Embedded Systems and autonomous UAVs

Short Description

Sensors and related technologies have enjoyed considerable success, as demonstrated by the increasing number of “smart” devices in use. From bracelets to glasses, from smartphones to smart shoes, from smart devices in home automation to professional healthcare systems, the commercial success of these smart objects is the result of vast improvements in electronics that has led to an increase in performance, while reducing the operational power as well as by the availability of ubiquitous wireless connectivity. The clear trend is toward billions of smart sensors, in the “Internet of Things” (IoT) vision. In fact, IoT creates formidable challenges for academic and industrial research. In particular, these billions of smart devices with sensors will produce a mind-boggling quantity of data that need to be processed to provide useful information. In fact, the data by themselves are not able to provide value unless they are not processed. Big-data mining techniques allow us to gain new insights by batch-processing and off-line analysis. However, this is not sufficient: in-situ real-time feature extraction, analysis, classification, and local decision-making are essential for a truly scalable and robust IoT infrastructure.

Machine learning technologies are extensively used with great success in many application domains to solve real-world problems in entertainment e-health, automatic surveillance, assisted living, and assistant driving among many others. More and more researchers are tackling classification and decision-making problems with the help of brain-inspired algorithms (i.e. neural network or convolutional neural network), featuring many stages of feature extractors and classifiers with lots of parameters that are optimized using the unprecedented wealth of training data that is currently available. These brain-inspired techniques are also known as multi-layer neural networks. In recent years, neural network has achieved results that exceed those achieved by humans on very challenging problems and datasets, and routinely surpass more mature ad hoc approaches. Neural network algorithms are extremely flexible and applicable to various data sources. They perform at best when information is spatially or temporally well localized, but still has to be seen in a more global context. However, neural networks approaches are still not suitable for wearable, ultra-miniaturized IoT devices, because, in their current embodiments, they require massive amounts of computational power.

Many of them are in collaboration with Swiss's companies that are interested in IoT and especially autonomous sensing systems. The following projects focus on processing data with machine learning on low power single-core microcontrollers (i.e. Arm-Cortex-M family) or MultiCore (i.e. PULP Processor designed in IIS)

Depending on the applicant's profile and project type, his tasks may involve some of the following:

• lab. testing/characterization of the existing prototype: verification of the prototype's characteristics w.r. design specification (simulations), measuring power-consumption, and assessing detection performance in lab. Conditions
• High-level software programming, machine learning, wireless communication
• Programming the circuit for specific applications, field testing, data acquisition
• Designing PCB with micro-controllers, wireless interfaces, energy harvesting and sensors and test on the field.
• Firmware implementation for low power and application.
• Analog/digital design using discrete components.

Prerequisites

(not all need to be met by the single candidate)

• Experience using the laboratory instrumentation - signal generators, oscilloscopes, DAQ cards, Matlab etc.
• analog electronics and signal conditioning with operational amplifiers: amplifiers, filters, integrators etc.
• knowledge of microcontroller programming and PC programming (C/C++, preferably microcontroller with Bluetooth Low Energy but it is not mandatory)
• basic knowledge on signal processing is a plus.
• plus is knowledge on printed circuit board (PCB) using Altium.

For a complete list of many cool projects please go to the following links

Available Projects

• Event-based navigation on autonomous nano-drones
• A Novel Execution Scheme for Ultra-tiny CNNs Aboard Nano-UAVs
• Improved Collision Avoidance for Nano-drones
• Deep Learning-based Global Local Planner for Autonomous Nano-drones
• Monocular Vision-based Object Following on Nano-size Robotic Blimp
• A Waypoint-based Navigation System for Nano-Size UAVs in GPS-denied Environments
• Covariant Feature Detector on Parallel Ultra Low Power Architecture

• Skin Coupling Media Characterization For Fitness Tracker Applications (1 B/S)
• Integrating Ultrasound Technology into a Fitness Tracking Device (1M, 2 B/S)
• Testbed Design for Self-sustainable IoT Sensors
• Towards Flexible and Printable Wearables
• Modular Distributed Data Collection Platform
• Smart Goggles for Visual In-Action Feedback in Ski Jumping (1 M 1-2B/S)
• Wireless In Action Data Streaming in Ski Jumping (1 B/S)
• Object Detection and Tracking on the Edge
• Design of a Low Power Smart Sensing Multi-modal Vision Platform
• Design of a High-​performance Hybrid PTZ for Multimodal Vision Systems
• BirdGuard
• ML based Quantitative Movement Analysis on a Portable IoT Camera (1-2S/B)
• Multisensory system for performance analysis in ski jumping (M/1-2S/B)
• Short Range Radars For Biomedical Application
• Smart Patch For Heath Care And Rehabilitation
• Autonomus Drones With Novel Sensors And Ultra Wide Band
• Real-Time Motor-Imagery Classification Using Neuromorphic Processor
• Pressure and acoustic Smart Sensors Network for Wind Turbines Monitoring
• Design Of A Biomarker Assay Based On Responsive Magnetic Nanoparticles
• High-throughput Embedded System For Neurotechnology in collaboration with INI
• Neuromorphic Intelligence In An Embedded System in Collaboration with AiCTX
• Adversarial Attacks Against Deep Neural Networks In Wearable Cameras
• Wearable Smart Camera With Deep Learning Algorithms For Automatic Detecion
• Energy Efficient Smart Devices For Construction Building Maintenance Hilti Collaboration
• Improving Cold-Start in Batteryless And Energy Harvesting Systems
• Edge Computing for Long-Term Wearable Biomedical Systems
• Optogenetics And Game Theory Applied To Small Side Bird Using Smart Sensing
• Wireless Sensing With Long Range Comminication (LoRa)
• Indoor Smart Tracking of Hospital instrumentation
• A Wearable Wireless Kidney Function Monitoring System For BioMedical Applications
• Embedded Gesture Recognition Using Novel Mini Radar Sensors
• Contextual Intelligence on Resource-constraint Bluetooth LE IoT Devices
• An Industrial-grade Bluetooth LE Mesh Network Solution
• BLISS - Battery-Less Identification System for Security
• Zero Power Touch Sensor and Reciever For Body Communication
• Wake Up Radio For Energy Efficient Communication System and IC Design
• A Wireless Sensor Network for HPC monitoring
• Low Power One bit Microphone for Acoustic Imaging Using A Parallel Processor
• Low Power Geolocalization And Indoor Localization
• Autonomous Sensors For Underwater Monitoring In Smart Navy Systems
• Smart Wearable System For Vital Sign Monitoring Exploiting On Board and Cloud Machine Learning
• Radio Signal Direction Detection For Smart Glasses For Augmented Reality Applications
• A Wearable System To Control Phone And Electronic Device Without Hands
• Towards The Integration of E-skin into Prosthetic Devices
• Using Motion Sensors to Support Indoor Localization
• Low Power Neural Network For Multi Sensors Wearable Devices
• Kinetic Energy Harvesting For Autonomous Smart Watches

• Testbed Design for Self-sustainable IoT Sensors
• Towards Flexible and Printable Wearables
• Modular Distributed Data Collection Platform
• Object Detection and Tracking on the Edge
• Design of a Low Power Smart Sensing Multi-modal Vision Platform
• Design of a High-​performance Hybrid PTZ for Multimodal Vision Systems
• Short Range Radars For Biomedical Application
• Smart Patch For Heath Care And Rehabilitation
• Autonomus Drones With Novel Sensors And Ultra Wide Band
• Real-Time Motor-Imagery Classification Using Neuromorphic Processor
• Pressure and acoustic Smart Sensors Network for Wind Turbines Monitoring
• Design Of A Biomarker Assay Based On Responsive Magnetic Nanoparticles
• High-throughput Embedded System For Neurotechnology in collaboration with INI
• Neuromorphic Intelligence In An Embedded System in Collaboration with AiCTX
• Adversarial Attacks Against Deep Neural Networks In Wearable Cameras
• Wearable Smart Camera With Deep Learning Algorithms For Automatic Detecion
• Energy Efficient Smart Devices For Construction Building Maintenance Hilti Collaboration
• Improving Cold-Start in Batteryless And Energy Harvesting Systems
• Edge Computing for Long-Term Wearable Biomedical Systems
• Optogenetics And Game Theory Applied To Small Side Bird Using Smart Sensing
• Wireless Sensing With Long Range Comminication (LoRa)
• Indoor Smart Tracking of Hospital instrumentation
• A Wearable Wireless Kidney Function Monitoring System For BioMedical Applications
• Embedded Gesture Recognition Using Novel Mini Radar Sensors
• Contextual Intelligence on Resource-constraint Bluetooth LE IoT Devices