We seek applications from an enthusiastic, self-motivated student for a funded PhD studentship within DECaDE (Centre for the Decentralized Digital Economy), led by the Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing (CVSSP) at the University of Surrey and in partnership with the Surrey Space Centre and Surrey Institute for People Centred AI. For more information on DECaDE, please visit www.decade.ac.uk.
Space imagery is increasingly vital for applications in agriculture, security, commerce, and beyond. This PhD will explore novel technologies for securing the integrity of space imagery by building upon emerging Artificial Intelligence techniques alongside advanced watermarking, reversible watermarking, content fingerprinting, and open metadata standards for media provenance. In doing so, the project aims to establish robust and reversible authenticity markers that not only verify the provenance of satellite data but also allow for lossless recovery of the original imagery—a critical requirement for scientific and analytical applications. Whilst undertaking novel computer vision / AI research the candidate will collaborate closely with satellite platform providers to prototype and assess real-world application of the research in resource-constrained, in-orbit environments.
The successful candidate will be based at the University of Surrey, co-locating with CVSSP and the Surrey Space Centre who will jointly supervised the PhD. There will be opportunities for internships and travel to DECaDE centre partners during the course of the PhD, facilitating a collaborative and interdisciplinary research environment.
CVSSP is a leading UK research centre in audio-visual signal processing, computer vision and machine learning ranked 2nd in Europe for Computer Vision. Our Centre is one of the largest in Europe with over 140 researchers and a grant portfolio in excess of £23million, bringing together a unique combination of cutting-edge sound and vision expertise. Our aim is to advance the state of the art in multimedia signal processing and computer vision, with a focus on image, video and audio applications. Our Centre has a robust track-record of innovative research leading to technology transfer and exploitation in biometrics, creative industries (film, TV, games, VR), mobile communication, healthcare, robotics and consumer electronics. CVSSP is part of the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at Surrey.
Funding available:
Funding will provide an annual tax-free stipend of approximately £15,000 and coverage of the home/UK tuition fees for 3.5 years.
Entry Requirements:
Applicants should have:
- A first class or 2:1 honours degree (or equivalent overseas qualification) in an appropriate discipline (e.g. engineering, computer science, signal processing, applied mathematics, and physics)
- You should be able to demonstrate excellent mathematical, analytic, programming skills
- Previous experience in computer vision, machine/deep learning, would be advantageous. Alternatively or in addition, experience in distributed ledger technologies (DLT) such as Blockchain particularly in use cases where it has been combined with AI or signal processing,
How to Apply: For enquiries contact Professor John Collomosse, (J.Collomosse@surrey.ac.uk) or Dr Chris Bridges, (c.p.bridges@surrey.ac.uk) indicating your areas of interest and including your CV with qualification details (copies of transcripts and certificates). Non-native speakers of English will normally be required to have IELTS 6.5 or above (or equivalent) with no sub-test of less than 6.
Shortlisted applicants will be contacted directly to arrange a suitable time for an interview.
Closing Date: This is rolling application, we are looking to fund both studentships to start over a 12 month period.
