Rob Richardson

PhD opportunity at the University of Leeds in robotics , mechatronics , computer vision , and environmental engineering . The project, titled Pervasive Robotic Control of the Invasive Alien Species Floating Pennywort (Hydrocotyle Ranunculoides) , focuses on developing autonomous aquatic robots to detect, collect, and manage floating pennywort in real river and canal environments. The research sits at the intersection of robotics , ecology , and environmental resilience . Possible research directions include leaf-reflectance spectroscopy for high-confidence plant detection, robotic manipulator design and manufacture, autonomous decision-making, continuous regrowth monitoring, laboratory testing, and field trials in the Yorkshire Calder catchment. The project is associated with REAL Robotics Lab , Research@MechEng , and iDRaM , and the supervision team includes Dr George Jackson-Mills , Dr Nabil Shaukat , and Professor Rob Richardson . Funding is described as competitive EPSRC Doctoral Training Partnership funding , with UK applicants only and Home fee eligibility required. Training will be provided, and applicants do not need experience in every area, but a background in robotics or related quantitative disciplines is preferred. The application deadline is 18 November 2026 , with a start date of 1 October 2027 . Interested applicants should review the project page and apply via the linked application route.