NIT Andhra Pradesh – Hiring for Project Associate / Research Fellow (Drone Crop Monitoring) @ Tadepalligudem

National Institute of Technology Andhra Pradesh (NIT Andhra Pradesh) invites applications from motivated candidates for a temporary project position in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. The project is sponsored by the NMICPS TiHAN Foundation (IIT Hyderabad) and focuses on Deep Learning-enabled Autonomous Drones for Crop Monitoring.

Job Details

About Institution

NIT Andhra Pradesh is an Institute of National Importance established by the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India. Situated in Tadepalligudem, West Godavari District, the institute actively promotes interdisciplinary technological research and innovation.

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Job Description

The selected candidate will work on developing and implementing autonomous UAV algorithms for agricultural monitoring. Responsibilities include simulating machine learning models, deploying control algorithms onto UAV hardware, and operating custom drones for field-based agricultural data collection.

Requirements & Required Qualifications

1. Essential Qualification

• B.E. / B.Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, or a relevant specialization.

2. Desirable Criteria

• Hands-on experience or research exposure in Computer Science, Drones, Agricultural Monitoring, or Electronics.
• Strong technical background in programming drones, executing control algorithms, machine learning model development, and hardware implementation.

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Algorithm Simulation & Analysis: Design, test, and analyze computer vision and machine learning models for agricultural monitoring.
2. UAV Hardware Integration: Deploy software algorithms directly onto UAV platforms and control hardware.
3. Field Operations: Operate and program drones to collect field data for agricultural monitoring tasks.

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Skills You’ll Gain

Application Procedure & Selection Process

Application Instructions

1. Download the prescribed application form attached to the advertisement.
2. Complete the form and attach your detailed CV/resume along with educational mark sheets and experience credentials.
3. Submit the completed soft copy via email to nageshbhattu@nitandhra.ac.in.
4. Official Careers Portal Link:NIT Andhra Pradesh Careers

Selection Details

• Shortlisted candidates will be notified via email or phone.
• Selection will be conducted through an Interview (Online or Offline).
• No TA/DA will be provided for attending the interview.
• For queries, contact Dr. S. Nagesh Bhattu (Assistant Professor, CSE) at +91-9441955120 or email nageshbhattu@nitandhra.ac.in.

Frequently Asked Interview Questions (With Answers & Solution Guidelines)

UAV Control & Autonomous Navigation

• Question:“How do PID controllers and Kalman filters interact during autonomous drone path tracking?”
• Answer & Solution Context: Explain that Kalman filters fuse sensor data (IMU, GPS, optical flow) to estimate the drone’s true state (position and velocity) by filtering out noise. The PID controller receives this state estimate, compares it against the desired trajectory waypoint, and calculates corrective motor thrust commands to eliminate position error.

Computer Vision for Crop Health Monitoring

• Question:“Which deep learning architectures and spectral indices are optimal for identifying crop stress from aerial drone imagery?”
• Answer & Solution Context: Detail that convolutional networks (CNNs like YOLO, UNet) or vision transformers are used for semantic segmentation of field imagery. Indices like NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) or NDRE (Normalized Difference Red Edge), calculated from multispectral UAV cameras, highlight chlorophyll absorption changes to flag early crop stress before visual symptoms appear.