Wearable conformal arrays on flexible substrates for real-time obstacle detection

CNRS - National Center for Scientific Research

Organisation/Company: CNRS - National Center for Scientific Research

Research Field: Engineering » Electronic engineering, Engineering » Biomedical engineering, Physics » Electromagnetism

Researcher Profile: Established Researcher (R3) Positions PhD Positions

Country: France

Application Deadline: 15 May 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Hours Per Week: 37.5

Offer Starting Date: 1 Oct 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Supervisors: G. Sacco (IETR CNRS UMR 6164) and D. Nikolayev (IETR CNRS UMR 6164)

Context: The portability and reliability of electronic travel aids (ETA) have been and remain a fundamentally new and interdisciplinary challenge to tackle. ETA should be at the same time minimally invasive, lightweight and should help visually impaired people both to navigate in the environment and interact with the surrounding objects/elements. However, conventional ETA solutions require to carry one or multiple cumbersome and sometimes heavy objects (engineered glasses, smart white canes, etc.). Therefore, to solve the portability issue, it would be necessary to replace the actual generation of rigid bulky sensors by wearable and flexible devices integrated with clothes or fixed on any arbitrary object. Radars, in contrast to other technologies, are a well-established technique that allows to distinguish target position and velocity and even provide a 3D image of the environment in real time, do not affect the user privacy, and do not depend on external light conditions.

Objective addressed: This PhD project will build on our group’s ongoing research into wearable radars. With this thesis, we aim to advance this research from two complementary viewpoints.

• Investigate low-power, conformable antenna arrays that can be seamlessly integrated into the user’s clothing. This approach will enable 3D environmental scanning, enhancing the wearer’s situational awareness.
• Develop real-time reconstruction algorithms for portable devices, that address the challenges arising from the user’s movements.

The PhD student will be expected to tackle the problem through a comprehensive approach, incorporating theoretical, numerical, and experimental techniques. Upon completion of this PhD project, we anticipate significant innovation potential, including the development of a functional prototype.

Research environment: The PhD student will join Electromagnetic Waves in Complex Media Team (eWAVES) of the IETR/CNRS. IETR is one of the leading EU research laboratories in electronics, wireless communications, and digital technologies. Our research activities in biomedical electromagnetics cover a wide spectrum of fundamental and applied research spreading from multi-physics and multi-scale modelling to biomedical radars, and advanced technologies for body-centric wireless communications. The team was at the origin of pioneering innovations in biomedical electromagnetics, including the first millimeter-wave (mmWave) tissue-equivalent phantoms, novel reflectivity based surface phantom concept, new broadband multi-physics characterization technique for Debye-type materials, innovative mmWave textile antennas for smart clothing, ultra-robust miniature implantable UHF antennas, first mmWave reverberation chamber.

Duration: 36 months

Where to apply

E-mail: giulia.sacco@cnrs.fr

Requirements

Research Field:

• Engineering » Electronic engineering - Education Level Master Degree or equivalent
• Engineering » Biomedical engineering - Education Level Master Degree or equivalent
• Physics » Electromagnetism - Education Level Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications:

• Background: knowledge in electronics, signal processing, bioelectromagnetics, numerical modelling. Experience with commercial or open-source numerical solvers (e.g., CST, Ansys, SIM4LIFE, COMSOL Multiphysics) and programming skills (e.g., MATLAB, Mathematica) are welcome but not mandatory.
• Fluency in English: the candidate should be conversant and articulate in English and must have strong writing skills. Knowledge of French is not required but would be appreciated.

Languages: ENGLISH Level Excellent

Additional Information

Eligibility criteria:

• Partial reimbursement of public transport costs (daily commute), possibility of participation in cultural and sporting activities (via the CAES of the CNRS).
• Location in one of the most attractive cities in France for professional and non-professional activities [entertainment and culture, sport, gastronomy, etc.]. Train connections: 1:25 to Paris and 0:47 to a seaside.