University of Southampton
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PhD in Privacy-aware Radar-centric British Sign Language Recognition and Translation for Healthcare Communication University of Southampton in United Kingdom
Degree Level
PhD
Field of study
Computer Science
Funding
Competition funded PhD project with funding opportunities for UK and international students. Horizon Europe fee waivers may cover the difference between overseas and UK fees for qualifying students. Competition-based Presidential Bursaries may cover the difference between overseas and UK fees for top-ranked applicants. Competition-based studentships typically cover UK-level tuition fees and a stipend for living costs for top-ranked applicants. Funding is awarded on a rolling basis.
Deadline
Sep 30, 2026
Country
United Kingdom
University
University of Southampton
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About this position
PhD opportunity at the University of Southampton in Privacy-aware radar-centric British Sign Language recognition and translation for healthcare communication.
This project sits in the Digital Health and Biomedical Engineering group and is part of the EPSRC-funded RADAR-SIGN-BRIDGE project. The research explores how British Sign Language (BSL) users can interact with healthcare and smart devices with greater privacy, choice, and independence. The core technical focus is on radar sensing, multimodal AI, machine learning, computer vision, human-computer interaction, and linguistics, with an emphasis on privacy-aware recognition and translation without relying on cameras, speech, or wearable sensors.
You will develop AI methods that combine radar signals with privacy-aware information such as skeletal keypoints, contextual prompts, and language models. The project targets bounded healthcare and smart-device scenarios such as appointment check-in, requesting communication support, symptom-category reporting, and medication reminders. The aim is to complement qualified interpreters, not replace them, while improving accessibility and user control for Deaf and signing communities.
The project offers access to radar sensing facilities, computing resources, interdisciplinary supervision, and training in radar signal processing, multimodal AI, responsible innovation, and assistive technology. Collaboration with language technology experts and Deaf community stakeholders is also part of the research environment.
Eligibility: a UK 2:1 honours degree or international equivalent is required. An English language qualification is needed if applicable.
Funding: competition-funded PhD with opportunities for UK and international students. Funding may include fee waivers, tuition coverage at UK level, and a living stipend for top-ranked applicants, with rolling award decisions.
How to apply: submit an application via the University of Southampton postgraduate research portal. Select Research, 2026/27, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, choose full-time or part-time, search for PhD Computer Science (7089), and add the supervisor name in section 2. Include a research proposal, CV, two academic references, and transcripts/certificates.
Deadline: 2026-09-30.
Funding details
Competition funded PhD project with funding opportunities for UK and international students. Horizon Europe fee waivers may cover the difference between overseas and UK fees for qualifying students. Competition-based Presidential Bursaries may cover the difference between overseas and UK fees for top-ranked applicants. Competition-based studentships typically cover UK-level tuition fees and a stipend for living costs for top-ranked applicants. Funding is awarded on a rolling basis.
What's required
Applicants must have a UK 2:1 honours degree or an international equivalent. An English language qualification is required if applicable. The application should include a research proposal, CV, two academic references, and degree transcripts and certificates to date.
How to apply
Apply through the University of Southampton postgraduate research application portal. Choose Research, 2026/27, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, select full time or part time, search for PhD Computer Science (7089), and add the supervisor name in section 2. Include the required proposal, CV, references, transcripts, and language evidence if needed.
More information can be found here
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