[CLOSED] PhD position at Polimi offered by TIM and EIT Digital

ART: a framework to support development of Mixed Reality services and applications for interaction-intensive environments

The PhD candidate will design and develop innovative methods and technologies to enable more effective Mixed Reality services to be integrated as software components in the target framework.

This PhD, co-funded by TIM and EIT Digital, will develop ART: an innovative methodological and technological framework to help in the design and development of interaction intensive Mixed Reality (MR) environments that offer the “right” interaction affordances and contents to users, allowing them to experience a real-virtual mix in a natural and effective way.

A Mixed Reality (MR) environment can be everything that integrates physical and digital interactive materials. MR involves multiple interaction modes (touch, gestures, manipulation, natural language) and exploits a gamut of technologies ranging from Multimedia to IoT, AI, and Computer Graphics.

One of main limitations in current approaches is the lack of “natural perception” when users interact with the mixed (digital / physical) space and its components.

The first goal of this PhD research is to identify interaction models and mechanisms that fill this gap. Then the research activity will provide modular software prototypes composed of layered building blocks integrated in a framework that supports faster design and development of MR experiences, for different application domains.

To better shape this new way of communication and adapt future business offerings around it, it is important to understand which interactions users will prefer and how to make the experience more effective and natural in different scenarios. It’s also important to provide tools to design the interactions and simplify the creation of new experiences for different domains.

This PhD activity will be strongly connected to the EIT Digital funded Digital Cities Innovation Activity 21273 “ART” – focusing on MR in the tourism domain, coordinated by TIM, with Politecnico di Milano as main partner.

Concrete Innovation Outcomes:

In addition to scientific publications results required towards the degree, the main concrete outputs of this PhD will be:

  • contribution to the development of the ART framework to support fast creation of interaction-intensive MR applications and services The framework will be developed on top of well-known development tools (e.g. Unity engine)
  • 2 running MR-enabled application prototypes developed using the framework and addressing two different domains
  • validation of the solution through 1 pilot involving real customers, providing to the student exposure to business aspects and interaction with potential customers/users

Details

  • PhD Programme: Information Technology (Computer Science and Engineering)
  • Title (topic scholaship): ART: a framework to support development of Mixed Reality services and applications for interaction-intensive environments
  • EIT Digital Doctoral Training Centre: Milan, Italy
  • University: Politecnico di Milano
  • Industrial Partner: TIM
  • Research Director: Franca Garzotto (Polimi, i3Lab)
  • PhD Scholarship: 1.400 € monthly net income (36 months)
  • PhD start: November 2020

The application for admission to the Call and its accompanying documentation must be done and submitted exclusively in electronic format by 2.00 pm (all times indicated in this announcement are to be understood as Italian time) on 03/09/2020, via the link available in the Online Services –> Application forms –> Application for “bandi aggiuntivi” PhD programmes

EIT Digital Doctoral School

EIT Digital Doctoral School is a collaboration between top European technical universities and EIT Digital partner companies offering Industrial Doctorate Programmes. The goal of EIT Digital Doctoral School is to develop the ICT Innovation concept where doctoral candidates are offered the opportunity to acquire a mindset for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) to transform ideas into new products and services driving sustainable growth and competitiveness in Europe.

The EIT Digital Industrial Doctorate is an innovative applied-research PhD programme and it focuses on product and market-driven technology research to boost Innovation and Entrepreneurship in digital technologies. Candidates have the opportunity from the very beginning of their PhD studies to explore innovation and business opportunities in relation with their research and technological domain, supported by partner universities, companies, and EIT Digital Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs) all around Europe.

Our mission is to educate tomorrow’s leaders and innovators in digital technologies, by combining excellent technical programmes with deeply embedded Innovation and Entrepreneurship education.

After graduation, these research-innovator doctors will be commercially-savvy digital leaders who understand current and future challenges, as well as the opportunities that these present to industry.


EIT-label Doctorate key features

International geo-mobility: 3 to 6 months abroad supported by an extra living allowance of € 1.500/month in addition to the PhD scholarship. This experience aims to significantly enrich the knowledge of our doctoral students helping in the shaping of their research activity.

Business Development Experience (BDExp): an entrepreneurial ‘research to innovation’ exploration embedded within the Industrial Doctorate with the aim to foster the development of business and innovation skills in industrial environments and to develop a vision of the impact of digital technologies on industries and society.

Advanced training in Innovation & Entrepreneurship through a cycle of seminars organised across Europe within the network of Doctoral Training Centres. The I&E seminars support the BDExp by providing students with the necessary skills and competences, including soft skills, to explore innovation and business opportunities beyond their PhD research.