The Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) research group of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KU Leuven conducts research on sustainable product and process design across the full product life cycle. The group focuses on methodologies and technologies that support circular economy strategies such as reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling.
Research activities combine ecodesign, manufacturing/robotic systems, software/computer vision tools, and sustainability assessment, and are carried out in close collaboration with industrial partners and public organizations. The group actively contributes to European and international research initiatives and provides a multidisciplinary research environment for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers working on the transition towards more sustainable production and consumption systems.
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Project
This PhD position is part of the academic network working on ecodesign, an international research and training initiative. The network aims to advance digital and ecodesign methodologies that enable scalable circular economy practices, aligned with European sustainability, resource efficiency, and Digital Product Passport (DPP) policies.
Digital Product Passports are emerging as a cornerstone of European circular economy policy, aiming to make product‑related information accessible and usable across the entire value chain. While existing platforms such as the International Dismantling Information System (IDIS) already provide guidance for safety and disassembly procedures, the accessibility, consistency, and structure of such information vary significantly. Updates are frequent, yet information formats are often fragmented, non-standardized, and not tailored to different user groups, hindering rapid localization and contextual use of instructions, especially in real‑world repair, remanufacturing, and recycling workflows.
At the same time, Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) technologies have demonstrated strong potential to support complex manual operations by providing interactive, in‑situ digital working instructions (DWIs). However, current AR/VR solutions are typically developed as standalone applications, manually authored, and weakly connected to product‑level data. As a result, they are difficult to scale, maintain, and align with regulatory DPP requirements or evolving product configurations.
The objective of this PhD project is to design DPP data structures, guidelines, and enabling frameworks that support AI‑ and AR/VR‑assisted reuse, repair, remanufacturing, and recycling of digital working instructions.
The research will investigate which product, process, and lifecycle information must be embedded within DPPs to enable automatic or semi‑automatic generation of DWIs, real‑time, context‑aware guidance via AR and VR interfaces, and bidirectional information exchange between operators, AI systems, and DPP infrastructures.
A central research focus will be the exploration of dynamic and machine‑interpretable data formats that allow DWIs to be generated, updated, aligned, and synchronized across different use contexts, ranging from customer‑facing self‑repair scenarios to professional circular business operations.
In addition, the project will explore the use of (multi‑modal) Large Language Models (LLMs) and other AI techniques to support the automated generation and adaptation of DWIs from DPP data. This research will explicitly assess which types of information remain critical to standardize and store in DPPs when AI‑assisted instruction generation is introduced.
By connecting AI, AR/VR technologies, and DPP frameworks, this project will advance the state of the art in digital design tools for circular economy applications. The expected outcome is a set of scalable DPP frameworks capable of supporting automatically generated DWIs, recommendations for DWI information requirements and standardization, and practical guidelines for integrating these solutions into industrial workflows.
- Validation and industrial relevance
The developed methodologies will be validated through industrial case studies in collaboration with European manufacturing and remanufacturing companies. For this, the PhD includes two mandatory international secondments (2-3 months), providing direct exposure to industrial design practice, advanced manufacturing technologies, and real world remanufacturing constraints.
To validate the developed technologies and DPP framework, the candidate is expected to build on commercial and prior research-developed projection-based AR digital work instruction systems. Diverse human-robot cooperative setups equipped with both op mounted dual projection systems and robot-mounted projection systems will be available to perform validation testing on case study products with small user groups and for the purpose of demonstration in the newly established remanufacturing light house laboratories at Flanders Make @ KU Leuven, in Belgium, Heverlee, managed by the LCE research group.
Through this combination of methodological development, laboratory-based experimental validation, and industrial collaboration, the objective is to generate actionable design knowledge that supports the goal of advancing sustainable and policy-aligned circular DPPs and manufacturing strategies.
Profile
• Education: You do not hold a doctoral degree. You hold a Master’s degree in software engineering, ICT, computer science, game development, or related fields obtained with at least distinction (cum laude) or an internationally recognized equivalent, as required for admission to the KU Leuven Doctoral School.
• Technical skills: Practical experience in programming and an interest in data structures and information modeling, AR/VR application development, AI assisted content generation, and human computer interaction in industrial contexts.
• Communication: You communicate effectively in English, both orally and in writing; knowledge of Dutch is considered an asset, but is not required.
• Research focus: You have a strong interest in ecodesign, re‑ and demanufacturing, and human‑robot collaboration in an industrial context.
• Drive: You are motivated to conduct doctoral research and to work in a multidisciplinary and international research environment.
• Hands-on approach: You are willing to carry out experimental research and participate in mandatory international secondments at our industrial partners.
• International mobility rule: To foster international exchange, at the time of recruitment, you must not have resided or carried out your main activity (work or studies) in Belgium for more than 12 months during the 36 months immediately preceding 01/10/2026.
Beyond academic excellence, we value candidates with strong teamwork abilities, interdisciplinary curiosity, and an awareness of the socio-economic and policy impacts of sustainable engineering.
Offer
A funded PhD position, including international secondments, competitive salary, doctoral training, and access to state‑of‑the‑art human-robot cooperative labs equipped with AR/VR systems. The EU Researcher Allowances will be used to cover both the employee’s and the employer’s mandatory charges
The network adheres to the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, ensuring a transparent and fair selection process. We believe that ambitious research requires a variety of voices, and we view diversity as a core strength of our team.
Our recruitment is based on a broad definition of merit: we value not only academic grades but also your teamwork abilities, interdisciplinary knowledge, and soft skills. We are committed to equal opportunity and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, including, but not limited to, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religious diversity, neurodiversity, or socioeconomic background.
In line with our commitment to gender balance, we particularly encourage applications from women. We also welcome researchers from underrepresented backgrounds and new EU Member States to join our multidisciplinary environment.
To support our commitment to equity and meritocracy, please ensure you compile the “Summary Sheet” document (available here: https://kuleuven-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/nuria_boixrodriguez_kuleuven_be/IQCOwYLom5SDTaRkTWtdT4b9AZD_-MJxaohko2Jk-Atq3AY?rtime=vLYz5G2v3kg) and include it as the first pages of your motivation letter. In addition, avoid using your family name or first name in the Motivation Letter and when naming your files (e.g., Summary_Motivation.pdf).
Interested?
For more information please contact Dr. Núria Boix Rodríguez, mail: [email protected].
KU Leuven strives for an inclusive, respectful and socially safe environment. We embrace diversity among individuals and groups as an asset. Open dialogue and differences in perspective are essential for an ambitious research and educational environment. In our commitment to equal opportunity, we recognize the consequences of historical inequalities. We do not accept any form of discrimination based on, but not limited to, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnic or national background, skin colour, religious and philosophical diversity, neurodivergence, employment disability, health, or socioeconomic status. For questions about accessibility or support offered, we are happy to assist you at this email address.
