PhD Scholarship in AI for Forest Robotics Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research in Norway

PhD Scholarship in AI for Forest Robotics at NIBIO, Norway

This PhD fellowship at the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) focuses on enabling robots to understand forests in real time. The project combines machine learning, LiDAR point clouds, camera imagery, and robotics to support navigation, self-localisation, traversability, place recognition, and scene understanding in complex forest environments.

The research is based at Ås, about 30 km south of Oslo, and the candidate will be enrolled at NMBU while working closely with the department’s field robots. The position is three years in duration and is part of NIBIO’s Forest Operations and Digitalization department within the Division of Forest and Forest Resources. The broader institutional context is applied research in agriculture, food, climate, environment, forestry, and natural-resource-based value chains.

The main scientific challenge is to move beyond traditional offline inference on clean, finalised data and instead develop incremental, real-time estimation methods that can interpret partial, sparse, motion-distorted, and unevenly sampled sensor observations. The successful candidate will design machine learning architectures for 3D point cloud understanding, compact representations of forest structure, and live scene interpretation on embedded hardware and NIBIO robot platforms.

Applicants must have a Master’s degree, or equivalent five-year degree, in data science, machine learning, robotics, or a related field, and must meet NMBU’s PhD admission requirements. Strong Python programming skills, experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or TensorFlow, and a strong command of oral and written English are required. The role also requires willingness and physical ability to do outdoor field work in Norwegian forests.

Experience with point clouds, voxel or sparse representations, transformers, segmentation, registration, SLAM, sensor fusion, ROS/ROS2, embedded or real-time inference, CUDA, and robotic systems will be viewed positively. Knowledge of forestry, remote sensing, ecology, or a Scandinavian language is also an advantage. If the successful applicant lacks Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish at A2 level on appointment, NIBIO offers free Norwegian language training.

The position is remunerated according to the Norwegian State Salary Scale as a PhD research fellow, position 1017, with an annual salary of NOK 555,000 to 635,000 depending on qualifications and experience, plus membership in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. The application deadline is 18 October 2026 at 23:59 Europe/Oslo. Applications must be submitted electronically through the Jobbnorge application link.