PhD Students in Computer Vision to Estimate Breathing and Pulse from Video at KTH

Job Description

KTH is recruiting two PhD students in computer vision to measure physiological signals such as heart rate and breathing from ordinary video, in collaboration with perceptual neuroscience researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The aim is non-intrusive monitoring that could replace the sensors clinical and cognitive researchers use today.

At a glance

• Positions: PhD students (2 posts), School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Subject: Computer Science
• Supervisor and contact: Professor Hedvig Kjellström (proposed supervisor), hedvig@kth.se
• Collaboration: Perceptual neuroscience researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Solna
• Reference: PA-2026-2771
• Apply: 27 September 2026, midnight CET/CEST

About the doctoral project

• Develop video-based methods to monitor physiological parameters such as heart rate, breathing pattern, skin temperature and pupil dilation
• Use these signals to infer underlying states such as concentration, anxiety and depression, which are harder to mask than facial expressions or speech
• Work towards a non-intrusive alternative to the devices used in clinical and cognitive-science practice

Swedish doctoral positions are salaried jobs rather than scholarships: you are employed by the university, take doctoral courses, do research with a supervisor, and may teach up to a fifth of the time.

What KTH is looking for

• Basic eligibility for doctoral studies: a second-cycle (master’s) degree, or at least 240 higher education credits including 60 at second-cycle level, or equivalent knowledge
• English equivalent to English B/6 (mandatory)
• A master’s degree with a major in machine learning, AI, signal processing or computer vision
• Documented experience in machine learning, especially programming deep neural networks
• Documented experience in computer vision, image processing or signal processing

Nice to have

• Experience with medical applications
• Experience with 3D analysis of humans in video

Pay and location

Monthly salary under KTH’s doctoral student salary agreement; the posting gives no figure. Employment is renewed in steps (first up to one year, then up to two years at a time) for a total of up to four years of full-time doctoral education. The position is in Stockholm, Sweden.

How to apply

Apply through the official KTH page. The closing date is 27 September 2026, midnight CET/CEST. Apply for the position and admission through KTH’s recruitment system using the link on the official posting. The application must include copies of diplomas and grades and proof of meeting the English requirement (copies of originals must be certified, with translations into English or Swedish where needed), a CV, an application letter of at most two pages on why you want to do research and how it relates to your studies and goals, and representative publications or technical reports (for long documents, an abstract plus a web link). Applications must arrive by midnight CET/CEST on the closing date.

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