PhD in Soft Aerial Manipulator Design Optimization

About the SnT

The is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character.

The Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg is a leading international research and innovation centre in secure, reliable and trustworthy ICT systems and services.

We play an instrumental role in Europe by fueling innovation through research partnerships with industry, boosting R&D investments leading to economic growth, and attracting highly qualified talent. We look for researchers from diverse academic backgrounds to contribute to our projects in areas such as : Network Security, Information Assurance, Model-driven Security, Cloud Computing, Cryptography, Satellite Systems, Vehicular Networks, and ICT Services & Applications.

Your role

While UAVs began as flying sensors, there is growing interest in Aerial Manipulators (AMs)-UAVs equipped with robotic arms and grippers. Despite progress with rigid manipulators, challenges remain due to limited payloads, safety-critical interactions, and handling irregular objects in unstructured spaces.

To address this, recent research focuses on soft aerial manipulators (SAMs). Soft arms and grippers offer improved safety and adaptability but introduce new challenges in design and control. Their development is still largely bio-inspired and trial-and-error based. Integrating flight and actuation control in SAMs is particularly complex. DOMINANTS aims to create a novel, optimized methodology to improve SAM dexterity, enabling a wider reach and the ability to grasp various static and dynamic objects in complex environments.

The PhD project will focus on designing and optimizing soft robotic arms and grippers mounted on a rigid, fully actuated UAV to form a highly dexterous and efficient SAM. The goal is to develop model-based design concepts and optimization strategies that enhance adaptability, reach, speed, and safety. Starting with selected UAV, manipulator, and gripper designs, the team will optimize virtual prototypes before building the final physical SAM. While INRIA Lille leads the control design, both teams will collaborate on use-case scenarios and real-world demonstrations to assess performance and future potential.

The successful candidate will work under the main supervision of Prof. Holger Voos and will be required to perform the following tasks :

• Carry out the aforementioned research with collaborators at the SnT and at INRIA Lille within the ANR -FNR funded bi-national project DOMINANTS
• Spent a research stay at INRIA Lille to work with Prof. Gang Zheng on control aspects of SAMs
• Disseminate your findings at renowned international conferences, workshops and in journal papers
• Provide assistance in organizational matters related to the project DOMINANTS