Hosting Information
Offer Deadline: Wed, 9 Sep 2026 - 17:00
EU Research Framework Programme: Horizon Europe - MSCA
Country: Türkiye
City: İstanbul
Organisation/Institute
Organisation / Company: Yildiz Technical University
Department: Deparment Of Naval Architecture And Marine Engineering
Is the Hosting related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Contact Information
Organisation / Company Type: Higher Education Institution
Website: https://www.yildiz.edu.tr
Email: [contact details available in the full listing]
Postal Code: 34220
Street: Davutpaşa Mah. Davutpaşa Caddesi Esenler
Description
Research field: Engineering › Control and Systems Engineering · Electrical and Electronic Engineering · Mechanical Engineering · Marine and Ocean Engineering; Computer Science › Robotics · Artificial Intelligence
Keywords: autonomous marine vehicles; unmanned surface vehicles; guidance navigation and control; control allocation; over-actuated systems; fault-tolerant control; path following; trajectory tracking; model predictive control; nonlinear and robust control; learning-based control; sensor fusion; hardware-in-the-loop; marine and field robotics; real-time experiments
Context and Hosting Environment
Yildiz Technical University invites expressions of interest from experienced researchers who wish to jointly prepare an application for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships 2026 call, hosted by YTU-MARINE and the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering in Istanbul.
YTU-MARINE conducts research on the hydrodynamics, maneuvering, seakeeping, propulsion and autonomous operation of ships and marine vehicles. Its recently established and operational free-running facility, for which operational responsibility has been formally assigned to the centre, supports controlled model tests in calm water and waves.
The available research environment includes an operational free-running marine vehicle model with four independently controlled propellers and independently actuated twin rudders, optical motion capture, onboard inertial sensing, wireless communication and synchronized acquisition of motion and control data. This platform allows closed-loop control research to begin from the outset without requiring the fellow to develop an entirely new vehicle before scientific validation can start.
A funded infrastructure-enhancement project is currently under way and will further expand the facility's propulsion, load-measurement, onboard-instrumentation, data-acquisition and computational capabilities. The fellow will therefore join an active experimental programme while the broader autonomous marine-vehicle research infrastructure continues to develop.
The fellow will be co-supervised by the prospective supervisor together with a co-supervisor at associate-professor level from another university, whose expertise spans control, electronics and autonomous systems. This pairing combines the host's hydrodynamic and experimental strengths with advanced control and data-driven autonomy, and gives the fellow direct access to expertise across both the control and the electronic/embedded aspects of free-running experimentation. The fellow will work closely with researchers and graduate students involved in free-running experiments, manoeuvring modelling, sensor integration and autonomous marine systems.
The proposed research will focus exclusively on civilian applications of autonomous marine vehicles, in line with the civil orientation of Horizon Europe. Representative application scenarios may include environmental monitoring, hydrographic surveying, port and inland-waterway operations, offshore infrastructure inspection, pollution response and civil search-and-rescue support.
The Fellowship
A European MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship has a standard duration of 12–24 months and supports the researcher through a country-adjusted living allowance, a mobility allowance and, where applicable, family, long-term leave and special-needs allowances in accordance with the MSCA rules. The proposal may also include a project-relevant secondment and/or an additional non-academic placement of up to six months at the end of the fellowship with a suitable civil-maritime or technology partner, subject to the official MSCA conditions and the needs of the jointly developed project.
Potential non-academic links may include commercial maritime operators, port and waterway organisations, classification organisations, hydrographic-survey providers, environmental-monitoring organisations, offshore-inspection companies or marine autonomy and instrumentation developers.
Indicative Research Direction
Hydrodynamics-aware control allocation and fault-tolerant guidance and motion control for multi-actuated autonomous marine vehicles.
Autonomous and unconventional marine vehicles are increasingly equipped with multiple independently controlled propellers, rudders and other actuators. Such configurations provide redundancy and additional control authority, but they also introduce a difficult control-allocation problem: the desired total forces and moments must be distributed among actuators whose effectiveness depends on forward speed, drift angle, yaw rate, local inflow, hull interaction and the operating state of the other actuators.
Conventional control-allocation approaches often rely on fixed or simplified actuator-effectiveness matrices. For a marine vehicle, however, rudder authority may decrease at low speed, differential thrust may become dominant, and propeller–propeller, propeller–rudder and hull–actuator interactions may cause the available control forces and moments to vary across the operating envelope.
The proposed research will develop and experimentally validate a closed-loop guidance and control framework that explicitly accounts for these hydrodynamic effects while respecting actuator saturation, rate limits, dead zones, response dynamics and operational constraints.
A further objective will be to exploit the redundancy of multi-actuated vehicles under actuator degradation or failure. In civilian operations — such as long-duration autonomous environmental-monitoring or hydrographic missions, or inspection tasks far from a support vessel — the loss or degradation of an actuator should not compromise the safety of the vehicle or its surroundings; the vehicle should be able either to continue its mission at reduced capability or to return safely. Rather than treating fault tolerance as a separate emergency mode, the project may investigate how actuator-health information, available control authority and task priorities can be incorporated into real-time control allocation and controller reconfiguration.
The project complements manoeuvring-model development and experimental-platform research but has a distinct scientific focus: the design, real-time implementation and physical validation of the closed-loop guidance, control and actuator-allocation layer.
Representative research questions include:
- How can speed-, motion- and inflow-dependent actuator effectiveness be represented in a form suitable for real-time control allocation?
- How should demanded surge and sway forces and yaw moment be distributed among multiple propellers and rudders under saturation, rate, dead-zone and interaction constraints?
- How can path-following accuracy, control effort, energy use (where instrumentation permits), actuator utilisation and redundancy be balanced within a multi-objective allocation strategy?
- How can actuator degradation or failure be detected and accommodated through online reallocation and controller reconfiguration, so that a civilian mission can continue safely or terminate safely?
- Which robust, adaptive, nonlinear or model-predictive control approaches are most suitable under hydrodynamic-model uncertainty and wave-induced disturbances, and how can learning-based or data-driven components complement physics-based models where appropriate?
- How should closed-loop performance be experimentally quantified and compared across calm-water, wave, actuator-limitation and fault scenarios?
The final control architecture, civilian validation scenario, research hypotheses and methodological choices will be jointly developed with the selected candidate according to their expertise, research interests and career-development goals.
Expected Role of the Fellow
The fellow will take a leading scientific and experimental role throughout the programme. The fellowship is not intended to be limited to offline simulations, routine autopilot tuning or the direct application of a predefined controller. The fellow is expected to:
- Co-formulate the research questions, civilian application scenario, control architecture and experimental validation methodology;
- Develop control-oriented representations of actuator effectiveness, constraints and hydrodynamic interaction using available experimental and modelling information;
- Design constrained control-allocation methods for multiple propellers and rudders, including suitable multi-objective performance criteria;
- Develop and implement path-following, trajectory-tracking or motion-control algorithms capable of operating under model uncertainty and environmental disturbances, using physics-based methods and, where appropriate, learning-based or data-driven components;
- Develop actuator-health assessment, fault-accommodation and control-reconfiguration methods where relevant to the jointly selected project;
- Implement the proposed algorithms in real time and take an active, leading role in hardware-in-the-loop and free-running basin experiments;
- Quantify closed-loop performance, robustness, control authority, fault recovery and repeatability using predefined and reproducible metrics;
- Coordinate relevant graduate-research activities and lead publications, open research outputs and follow-on proposals.
The experimental platform and state-estimation infrastructure will support the project, but the fellow's primary scientific responsibility will be the development and validation of the guidance, control and control-allocation methods.
Possible extensions include wave-aware guidance, energy-aware control allocation, cooperative operation of multiple vehicles, data-driven adaptation of actuator-effectiveness models, automatic controller scheduling across operating regions and mission-level decision support for civilian marine operations.
Expected Scientific Outcomes
- A hydrodynamics-aware, control-oriented representation of actuator effectiveness for multi-propeller and multi-rudder marine vehicles;
- A constrained and experimentally validated control-allocation framework incorporating actuator interaction, saturation and operating-region dependence;
- A robust closed-loop guidance and motion-control architecture for free-running autonomous marine vehicles;
- A fault-accommodation and control-reconfiguration strategy for actuator degradation or loss, where included in the jointly developed project;
- Experimentally derived performance maps covering tracking accuracy, control effort, available control authority, actuator utilisation and recovery from disturbances or faults;
- Reproducible hardware-in-the-loop and basin-testing workflows, experimental datasets, documented software and peer-reviewed publications.
The main scientific contribution will lie in the transferable control methods and experimental evidence rather than in demonstrating a single vehicle or isolated autonomous task.
Two-Way Knowledge Transfer and Training
A central objective of the fellowship is the two-way exchange of knowledge between the fellow and YTU-MARINE. Depending on their background, the fellow is expected to bring expertise in areas such as nonlinear, robust, adaptive or model-predictive control; control allocation for over-actuated or redundantly actuated systems; fault detection, fault-tolerant control or controller reconfiguration; real-time optimisation and embedded implementation; guidance, path following and trajectory tracking; learning-based or data-driven control; or experimental robotics and closed-loop system validation.
YTU-MARINE will provide training and hands-on experience in marine vehicle dynamics, manoeuvring and hydrodynamic actuator interaction; free-running model experiments in calm water and waves; multi-propeller and multi-rudder experimental platforms; optical motion capture, onboard inertial measurements and synchronized experimental data; the experimental assessment of manoeuvring, seakeeping and control performance; hydrodynamic model interpretation, experimental uncertainty and repeatability; and research-infrastructure use, graduate supervision and multidisciplinary project leadership. The fellowship will allow the researcher to combine advanced control methodology with experimentally observed marine hydrodynamics and to validate algorithms under realistic physical constraints rather than only in simulation.
The fellow will also gain experience in international proposal preparation, scientific communication, open research practices and collaboration with academic and civilian non-academic maritime stakeholders. A personalised Career Development Plan will be prepared at the start and reviewed throughout the project.
Candidate Profile
Essential
- PhD (or a doctoral thesis successfully defended before the call deadline) in Control Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Marine Engineering or a closely related field;
- Strong background in dynamic systems, feedback control, autonomous systems or robotic motion control;
- Experience developing advanced control, optimisation or guidance algorithms;
- Demonstrated experience implementing and validating algorithms on a physical experimental, robotic or mobile platform;
- Competence in scientific programming and control development (MATLAB/Simulink, Python, C/C++ or comparable);
- Ability to formulate and conduct independent research, with a publication record appropriate to career stage;
- Excellent written and spoken English, and willingness to take an active role in real-time implementation and free-running experiments.
Advantageous
- Control allocation for over-actuated, redundantly actuated or distributed-propulsion systems;
- Nonlinear control, robust control, adaptive control or model predictive control;
- Machine-learning or data-driven methods for control, adaptation or system identification, combined with physics-based modelling;
- Fault detection, fault-tolerant control or actuator reconfiguration;
- Autonomous marine, surface, underwater, aerial or ground vehicles;
- Real-time optimisation, embedded control, hardware-in-the-loop testing or ROS/ROS 2 and comparable middleware;
- Path following, trajectory tracking, disturbance rejection or wave-aware control;
- Actuator saturation, rate constraints, dead zones or uncertain actuator-effectiveness models; knowledge of marine vehicle dynamics, manoeuvring models or hydrodynamic experiments.
Candidates are not expected to meet every preferred item. Researchers with a strong control or robotics background and convincing physical-system experience are encouraged to apply, including candidates from adjacent domains such as aerial, underwater, mobile or field robotics who wish to transfer their expertise to autonomous marine systems. Prior experience with marine vehicles is advantageous but not mandatory; candidates should, however, demonstrate a clear interest in learning marine hydrodynamics and in conducting substantial closed-loop experimental research.
The scientific core of the fellowship is the development and validation of guidance, control and control-allocation methods. Because the work is carried out on a physical free-running platform, a willingness to engage hands-on with experimental setup, instrumentation and integration when needed — rather than working only in simulation — is regarded as a strong asset, and candidates who enjoy this experimental, build-and-test dimension are particularly encouraged to apply.
MSCA Eligibility
Applicants must meet the official eligibility conditions of the MSCA-PF 2026 call, which is open to excellent researchers of any nationality. In particular:
- Hold a doctoral degree by the call deadline (candidates who have successfully defended but not yet formally received the degree may also be eligible);
- Have no more than eight years of full-time-equivalent research experience since the PhD award (eligible career breaks and periods outside research may be deducted);
- Be of any nationality;
- For a European Fellowship hosted in Türkiye, not have resided or carried out their main activity in Türkiye for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately preceding the call deadline;
- Meet any additional eligibility or resubmission conditions in the official 2026 call documents.
Candidates are responsible for verifying their eligibility against the complete official call conditions.
How to Express Interest
Submit a single PDF to tcosgun@yildiz.edu.tr containing:
- Academic CV — education and employment, full publication list, research projects, control and autonomy experience, physical-system implementation, supervision and relevant international activities;
- One-page research concept — briefly describing:
- The scientific or methodological control problem the candidate proposes to address;
- The proposed control-allocation, guidance or fault-tolerant-control approach;
- A clearly defined civilian marine application or validation scenario;
- How the method would be implemented and experimentally validated on a free-running multi-actuated vehicle;
- The expertise the candidate would bring to YTU-MARINE;
- The knowledge and skills the candidate aims to acquire during the fellowship;
- Up to three representative research outputs, preferably related to advanced control, autonomous systems, robotics, control allocation, fault tolerance or physical experimental validation;
Important Notice
This is a hosting offer for the joint preparation of an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship proposal — not an advertisement for an already funded position. Any appointment is conditional on the successful evaluation and funding of the jointly submitted proposal under the MSCA-PF 2026 call.
Yildiz Technical University is committed to equal opportunity, academic integrity and an inclusive research environment. Applications are welcome without discrimination based on nationality, gender, ethnic or social origin, religion or belief, disability, age, sexual orientation or other characteristics unrelated to academic merit and eligibility.
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