Theses worker - Human Senses Mimicking: Vibration Anomaly Detection i Göteborg

Thesis Worker at Volvo Cars

Welcome to explore the world of Volvo Cars by writing your thesis with us! As a thesis worker in our organization you are supported by a supervisor who follows you during your project. All thesis projects are arranged in business critical areas and therefore you will be able to contribute to our company purpose – providing freedom to move in a safe, sustainable and personal way – from day one! 

Background
As modern vehicles become increasingly advanced and complex systems, more and more sensors and monitors are added to increase functionality and safety. Many of these monitors are for diagnosing the car, monitoring everything from safety critical systems to the emissions of the car. Other sensors are used to increase comfort, such as air suspension monitors. From a customer point of view, faults that create noise and vibrations are the most noticeable and it’s generally easy for a human to detect whether a car is functioning normally or vibrating in an unusual way. A trained mechanic might even determine the source of the fault from vibrations alone. This thesis will investigate methods for vibration analysis and detection of anomalous vibrations, to replicate this human capability in software.

Available Project – Human Senses Mimicking: Vibration Anomaly Detection
The thesis will be performed at the Vehicle Data & Diagnostics department at Volvo Cars and investigate the state of the art for vibration analysis, what algorithms and sensors are suitable for use in vehicles. Vibration analysis and anomaly detection in vibration is a well-studied phenomenon in aerospace and heavy manufacturing, and the space has advanced a lot over the years. Many of these areas have the advantage of being predictable or stable environments, whereas in the automotive case everything from wheel & tire type, load of car and condition of the road being driven on will affect the background level of vibration. The car additionally has many systems that try to dampen the effect and noticeability of vibrations, and different faults will have different characteristics. This means that data quality and selecting correct pre-processing of the data is of high importance.

Therefore, a focus of the thesis will be on determining a suitable feature space for analysis of these problems in the general case, as well as looking into how methodologies and algorithms from other areas can be adapted to the automotive use case.

Finally, the choice of methods, algorithms and especially the features should be evaluated on data. Specific scope of project will be discussed with student in 
dialogue with subject matter experts, but some suggested parts of the thesis will include:

Scope
•    Literature Review of methodologies & algorithms used for monitoring of vibrations for fault- & anomaly-detection.
•    Screening Analysis: Evaluation of suitable technologies / algorithms for vibration analysis in automotive use case.
•    Practical: Data collection to evaluate algorithms / sensors / features on, set up design of experiments to test hypotheses.
•    Analysis: Instrumentation of ideal sensor setup. Is current car sensor setup suitable, or will additional sensors be needed?
•    Analysis: Creation of features from single sensor and/or sensor fusion of multiple inputs.
•    Analysis: Evaluate methodology on data.

Your contribution is our future
1-2 Master student(s) with a background in Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Mechanical Design, Mechatronics, or similar education. Courses in Digital Signal Processing and Fourier Transform will be useful. Should you have a co-worker in mind to work along with, don’t forget to include their name in the cover letter.

Duration
•    The duration of the Thesis is 20 weeks
•    The Thesis starts in January 2023 or earlier if possible.
•    30 ECTS (academic credits) if in agreement with your Thesis Advisor in University
•    This thesis is suitable for 1- 2 students
 
Be part of the change – apply today!
Selection will be ongoing during the application period, so do not hesitate to send in your application. Attach your CV and personal letter stating your interests within the given area and your thoughts and credentials.
Apply as soon as possible but no later than 2022-11-30!

Please note that due to GDPR, applications via email will not be accepted.

For questions about the thesis work, please contact Michael Wallgren Fjellander at michael.wallgren.fjellander@volvocars.com.

The thesis will be part of a portfolio of advanced engineering and research projects at Volvo Cars. For details and further questions, please feel free to reach out to us and we’ll take it over a cup of (virtual?) coffee!

We are Volvo Cars 
Volvo Cars is a company on a mission to bring traditional car manufacturing into a connected, sustainable and smart future. Since 1927, we've been known for our commitment to safety and for creating innovative cars that make life less complicated. In 2010, we decided to radically redefine our business, resulting in a totally new generation of cars and technology, as well as steady growth and record sales - and we're only getting started. By 2025, we aim to have yearly sales of 1.2 million cars, 50% of which will be electric vehicles and sold directly to customers through digital channels. We also intend to strengthen our position as a modern, progressive employer committed to diversity and gender and racial equality. We believe in the power of people. Join us and be part of Volvo Cars' transformation.