Learning Robotic Navigation and Interaction from Object-based Semantic Maps. Our project aims to develop new learning algorithms that enable robots to perform high-complexity tasks that are currently impossible. Compared to existing methods that rely on low-level sensor data, we aim to achieve this by learning from a high-level graph representation of the environment that captures semantics, affordances, and geometry. The outcome would be robots capable of using human instructions to efficiently ....Learning Robotic Navigation and Interaction from Object-based Semantic Maps. Our project aims to develop new learning algorithms that enable robots to perform high-complexity tasks that are currently impossible. Compared to existing methods that rely on low-level sensor data, we aim to achieve this by learning from a high-level graph representation of the environment that captures semantics, affordances, and geometry. The outcome would be robots capable of using human instructions to efficiently learn complex interaction and navigation behaviours that transfer to unseen environments. Our research should benefit new applications in domains of economic and societal importance that are currently too complex, unsafe, and uncertain for robot assistants, such as aged care, advanced manufacturing and domestic robotics.Read moreRead less
How the brain generates robust behaviour in noisy sensory environments. This project aims to investigate the origins of variability in the control of movements. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of sensory and motor neuroscience by determining how variability in the activity of sensory and motor neurons accounts for variability in the initiation and control of eye movements. Expected outcomes of this project include international collaboration, development of new methods ....How the brain generates robust behaviour in noisy sensory environments. This project aims to investigate the origins of variability in the control of movements. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of sensory and motor neuroscience by determining how variability in the activity of sensory and motor neurons accounts for variability in the initiation and control of eye movements. Expected outcomes of this project include international collaboration, development of new methods for imaging neural activity in vivo, and refinement of theories concerning the cause and implications of noise in the brain. This should provide significant benefits such as a better understanding of why our movements are variable, and whether it is desirable or possible to minimise this variability. Read moreRead less
Natural form, aesthetics and the human brain. This project aims to study how the brain represents the emotion of aesthetic experience. This project will establish the characteristics of flowers and floral design that govern their appeal using large scale web based data collection, and identify the neural representation of floral beauty using integrative data analysis. Outcomes of the project are expected to help flower growers and designers with product planning, supporting industry sustainabili ....Natural form, aesthetics and the human brain. This project aims to study how the brain represents the emotion of aesthetic experience. This project will establish the characteristics of flowers and floral design that govern their appeal using large scale web based data collection, and identify the neural representation of floral beauty using integrative data analysis. Outcomes of the project are expected to help flower growers and designers with product planning, supporting industry sustainability. The project will also establish how the brain generates positive experience in response to our visual environment, promoting well-being by enabling informed visual design decisions.Read moreRead less
Emergent cues underlying the perception of shape, colour, and material . This goal of this project is to identify the information the visual system uses to extract the three-dimensional structure and material composition of objects. This project aims to generate an advanced understanding of the information that supports these perceptual abilities and to advance our understanding how this information is learned from exposure to natural scenes. The findings of this work are expected to benefit ou ....Emergent cues underlying the perception of shape, colour, and material . This goal of this project is to identify the information the visual system uses to extract the three-dimensional structure and material composition of objects. This project aims to generate an advanced understanding of the information that supports these perceptual abilities and to advance our understanding how this information is learned from exposure to natural scenes. The findings of this work are expected to benefit our understanding of the human visual system, and to provide insights into the information needed to advance the development of deep neural networks (machine learning) that exploit the same information used by humans to guide our behavior and recognize objects and materials.Read moreRead less
Unlocking Mass Mobile Video Analytics with Advanced Neural Memory Networks. This project will develop neural memory architectures and dense spatial-temporal bundle adjustment to predict movement, behaviour, and perform multi-sensor fusion across large asynchronous video feeds. This capability will allow us to better interrogate and analyse mass video information recorded from the vast number of smartphones, action cameras, and surveillance cameras which exist at public events of interest. Outcom ....Unlocking Mass Mobile Video Analytics with Advanced Neural Memory Networks. This project will develop neural memory architectures and dense spatial-temporal bundle adjustment to predict movement, behaviour, and perform multi-sensor fusion across large asynchronous video feeds. This capability will allow us to better interrogate and analyse mass video information recorded from the vast number of smartphones, action cameras, and surveillance cameras which exist at public events of interest. Outcomes include the ability to ingest multiple video feeds into a dense and dynamic 3D reconstruction for knowledge representation and discovery, and analysis of events and behaviour through new spatio-temporal analytic approaches. This will offer significant benefits for video forensic analysis, policing, and emergency response.Read moreRead less
Perceiving and misperceiving the causes of optical structure. This project aims to understand the conditions that cause humans to misperceive the shape and surface properties of real-world materials. Most natural materials are translucent to varying degrees, but little is known about how light is transported through them or how such materials are perceived or misperceived. This project will determine the conditions and causes responsible for the misperception of material properties and shape, an ....Perceiving and misperceiving the causes of optical structure. This project aims to understand the conditions that cause humans to misperceive the shape and surface properties of real-world materials. Most natural materials are translucent to varying degrees, but little is known about how light is transported through them or how such materials are perceived or misperceived. This project will determine the conditions and causes responsible for the misperception of material properties and shape, and will offer practical information about what can be done to minimise such misperceptions. The outcomes of the project are expected to lead to new techniques for depicting and manipulating real-world translucent materials in computer graphics, virtual reality, and gaming industries.Read moreRead less
Assistive micro-navigation for vision impaired people. This project aims to develop novel algorithms to transform a simple camera into a smart sensor, that can enable a vision-impaired person to navigate freely and without additional aids in a crowded area. Such a smart sensor will be endowed with the capability to detect and locate obstacles, identify the walking path, recognise objects and traffic signs and convey step-by-step instructions to the user. The project outcomes are expected to impr ....Assistive micro-navigation for vision impaired people. This project aims to develop novel algorithms to transform a simple camera into a smart sensor, that can enable a vision-impaired person to navigate freely and without additional aids in a crowded area. Such a smart sensor will be endowed with the capability to detect and locate obstacles, identify the walking path, recognise objects and traffic signs and convey step-by-step instructions to the user. The project outcomes are expected to improve the well-being and accessibility to public areas for vision-impaired people and reduce physical access disparities for this disadvantaged and vulnerable group. Furthermore, technologies developed in this project can potentially be adapted for use in related special navigation applications such as road safety, self-driving vehicles, and autonomous robots.Read moreRead less
New Paradigms for Robust Fitting: Kernelisation and Polyhedral Search. Outliers inevitably exist in visual data due to imperfect data acquisition or preprocessing. To enable computer vision applications that can perform reliably, robust fitting algorithms are necessary to counter the biasing influence of outliers. However, current robust algorithms are unsatisfactory: they are unreliable (due to using randomisation) or too computationally costly (due to using exhaustive search). This project wil ....New Paradigms for Robust Fitting: Kernelisation and Polyhedral Search. Outliers inevitably exist in visual data due to imperfect data acquisition or preprocessing. To enable computer vision applications that can perform reliably, robust fitting algorithms are necessary to counter the biasing influence of outliers. However, current robust algorithms are unsatisfactory: they are unreliable (due to using randomisation) or too computationally costly (due to using exhaustive search). This project will develop new robust algorithms to mitigate these shortcomings. It will do so by investigating two new paradigms of kernelisation and polyhedral search, which offer unprecedented theoretical insights into the problem. The outcomes will contribute towards computer vision applications that are more practical and reliable.Read moreRead less
Exploiting the Symmetry of Spatial Awareness for 21st Century Automation. This project aims to enable autonomous robotic systems to operate more robustly and more reliably in the complex, cluttered and dynamic environments found in real-world applications. Applying the latest understanding of symmetry in non-linear systems and control provides tools that can be used to develop new design methodologies for spatial awareness algorithms. The outcomes of this project should increase Australia's ca ....Exploiting the Symmetry of Spatial Awareness for 21st Century Automation. This project aims to enable autonomous robotic systems to operate more robustly and more reliably in the complex, cluttered and dynamic environments found in real-world applications. Applying the latest understanding of symmetry in non-linear systems and control provides tools that can be used to develop new design methodologies for spatial awareness algorithms. The outcomes of this project should increase Australia's capacity in high-tech systems and deliver world best open source code for spatial awareness problems to enable the next generation of automation in Australia.Read moreRead less
Square Eyes or All Lies? Understanding Children's Exposure to Screens. This project will examine Australian parents’ number one concern about their children’s health and behaviour – their interactions with electronic screens. Current screen time guidelines are based on low-quality evidence and lack the nuance required to address this complex issue. This project will use innovative technology to resolve these weaknesses. Wearable cameras will measure what children are doing on screens, and where, ....Square Eyes or All Lies? Understanding Children's Exposure to Screens. This project will examine Australian parents’ number one concern about their children’s health and behaviour – their interactions with electronic screens. Current screen time guidelines are based on low-quality evidence and lack the nuance required to address this complex issue. This project will use innovative technology to resolve these weaknesses. Wearable cameras will measure what children are doing on screens, and where, when, and how long they are doing it. The project will also investigate how screen time impacts children’s development and how it is influenced by their environment. This evidence will benefit children by improving screen time guidelines, and help parents understand the impact of screen time on children’s development.
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