PhD position available in Systems and Control Theory

at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)

Keywords: piecewise affine systems, MPC, low complexity control, embedded control systems.
A new EU project called MOBY-DIC (Model-based synthesis of digital electronic circuits for embedded control)
will commence in December in which the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) will participate. The persons
involved from TU/e are Dr. Maurice Heemels and Dr. Mircea Lazar. Other partners are the universities of Genoa
(Italy), Siena (Italy) and Seville (Spain), and the companies Ford (German) and ON Semiconductors (Belgium).
Piecewise affine paradigm: a bridge between control and circuit design
The goal of MOBY-DIC is to develop a highly automated design flow for embedded controllers that is based on
piecewise affine (PWA) control. On the one hand the control community developed many analysis and design
methods (based on e.g. model predictive control or LMIs) to obtain (optimal) PWA control laws. On the other hand,
various techniques exist to create circuit implementations of special (canonical)
PWA profiles. However, the circuit and electronics community and the control
community have developed over the last decades as disjointed research disciplines.
This gap between the disciplines forms a major obstacle in harvesting the potential
that is present in the piecewise-affine framework for embedded control design.
MOBY-DIC will bridge this gap by unifying these research disciplines. This will
lead to the development of a complete design flow, based on the piecewise affine
paradigm, for the automatic creation of embedded controllers without the need for an intermediate error-prone
(human) software engineering phase as often used in industrial practice.
The role of the TU/e is the circuit-oriented control design, i.e. on providing systematic analysis/synthesis methods
for implementation-aware PWA controllers. Automatic synthesis techniques are developed that create, based on a
mathematical model of the control problem at hand, controllers in canonical PWA forms that are suitable for circuit
implementation. The key feature of these novel synthesis methods is the possibility of balancing implementation
complexity (size, power usage, complexity of circuit) vs. closed-loop performance. For instance, one objective is to
design the optimal controller with a given implementation complexity (e.g. a given number of a regions). The
theoretical developments will be tested on case studies provided by the industrial partners.
We are looking for a candidate with a background in systems and control theory and/or mathematics (e.g.
computational geometry, set theory, geometric methods for discrete dynamical systems, polytopes, etc.) with an
interest to work on mathematical and fundamental problem in piecewise affine and hybrid control systems (e.g.
model predictive control, Lyapunov-based design methods) with an eye towards the circuit-implementation
aspects of the controllers. The candidate should have a M.Sc. degree with excellent communication and writing
skills in English and an attitude to collaborate in an international project such as MOBY-DIC.
We offer:
a challenging job in the enthusiast and ambitious Dynamics and Control Technology of TU/e full of
young and international researchers (www.dct.tue.nl);
full-time employment for 4 years, with an intermediate evaluation after 1 year;
salary of 2042 per month (gross) in the first year, increasing to 2612 per month (gross) in the fourth year.
Moreover, 8% holiday allowance is provided annually;
assistance for finding accommodation and attractive secondary labor conditions (including excellent work
facilities, child care, excellent sport facilities).
To apply:
If you are interested in this PhD position, please send by email (m.heemels@tue.nl and m.lazar@tue.nl) a detailed
curriculum vitae, an explanation of your interest in the proposed research topic, a publication list, your course
programme and corresponding grades, references and all other information that might help us to select you for the
position!