Scaling 3D Intelligence: AI for City-Scale Reconstruction and Generation (WANGC_U26CMP)

About the Project

We are seeking an outstanding PhD candidate to join the Colour & Imaging Research Lab in the School of Computing Sciences at the University of East Anglia. This project sits at the forefront of 3D computer vision and generative AI. The PhD is a collaborative initiative between the University of East Anglia and the University of Tokyo (Japan), aiming to advance how artificial intelligence perceives, reconstructs, and synthesises urban environments. The research will integrate geometric reasoning with modern generative models to enable the creation of intelligent, dynamic digital twins.

Research Focus

This PhD will investigate novel algorithms and applications for representing, understanding, and generating urban-scale 3D content, with the goal of building realistic, editable, and semantically rich 3D models. Specific objectives may include:

• Developing robust 3D reconstruction pipelines for urban scenes using multi-view imagery, video, or sparse sensor data
• Investigating multimodal 3D generative models that integrate visual, linguistic, and spatial cues
• Leveraging neural scene representations for digital twin applications, enabling interactive editing, simulation, and predictive modelling

The project combines fundamental research in 3D representations and generative models with applied innovation in urban modelling and digital technologies. It is expected to produce high-impact research suitable for publication in leading venues such as SIGGRAPH, CVPR, and ICCV.

Environment and Supervision

This PhD forms part of a broader Royal Society-funded initiative in collaboration with the University of Tokyo. The successful candidate will be supported to undertake a three-month research visit to the University of Tokyo in Japan, as well as industrial internships during the three-year PhD programme. These opportunities may include collaborations with leading companies such as Adobe, Meta, and Epic Games, alongside partners in urban analytics, such as the National Trust.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will hold (or be close to completing) a bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, applied mathematics, or a closely related discipline. For informal enquiries, please contact Dr Cheng Wang at Cheng.C.Wang@uea.ac.uk

The School of Computing Sciences provides a vibrant research environment for conducting Computing and allied research and training. We collaborate with multi-national companies such as Apple, BT, the National Trust and Aviva, research institutes in the Norwich Research Park, as well as other universities and industries in the UK and overseas. We are also members of the Turing University Network, a group of 65 UK universities working together to advance world-class research and build skills for the future.

 The successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to Tutor activities for laboratory support on our BSc and MSc Courses in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Computing Sciences and Cyber Security commensurate with their core expertise, within the working hours permitted for full-time Postgraduate Researchers.

Funding Notes

This PhD project is in a competition for a Faculty of Science funded studentship. Funding is available to UK applicants and comprises ‘home’ tuition fees, an annual stipend for 3 years and a research training support budget.