The Wearable Technologies Lab (Prof. D. Roggen and Prof. R. Prance) at the University of Sussex (UK) is looking a Postdocoral Researcher to join our team to work on the research intensive project *Near-Field Capacitive Communication for Wearables*, based on our patented Electric Potential Sensor Technology.
Our focus is low-power, low-data rate (<1 Mbps) networking for wearable, mobile and ubiquitous Computing applications.
This project is funded by a large consumer electronics multinational active the mobile device and telecommunication sector. The project outcomes may be included in future generation wearable and mobile devices, for instance to transmit music from a mobile phone or smart watch to a pair of headphones.
This position is one of several opening in this area. It focuses on the analog communication, capacitive and electric potential sensing, and wearable, mobile, and ubiquitous computing applications aspects of this project.
Objectives
Your role will be to research, implement and evaluate various modulation and demodulation schemes in analog hardware (<100MHz) for electric-field body area networks. You will develop analog building blocks such as dedicated capacitive sensors and electric potential sensors for this purpose. This will be supported by our in-house fabrication and test facilities, including a PCB milling machine, SMD soldering facility, and state of the art DC to GHz test and measurement equipment, and significant funding for external production.
You will write scientific papers and contribute to project reports, demonstrations and patent filing, working in a core team of four to five researchers within a larger research centre.
Key Requirements
Candidates should have excellent scientific and technical skills and a PhD in electronics engineering, physics, or equivalent. They should have a strong background in analog electronics, analog communication building blocks, and low-frequency modulation/demodulation. Expertise in some of the following areas is a plus: design of capacitive and/or electric potential sensors; antenna theory; RF circuit simulation; design and fabrication; transistor fundamentals; digital communication; ASIC.
The candidate should have a strong interest in exploring novel applications and devices exploiting this communication channel, and more generally in capacitive sensing and electric field sensing in wearable, mobile and ubiquitous computing devices, for example in wearable VR/AR, HCI, health, sports and entertainment applications, and others.
Advantages and career development
This position is ideally suited for somebody who wants to demonstrate his/her expertise in a highly focused research project. It will provide an opportunity to publish and present in high-impact journals and conferences as well as filing patents. The project has the potential to lead to a spin-off, further industrial
collaborations and offers broad networking opportunities. This project may lead to translation to ASICs, carried out by the industrial partner.
The candidate will be supported in applying for grants to support his/her further career development.
Additional information
- Informal enquiries: Contact Prof. Daniel Roggen (D.Roggen@sussex.ac.uk)
- Application: Reference 5721 at https://www.sussex.ac.uk/about/jobs
- (The position opens in the coming days; check regularly or contact D.Roggen@sussex.ac.uk)
- Duration: 1 year with possibility to extend to up to 2 years
- Location: University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- Salary: £33797 to £39152 per year
Applicants from all over the world are welcome.