PhD Position Application of eXtended Reality for City Logistics

Help shape the future of sustainable urban mobility with immersive XR solutions. Join our team to design innovative solutions for smarter, more inclusive city logistics.

Job Description

Cities across Europe are rethinking how people and goods move through urban space. eXtended Reality (XR) technologies offer powerful ways to engage citizens, design inclusive interventions, and support data-driven decisions. At the department of Transport and Planning, you will play a central role in exploring and testing XR-supported mobility solutions within real-world pilot projects deployed in European cities.

In this position, you will develop VR-based immersive environments to test and evaluate urban mobility interventions (e.g., mobility hubs). You will design experiments to capture behavioural, cognitive, and physiological insights that deepen our understanding of how mobility users experience and respond to these interventions. A central part of the research will be to develop XR methods for incorporating diverse citizen perspectives into mobility design and planning, ensuring accessibility, inclusivity, and user acceptance.

You will also explore innovative AR applications to support intuitive navigation in redesigned urban spaces, such as bicycle parking. An AR-supported parking system will be developed and tested to provide users with real-time information on available spots, while also offering incentives for responsible parking behavior to improve efficiency and user experience.

Your home base will be the department of Transport & Planning and Mobility in eXtended Reality Lab, at the faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences. Our diverse team of PhDs, postdocs, project managers and professors all share the ambition to develop smart, sustainable, and equitable mobility systems. Our unique 12 collaborative labs develop and deploy the latest technology, including sensing, data analytics, modelling, simulation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, and function as dynamic hubs where innovative scientific research is translated into real-world impact. Ours is an open, inspiring and friendly team, where we share knowledge and help each other. And you will get all the support and training you need to develop and grow in your career.

This PhD position is part of the EU-funded NEXTLOGIC project. NEXTLOGIC provides a collaborative and digitally empowered framework, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions to address current challenges in urban mobility. The project leverages advanced technologies and sustainable practices to promote the EU’s climate neutrality goals and support smart city initiatives. Its primary objective is to guide cities in their transition toward net-zero transport emissions by reallocating urban space, redesigning infrastructure, and optimizing the movement of people and goods through innovative resource planning, management, and real-time monitoring technologies for new mobility and logistics services.

Job Requirements

• A master’s degree (or equivalent) in computer science, human-computer interaction, traffic engineering, or related fields.
• A solid background and interest in XR technologies and skills in developing XR applications using Unity/Unreal game engine.
• Demonstrable experimental skills, including experiment design, experiment setup, conducting experiments, and data collection.
• Proficiency in using programming tools (e.g., Python, C#) and statistics to support your work.
• An open-minded personality with a curiosity-driven mindset, positive attitude towards methodological and interdisciplinary research, and willingness to learn from different fields, including transportation, human-computer interaction, and urban planning.
• Good communication and writing skills in English.
• Experience in serious game development or prior research related to XR or urban mobility are considered advantages.

About TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences

The Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences (CEG) is committed to outstanding international research and education in the field of civil engineering, applied earth sciences, traffic and transport, water technology, and delta technology. Our research feeds into our educational programmes and covers societal challenges such as climate change, energy transition, resource availability, urbanisation and clean water. Our research projects are conducted in close cooperation with a wide range of research institutions. CEG is convinced of the importance of open science and supports its scientists in integrating open science in their research practice. The Faculty of CEG comprises 28 research groups in the following seven departments: Materials Mechanics Management & Design, Engineering Structures, Geoscience and Engineering, Geoscience and Remote Sensing, Transport & Planning, Hydraulic Engineering and Water Management.

Conditions of Employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, but in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract with an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months. Followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming everything goes well and performance requirements are met.

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills. The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.

Will you need to relocate to the Netherlands for this job? TU Delft is committed to make your move as smooth as possible! The HR unit, Coming to Delft Service, offers information to help you prepare your relocation. In addition, Coming to Delft Service organises events to help you settle in the Netherlands, and expand your (social) network in Delft. A Dual Career Programme is available, to support your accompanying partner with their job search in the Netherlands.

Additional information

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Dr. Yan Feng (y.feng@tudelft.nl).