Ten TU Delft scientists in AI, data and digitalisation receive Veni and Vidi grants
This week, talent development in AI, data and digitalisation received a major boost from the NWO Talent Programme. Ten talented Delft researchers active in these research areas received a Veni grant (250,000 euros, intended to further develop their own research ideas) or a Vidi grant (800,000 euros to develop their own innovative line of research and set up a research group) from this programme. AI, data and digitisation is a rapidly growing field of research in which these scientific talents from Delft will further strengthen the position and scientific progress of the Netherlands and Europe in this field.
These Delft laureates are:
Vidi
Vidi
Forecasting safe operating envelopes for autonomous robots
Dr. C.C. de Visser
In the near future, robots will play an important role in our daily lives, but only if they are safe. Researchers will develop a new system that gives robots an awareness of their physical limitations, even after failures. This will allow robots to safely recover from dangerous situations.
Veni
HARMONIA: Trustworthy Mobile Robotics
Dr. L. Ferranti
Imagine having automated cars, drones, boats, etc. in our cities equipped with an on-board technology that allows them to interact with each other near us without harming our safety, security, and privacy. With HARMONIA, I will devise this technology to enable Trustworthy Mobile Robotics in the real world.
Widely available sensors help us find our way indoors
Dr. ir. drs. M. Kok
While GPS helps to find our way outdoors, there is not yet a generally available technology that does so indoors. This research develops a new methodology to use sensors that are available in any smartphone for three-dimensional positioning by combining measurements of our movement and of the magnetic field.
(To) correct compensation
Dr. ir. E. van der Kruk
Ageing and (neuro)muscular disease lead to structural changes in the body. Incorrect or insufficient compensation for these changes lead to movement limitations and faster decline. Timely intervention such as training and aids, can mitigate movement impairments. Therefore, the researcher develops individualized computer simulations that predict what movement limitations might arise.
Trustworthy programming languages for trustworthy software
Dr. J. Cockx
Computers are omnipresent, and the correctness of software running on them is of crucial importance. Certain programming languages can guarantee correctness of software, but are these languages themselves correct? This project aims to develop a small but trustworthy core language that can check the correctness of the programming language itself.
Enabling accurate computer simulations by developing the mathematics of splines
Dr. ir. D. Toshniwal
Computer simulations are vital for predicting the behaviour of complex physical processes, and they help make critical decisions in science. Highly-accurate simulations are carried out with the help of mathematical functions called “splines”. This research will establish mathematical guarantees for understanding and efficiently utilizing splines in 3D simulations.
CrowdIT Space: design and impact assessment of IT-based crowd management solutions for pedestrian spaces
Dr. ir. D.C. Duives
(Semi-)automated IT-based crowd management systems can improve the safety of crowded pedestrian spaces provided that one can quantify and model the impact of crowd management measures on the movement and choice behaviour of pedestrians. This study researches and models the impact of several IT-based crowd management systems using field studies.
Designing for the future: improving technological and policy decision-making for sustainable aviation
Dr. I.C. Dedoussi
When designing future aircraft, engines, and environmental policies, we disregard that these pertain to a future world, with different pollution levels and climate. This project assesses the effects that these future conditions have on aviation’s air pollution impact and enables their inclusion in decision-making for sustainable aviation.
Autonomous drones flocking for search-and-rescue
Dr. A. Jamshidnejad
I will create autonomous search-and-rescue drones that perform optimally in situations that are dangerous for firefighters. Optimal performance and autonomous decision-making in uncertain situations are open challenges of search-and-rescue drones, which I will address by developing mission-planning systems based on an innovative integration of stochastic optimal control and artificial intelligence.
Modeling Solid-State Batteries, creating a multiscale bridge between computations and experiments for superior electrochemical storage
Dr. ir. A. Vasileiadis
Realizing non-flammable Solid-State-Batteries is expected to revolutionize safety and performance parameters as demanded for mobile applications, however, this is hindered by poor solid-solid interface compatibility. Through a multiscale computational approach this research will simulate the solid electrolyte electrode interfaces, aiming to develop decisive fundamental knowledge and design strategies for superior Solid-State-Batteries.