EPSRC DTP: Development of an Adaptive Augmented Reality Interface for Medical Robotics (2024)

What you get

For 3.5 years, you will receive a tax-free stipend at a standard rate of £18,662 per year and your fees will be waived (at the home rate). In addition, to a one-off Research and Training Support Grant of £2,000.

Type of award

Postgraduate Research

PhD project

Medical robotics systems have been identified as one of the pillars that will ensure the sustainability of healthcare services, guaranteeing all patients access to the required services. However, robotic systems are complex nonlinear systems that are difficult to predict for technical experts; thus, it is essential if we want to deploy them in scenarios where they interact with non-expert users to provide them with an intuitive interface to reprogram, control and understand the robots.

This project seeks to develop an adaptive augmented reality interface to help medical professionals and patients interact with assistive robots during their activities. The interface will enable specialists to remote control a general purpose robot in GP clinics or emergency transports to perform first-aid operations. For example, reliable teleoperation will be developed to allow the interface to remote triage of polytrauma in emergency transport, saving life-saving time when the patients reach the hospital.

In addition, this proposed interface will integrate both augmented reality and human-robot shared autonomy. Where shared autonomy can use AI tools and sensors to monitor the human user, the robot and the environment in real time, and the robot will dynamically adjust its settings or actions to adapt to the user and assist the user in a more efficient and intuitive manner. By working closely with the physicians, we will evaluate the interface through an ultrasound scan and rehabilitation task. The essential information on the task and the physician’s operation pattern will be identified. The interface will be customised to facilitate the physician's daily practice with natural interaction and the most suitable presentation. For example, the system will alert the physician about obstacles outside their field of view that may hinder certain movements and introduce automated adjustments to the system settings

Eligibility

This studentship is available to UK applicants and EU applicants with settled status.

Eligible candidates will have an upper second-class (2:1) undergraduate degree or above, in a relevant field.

Desirable skills include; expert programmer (C++and Python), some experience with ROS2 , Knowledge of MuJoCo, and Experience with Virtual/Augmented Reality.

Number of scholarships available

1

Deadline

30 June 2024 0:00

How to apply

Contact us

For project-specific queries, please contact C.Tiseo@sussex.ac.uk.

For general queries, please contact phd.engineering@sussex.ac.uk.

Timetable

Application deadline: 30/06/2023 00:00 GMT

Interview date: Early July