardware platforms and software frameworks.This research topic directly addresses the Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness Pillar of the Horizon Europe program. In particular, the research topics directly address several of the areas of the Digital, Industry and Space Cluster, specifically Key Digital Technologies, advanced computing, and next generation internet. In fact, the importance of activities for Cyber-Physical Systems is widely recognised, being an important part of the Chips JU Joint Undertaking, the European Public-Private Partnership for research, development and innovation (https://www.chips-ju.europa.eu/), and its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (https://ecssria.eu/), in which SoftCPS members are actively involved.Due to the technical challenges and application domains, activities are also aligned with the Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular the drive for more efficient and reliable computing systems, which are able to optimize smart applications in the targeted domains, are directly related to SDG #9 (tackling resilient infrastructures, foster innovation), but also #11 (safe, resilient and sustainable cities) and #7 (reliable, sustainable and modern energy).The candidate will be required to have a scientific profile aligned with this area of research, backed with recognized publications, and preferably with previous experience in preparing and leading external research funding activities, and teaching at master and doctoral level.The main activities of the hired researcher will include promoting research works advancing the state-of-the-art in advanced computing platforms for autonomous systems, working in collaboration with other professors and PhD researchers, supervise students’ doctoral and master thesis, and engage with industry partners to apply the scientific advances in real-world applications addressing current and future societal challenges. The researcher will be also involved in the development of the domain at ISEP, fostering the development of advanced curricula in the topics of work, bridging the research works to the Doctoral and Master programs at ISEP.