The research aims to enrich the geometry and semantics of 3D building models by extracting information automatically from photographs, diagrammatic illustrations and their associated textual annotations. The resulting digital models will enable users of mobile and desktop applications to explore and retrieve information about the built environment in more detail than is currently possible.
Digital 3D building models have uses in a variety of disciplines including urban planning, radio communications and in the cultural heritage industries. There is great potential to exploit 3D models in mobile and desktop applications to allow the user to explore real world and virtual environments and to find out about the origins and events associated with individual features of buildings. In practice most of the existing 3D building models have little or no descriptive information linked to their geometry and images, which greatly limits their usefulness. This project seeks to improve the quality of 3D building models by extracting geometric information from photographs of buildings and annotating the models with information from illustrations in architectural and cultural heritage guides.
You will be working as part of an internationally renowned research team at Cardiff University in the fields of Visual Computing and of Geographical Information Systems. You will also be expected to work for several weeks per year at Ordnance Survey, to gain experience of digital mapping systems and the development and application of 3D building models.
Start date: October 2013
Eligibility
Academic Criteria: Applicants must have a First-class or 2:1 degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science or a scientific or engineering discipline that includes a substantial element of computer programming. Practical experience of Computer Vision, Computer Graphics or Geographical Information Systems is desirable. Students must also meet the University’s standard English language entry requirements.
Residency: The studentship is only available to applicants who are eligible to pay the UK/EU tuition fee. Please note that applicants from the EU (excluding the UK) must have been resident in the UK for at least 3 years prior to commencing the studentship to receive both the stipend & fee components of this award; EU applicants who do not meet this criterion will receive the fee waiver component only. Applicants from outside the EU are not eligible for the studentship unless they have been granted permanent UK residency.
Funding: This studentship is fully funded by EPSRC and Ordnance Survey. This award will cover full UK/EU tuition fees and a doctoral stipend of £16,000 p.a.
How to Apply and Further Information
Application Deadline: Early application is advised as the position remains open until filled.
For more details on how to apply and further information, please click on the apply button below.