PhD Position for exploring the usage of neuromorphic technologies in precision Farming

PhD Position for exploring the usage of neuromorphic technologies in precision Farming

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic PhD student to work on a project funded by the Digital Society Initiative of Zurich regarding the use of neuromorphic technologies in the field of precision farming.

The project is broad enough to encompass several possible research directions, according to the interests and experience of the PhD student. It involves utilizing both digital and mixed analog-digital neuromorphic technologies to optimize greenhouse agriculture management. The idea is to proceed on two parallel levels:

• Exploiting analog technologies developed in the NCS group for the integration of sensing, actuation, and management (primarily of water and nutrients) on a small scale in greenhouse cultivation in an extremely low-power manner.
• Leveraging digital neuromorphic technologies (such as Loihi or implementations on RISC-V) for monitoring and optimizing greenhouse conditions. Ideally, by the end of the project, there should be communication and integration between these two levels.

Various expertise and interests can be explored, particularly:

• Experience/interest in bio-inspired Spiking Neural Network (SNN) modeling for developing a chip-compatible network (Dynapse or Loihi depending on interest) capable of integrating various inputs over different temporal scales.
• Experience/interest in signal processing to manage chip I/O from various sensors.
• Experience/interest in digital design to explore digital neuromorphic technologies and efficiently implement SNNs on them.

PhD Position for exploring the usage of neuromorphic technologies in precision Farming

You will be responsible for the data science and computational aspect of an event-based model aiming at optimizing a variety of aspects in greenhouse management. This requires data curation and devising spiking neural networks with neuromorphic hardware. A great opportunity to interact with researchers from a variety of background at all stages in the project.

You have a master degree in Biomedical engineering, Computer Science, Physics or related fields; knowledge in programming, biologically inspired neural network models; good written and spoken English; strong team-working abilities and excellent communication skills.

We offer varied and interesting work in an inspiring and socially relevant environment.
Diversity and inclusion are important to us.

The successful candidate will participate in the ZNZ doctoral program for additional theoretical/practical training and will receive a PhD from the Faculty of Science at the University of Zurich. You will spend time mainly at the the Institute for Neuroinformatics and the Digital Society Initiative Labs in a dynamic and interdisciplinary environment. Zurich is a highly attractive city in beautiful surroundings, with a multinational population, and many educational and recreational opportunities.

Chiara De Luca