Graduation Internship | From Traffic Rules to Formal Logic

Make your mark on our time? Become an intern at TNO!

About this position

Automated vehicles (AVs) rely on clear driving rules to operate safely and predictably. These rules guide both system design and the assessment of how well an AV behaves in real traffic. They also help ensure the vehicle is socially compliant—although in some situations, bending a rule may actually be the more socially appropriate choice. Traffic rules are written for people, not machines. In everyday driving, drivers rely on experience, context, social norms and shared understanding to apply them. Today, formalizing traffic rules from natural language is still a manual, time-consuming task. Traffic rules are often long and vague. They also differ across regions and jurisdictions. Engineers must interpret the text, decide on what is relevant in the text and translate it into logical structures. This takes time and does not scale well.

What will be your role?

The assignment is to advance the TNO approach that converts traffic and driving rules written in natural language into precise, structured formal rules.

Proposed approach:

• Review existing methods and prior work completed within the different projects.
• Identify linguistic structures common in traffic and driving rules.
• Break down rules into context, actors, conditions, and expected behaviors.
• Develop a consistent structure for expressing a formal version of each rule.
• Translate the formal version into a clear logical statement using mathematical expressions.
• Handle exceptions and edge cases that naturally appear in rules.
• Evaluate the clarity, consistency, and completeness of the translated rules.
• Test the method on a diverse set of rules from different sources.
• Recommend improvements to make the process more systematic and scalable.

Expected outcomes

• Methodology for turning natural-language rules into formal representations and corresponding mathematical statements.
• Set of translated rules that demonstrate the method across different rule types.
• Practical insights on how to extend or automate parts of the workflow.

What we expect from you

Candidates should have a background in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Computer Science, Systems and Control Engineering or a related field. They should be proficient in programming languages (e.g., Python, basic data processing). Experience with formal methods or mathematical reasoning, NLP libraries or language models is preferred. The internship is expected to last 6 to 9 months. We require you to work in Helmond at the TNO office at least twice a week to enable you to work with our tools and to have short communication lines.

What you'll get in return

An internship at TNO means working in an environment where substance and impact are central. You will become part of a knowledge organisation where research and practice come together, and where experts collaborate on solutions to current societal and technological challenges.

Your internship is a period in which you can discover what suits you, where your strengths lie and what you would like to learn next. You are part of a professional working environment, gain insight into how things work in practice, and have the opportunity to build experience that goes beyond this internship alone. For many students, an internship is therefore also a first step in discovering whether TNO could be a potential next step after graduation.

In addition, we offer you:

• A professional and innovative internship environment in which you actively contribute to societal and technological challenges, working alongside leading experts in your field.
• Personal and dedicated supervision, with focus on your learning objectives, development and study assignment.
• Room to develop: you gain relevant work experience, develop both your subject-specific and professional skills, and build a valuable network.
• Use of a laptop and the facilities you need to perform your work effectively.
• A monthly internship allowance of € 615 for a full-time internship, for MSc, BSc and vocational education (MBO) students.
• Up to eight hours of leave per internship month for a full-time internship, allowing you to balance your internship with your studies and personal life.
• A contribution towards travel expenses if you are not entitled to a student travel card.
• A free membership to Jong TNO: the network for young colleagues, where you can meet other TNO colleagues and participate in sports activities, professional and personal development activities, and social events such as the annual ski trip.

TNO as an employer

Our people are at the heart of TNO. Their curiosity, expertise and entrepreneurial mindset make it possible to deliver high-impact research and innovations that contribute to society’s sustainable wellbeing and prosperity.

Your talent and ambition have every opportunity to flourish at TNO. You work with experts (both within and beyond TNO), have access to advanced technology and the freedom to explore, experiment and innovate. Our strength lies in independence, reliability and collaboration.