Human-centered security and privacy for autonomous vehicles

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are rapidly becoming part of everyday transport, yet critical challenges remain in ensuring that they are secure, privacy-preserving, and trusted by the people who use and interact with them. This PhD project will investigate how drivers, passengers, and pedestrians perceive, interpret, and respond to the behaviour of AI-enabled vehicles, particularly when vehicle decisions are unexpected, ambiguous, privacy-sensitive, or influenced by cyber threats. The project builds on emerging research that views humans as active partners in the safe operation of autonomous systems rather than passive users.

The research will explore topics such as human understanding of vehicle decision-making, privacy and data-sharing concerns in intelligent transport systems, communication between autonomous vehicles and pedestrians, trust and situational awareness, and responses to safety-critical events including cyberattacks.

You will design and evaluate novel interfaces, decision-support tools, and interaction mechanisms that help people better understand, trust, and safely engage with autonomous vehicles.

The project combines methods from cybersecurity, privacy, human-computer interaction, AI, and transportation research, but it is not required for candidates to have knowledge across all the fields.

Standout features include access to state-of-the-art driving simulation facilities, opportunities to collaborate with researchers in transportation and intelligent systems, and training in user-centred design, experimental methods, and AI-enabled technologies. The outcomes will contribute to the development of safer, more trustworthy, and socially acceptable autonomous transportation systems.

The supervisor will provide training in cybersecurity, privacy, and human-computer interactions. There will also be opportunities to collaborate with researchers in transportation and intelligent systems to deepen understanding of the socio-technical challenges facing today's AI-driven transportation systems.

Entry requirements

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in one of the following:

• computer science
• cybersecurity
• Artificial Intelligence
• software engineering
• Internet of Things
• cyber-physical systems
• human-computer interaction
• transportation and intelligent systems
• or a related discipline

Essentials skills:

• a strong programming background
• experience with user studies

Fees and funding

We offer a range of funding opportunities for both UK and international students. Horizon Europe fee waivers automatically cover the difference between overseas and UK fees for qualifying students.

Competition-based Presidential Bursaries from the University cover the difference between overseas and UK fees for top-ranked applicants.

Competition-based studentships offered by our schools typically cover UK-level tuition fees and a stipend for living costs for top-ranked applicants.

Funding will be awarded on a rolling basis, so apply early for the best opportunity to be considered.

For more information, please visit our postgraduate research funding pages.

Contact us

Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

For questions about applying, doctoralcollege-admissions@soton.ac.uk.

Project leader

For an initial conversation, weijia.he@soton.ac.uk

The School of Electronics and Computer Science is committed to promoting equality, diversity inclusivity as demonstrated by our Athena SWAN award. We welcome all applicants regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or age, and will give full consideration to applicants seeking flexible working patterns and those who have taken a career break. The University has a generous maternity policy, onsite childcare facilities, and offers a range of benefits to help ensure employees’ well-being and work-life balance. The University of Southampton is committed to sustainability and has been awarded the Platinum EcoAward.