Opportunities

PhD Scholarship

Distributed mobile robotic systems for digital additive manufacturing in building construction

Supervisor: Ketao ZHANG
Applications open: 23 November 2022
Apply by: 31 January 2023

Description

Project Description

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a key technological revolution currently transforming the construction industry through 3D printing of buildings and building components, mainly due to the increasing need for productive and sustainable methods in the concrete construction industry. Digital systems for Additive Manufacturing (AM) in building construction have seen rapid developments, with transformations from lab experiments to residential and civil structures. This project aims to develop a novel 3D fabrication system consisting of multiple autonomous agents that can build, and assess built structures using onboard 3D vision systems. The research will further extend to effective human-machine collaboration for automated construction processes using on-site real-time digital twins of automatic processes in a mixed-reality construction environment. The cooperative robotics system developed in this project will enhance human operations in the digital manufacturing process through added autonomy, collaborative human-robot interaction and real-time adaptability using distributed intelligence. We have already demonstrated pilot results in 3D printing with autonomous systems and have developed swarm control strategies and behavioural trajectory control for 3D printing. These technologies will be integrated and co-developed to demonstrate the collective and digital in situ additive manufacturing system on construction sites. The project is strongly aligned with the UK Manufacturing Strategy and it addresses the societal need for affordable, sustainable, rapid and safe manufacturing of the built environment.

See our research webpages for further details:

  • https://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/research/groups/robotic-systems/research/
  • https://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/staff/ketao.zhang/research/

About the award

  • Level: PhD
  • Course: All PhDs in the Faculties of Science and Engineering
  • Country: China
  • Value: Full tuition fee waiver and living stipend (£1350/month) for 4 years

Funded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC)

Under the scheme, Queen Mary will provide scholarships to cover all tuition fees, whilst the CSC will provide living expenses and one return flight ticket to successful applicants. This scholarship is available to both new and continuing (current 1st year) students. Associate students who want to come to Queen Mary for 3-24 months are also able to apply.

Eligibility

  • The minimum requirement for this studentship opportunity is a good Honours degree (minimum 2(i) honours or equivalent) or MSc/MRes in a relevant discipline.
  • If English is not your first language, you will require a valid English certificate equivalent to IELTS 6.5+ overall with a minimum score of 6.0 in Writing and 5.5 in all sections (Reading, Listening, Speaking).
  • Candidates are expected to start from September 2023

Supervisor Contact Details

For informal enquiries about this position, please contact Dr Ketao Zhang: 

Apply

To apply for this studentship and for entry on to the PhD Full-time  Mechanical Engineering Semester 1 (September Start), please select the Mechanical Engineering research degree programme at https://www.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/subjects/engineering.html (Go to Apply online at the bottom of the page)

Please be sure to include a reference to ‘2023 SEMS + KZhang’ to associate your application with this studentship opportunity.

Funding

Funded by: China Scholarship Council
Candidate will need to secure a CSC scholarship.
Under the scheme, Queen Mary will provide scholarships to cover all tuition fees, whilst the CSC will provide living expenses and one return flight ticket to successful applicants.

Eligibility

  • The minimum requirement for this studentship opportunity is a good honours degree (minimum 2(i) honours or equivalent) or MSc/MRes in a relevant discipline.
  • If English is not your first language, you will require a valid English certificate equivalent to IELTS 6.5+ overall with a minimum score of 6.0 in Writing and 5.5 in all sections (Reading, Listening, Speaking).
  • Candidates are expected to start in (Semester ).

Contact

For informal enquiries about this opportunity, please contact Ketao ZHANG.

 

3. CONACyT/Colombian PhD studentships for entry in September 2023

The School of Engineering and Materials Science will be supporting a generous number of CONACyT PhD studentships for Mexican students wishing to commence studies from academic year 2022/23. 

For more details about this position and research project, please contact Dr Ketao Zhang
E-mail: ketao.zhang@qmul.ac.uk