Master Thesis, 30 HP: Trust-Aware Distributed Data Fusion

Are you a student eager to apply your theoretical knowledge and fresh perspectives to real-world challenges? At Saab, we believe that innovation thrives on new ideas, and your master thesis project could be the spark that ignites our next technological breakthrough.

Your role

We recognize the immense value that students bring to our company. Your academic rigor, combined with your enthusiasm for cutting-edge technology, allows you to approach problems with a unique and insightful lens. At Saab, you'll have the opportunity to collaborate with experienced engineers and specialists, gaining invaluable practical experience while making a tangible contribution to our growth and development.

Background

Modern mission systems rely on information from multiple distributed sensors and platforms to establish a shared picture of the operational environment. In contested and dynamic environments, however, the information received from other sources cannot always be assumed to be reliable. Sensors may be degraded or misconfigured, communication and processing chains may introduce dependencies, and information may even be deliberately manipulated. Moreover, information exchanged between platforms may have been fused previously, creating correlations that are difficult to identify and account for.

Future autonomous and mission-critical systems therefore need data-fusion methods that consider not only the statistical uncertainty of information, but also their trustworthiness. Such methods should be able to identify and reduce the influence of unreliable information while retaining valid observations, adapt when source behavior changes, and provide an understandable basis for how information contributes to the resulting situational picture.

Description of the Thesis Project
The purpose of this thesis project is to investigate trust-aware distributed data fusion, with particular focus on the fusion of state estimates, or tracks, exchanged between multiple platforms. The student will investigate how the trustworthiness of sources and information can be estimated dynamically and how these trust estimates can be incorporated into distributed fusion algorithms. Important challenges include unknown correlations between estimates, time-varying source reliability, and distinguishing faulty or deceptive information from trustworthy but unexpected observations.

The work is expected to include a literature study, development and implementation of suitable trust and fusion models, and evaluation through simulation in representative multi-platform scenarios. The developed methods may be evaluated in terms of estimation accuracy, resilience to unreliable or manipulated information, recovery, computational and communication requirements, and explainability.

The thesis will be carried out together within the Division of Mission Systems & Autonomy at Saab Aeronautics, which works with technologies and concepts for future combat aircraft systems. The project contributes to ongoing research and development on distributed sensing, data fusion, autonomy, and resilient mission systems, and gives the student an opportunity to work on a research problem closely connected to the development of future mission capabilities. The broader research theme is explicitly intended to connect focused master's thesis projects to longer-term challenges relevant to Saab.

Your profile

The project is suitable for preferably one, at maximum two students with an interest in data fusion, target tracking, classification, machine learning, and cyber defense.

You are in the final stage of your master’s program in Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering or equivalent and are about to begin a 30 hp thesis project.

The thesis project will involve theoretical analysis, modelling, coding, and simulation.

We provide the support and guidance you need to translate your theoretical knowledge into practical solutions. Join us and become a driving force behind Saab's technological advancements!

This position requires that you pass a security vetting based on the current regulations around/of security protection. For positions requiring security clearance additional obligations on citizenship may apply.

Kindly observe that this is an ongoing recruitment process and that the position might be filled before the closing date of the advertisement.

Contact information

Karina Wandt, Manager

073-418 55 84

karina.wandt@saabgroup.com

Robin Forsling, Supervisor

073-418 41 78

robin.forsling@saabgroup.com

What you will be a part of

Explore a wealth of possibilities. Take on challenges, create smart inventions, and grow beyond. This is a place for curious minds, brave pioneers, and everyone in between. Together, we achieve the extraordinary, each bringing our unique perspectives. Your part matters.

Saab is a leading defense and security company with an enduring purpose, to help nations keep their people and society safe. Empowered by its 28,000 talented people, Saab constantly pushes the boundaries of technology to create a safer and more sustainable world.

Saab designs, manufactures and maintains advanced systems in aeronautics, weapons, command and control, sensors and underwater systems. Saab is headquartered in Sweden. It has major operations all over the world and is part of the domestic defense capability of several nations. Read more about us here.