Internship | Ontology Based Scenario Definition and Detection

About this position

At TNO, we develop software for Automated Driving vehicles. In order to have automated driving accepted by the public, it is extremely important to be able to explain the behavior of the vehicle. Are you interested in improving our AD vehicles? Please read further! 🚗

What will be your role?

One of the challenges in Automated Driving is “How the vehicle makes its’ decisions”. The vehicle decision is based on the current assessment of the vehicles’ surrounding. Often, all situations that could occur on public roads are simplified into a discrete set of scenarios or use-cases. This jeopardizes the generalizability and specificity of the system solution. Therefore, a designer should delicately tradeoff between the details captured in a scenario and the number of scenarios resulting from adding more and more details. In order to tackle this scalability issue, TNO is investigating whether AI – using a knowledge graph - could be used for scenario detection, from which expected behavior could be inferred. For that you will:

• Build an ontology to capture a specified set of scenarios;
• Assess whether the graph-based approach allows for easier scenario detection and definition;
• Check completeness of existing standards and possibly contribute on extensions of those.

Proposed approach:

• Define a challenging set of scenarios in a predefined operational domain;
• Familiarize with standards such as ASAM OpenXOntology and ISO 34503 as well as the Cetran Scenario Catalogue;
• Search for and weigh up the pros and cons of existing graph modeling frameworks;
• Implement existing Ontology proposals in a graph modeling framework of choice;
• Check for open-source data sets that could support your work, and relate these to TNO-internally available datasets or implement your work in an AD simulator (e.g. Carla);
• Present results regarding the feasibility and complexity of the graph-based approach for scenario detection.

What we expect from you

We require that you are familiar with statistics for data science and have experience with data processing as well as clustering and classification methods. You are knowledgeable in programming (please indicate your programming language strengths in your application) and you are willing to learn. Experience with Linux and ROS is beneficial. We like you to start as soon as possible. The thesis fits a 9-month project (based on full-time availability). Familiarity with vehicle automation would be considered a plus. Finally, successful candidates should be able to spend at least 2 days a week in our TNO Helmond premises to enable you to work with our tools and to have short communication lines.

You will work at the Integrated Vehicle Safety department of TNO on the Automotive Campus in Helmond. In this department people are working on developing software for automated driving vehicles. The developed software is tested in pilots and on the public road. The people are young, enthusiastic and driven. You will work in an open area, within your own team. One of our employees will be your mentor. He will help you to get acquainted with the department and give you guidelines for your research in order to help you to get the best out of it.

What you'll get in return

You want an internship opportunity on the precursor of your career; an internship gives you an opportunity to take a good look at your prospective future employer. TNO goes a step further. It’s not just looking that interests us; you and your knowledge are essential to our innovation. That’s why we attach a great deal of value to your personal and professional development. You will, of course, be properly supervised during your work placement and be given the scope for you to get the best out of yourself. Furthermore, we provide:

• A highly professional, innovative internship environment, within a team of top experts.
• A suitable internship allowance (615 euro for wo-, hbo- and mbo-students, for a full-time internship).
• Possibility of eight hours of free leave per internship month (for a full-time internship).
• A free membership of Jong TNO, where you can meet other TNO professionals and join several activities, such as sports activities, (work-related) courses or the yearly ski-trip.
• Use of a laptop.
• An allowance for travel expenses in case you don’t receive an OV-card.

TNO as an employer

At TNO, we innovate for a healthier, safer and more sustainable life. And for a strong economy. Since 1932, we have been making knowledge and technology available for the common good. We find each other in wonder and ingenuity. We are driven to push boundaries. There is all the space and support for your talent and ambition. You work with people who will challenge you: who inspire you and want to learn from you. Our state-of-the-art facilities are there to realize your vision. What you do at TNO matters: impact makes the difference. Because with every innovation you contribute to tomorrow’s world.

At TNO, we encourage an inclusive work environment, where you can be yourself. Whatever your story and whatever unique qualities you bring to the table. It is by combining our unique strengths and perspectives that we are able to develop innovations that make a real difference in society.