Image-based teleoperation of semi-autonomous robotic vehicles. This project will contribute strongly to Australia's robotic service industry in the development of semi-autonomous robotic inspection vehicles by; developing core technology in image-based teleoperation, training experts in the area, promoting the study of this topic within the Australian academia, and developing test facilities and prototype vehicles. Robotic inspection vehicles have the potential to replace direct human presence i ....Image-based teleoperation of semi-autonomous robotic vehicles. This project will contribute strongly to Australia's robotic service industry in the development of semi-autonomous robotic inspection vehicles by; developing core technology in image-based teleoperation, training experts in the area, promoting the study of this topic within the Australian academia, and developing test facilities and prototype vehicles. Robotic inspection vehicles have the potential to replace direct human presence in difficult, dangerous or simply uncomfortable inspection tasks such as; inspection of industrial pressure vessels, piping and conduits in factories or mines, undersea cabling, inspection of bridges, dams and other large scale civil buildings, amongst many other possibilities.Read moreRead less
Image Based Visual Servo Control of Dynamic Under-Actuated Systems. The project builds on earlier work on visual servo control of under-actuated rigid body dynamics to develop and implement sophisticated and robust image based visual servo control for a wide class of under-actuated and fully actuated dynamic systems. The scope of the project extends far beyond basic testing of preliminary results to address key technical issues facing visual servo control algorithms at this time. The project i ....Image Based Visual Servo Control of Dynamic Under-Actuated Systems. The project builds on earlier work on visual servo control of under-actuated rigid body dynamics to develop and implement sophisticated and robust image based visual servo control for a wide class of under-actuated and fully actuated dynamic systems. The scope of the project extends far beyond basic testing of preliminary results to address key technical issues facing visual servo control algorithms at this time. The project is strongly motivated by the host of emerging applications for visual servo control of unmanned aerial vehicles. The experimental program within the project is based on control of a four rotor VTOL `hoverbot'.Read moreRead less
Parallel-Link Mechanism Control using new Concept and Techniques. The new knowledge and techniques, as a result of this research project, will have direct relevance to many Australian industries. In particular, they provide opportunities to improve Australia's competitiveness through innovations for the manufacturing sector. For this sector, increasing global competition and tariff reductions pose serious challenges to its continuing international competitiveness. There is an urgent need to deve ....Parallel-Link Mechanism Control using new Concept and Techniques. The new knowledge and techniques, as a result of this research project, will have direct relevance to many Australian industries. In particular, they provide opportunities to improve Australia's competitiveness through innovations for the manufacturing sector. For this sector, increasing global competition and tariff reductions pose serious challenges to its continuing international competitiveness. There is an urgent need to develop cost effective innovative products. The outcomes of this research will produce a faster, more accurate, cheaper and optimally controlled parallel-link robot than currently available. Read moreRead less
Micromanipulation system. Many frontier areas such as micromanufacturing, microsurgery, biotechnology, and nanotechnology require high precision micromanipulation systems. This project aims to investigate fundamental issues in micromanipulation systems using an ARC-LIEF funded research facility, and establish methodologies for modelling and analysis, together with their experimental verification to evaluate the influence of various parameters in such systems. The findings will be utilised to e ....Micromanipulation system. Many frontier areas such as micromanufacturing, microsurgery, biotechnology, and nanotechnology require high precision micromanipulation systems. This project aims to investigate fundamental issues in micromanipulation systems using an ARC-LIEF funded research facility, and establish methodologies for modelling and analysis, together with their experimental verification to evaluate the influence of various parameters in such systems. The findings will be utilised to establish sensory-based control techniques to solve problems associated with predictability, control, and efficiency for future advancement of such novel systems. The outcomes will include acquiring new knowledge in micromanipulation systems for potential utilization of the innovative concepts in the frontier areas.Read moreRead less
Haptic exploration and manipulation of micro/nano scale environment. The proposed research is novel and innovative in character and it has potential benefits in many frontier areas utilising micro/nano manipulation systems. These include micromanufacturing and instrumentation, microbiology, microsurgery and nanotechnology. The outcomes of this project will add to the growth of world-class Australian engineering science, and consolidate Australia's position in innovative technologies and internat ....Haptic exploration and manipulation of micro/nano scale environment. The proposed research is novel and innovative in character and it has potential benefits in many frontier areas utilising micro/nano manipulation systems. These include micromanufacturing and instrumentation, microbiology, microsurgery and nanotechnology. The outcomes of this project will add to the growth of world-class Australian engineering science, and consolidate Australia's position in innovative technologies and international R&D. This highly challenging project will provide training for postdoctorate researchers, postgraduate and honours students. These researchers will gain expertise in many areas including micro/nano manipulation, sensing and control, system design and analysis, virtual reality and experimental techniques.Read moreRead less
ANATOMICAL ORGAN MODELLING AND SURGICAL PROCEDURE SIMULATION FOR THORACOSCOPIC SURGERY. We aim to establish novel virtual reality-based surgical procedure simulation methodologies, geometric and physical models of human organs, and surgical tools and interaction modules for thoracoscopic surgery or for minimally invasive surgical procedures. This is needed to optimize surgical strategy and to anticipate possible problems that may arise during the procedure, and to train medical staff as the tren ....ANATOMICAL ORGAN MODELLING AND SURGICAL PROCEDURE SIMULATION FOR THORACOSCOPIC SURGERY. We aim to establish novel virtual reality-based surgical procedure simulation methodologies, geometric and physical models of human organs, and surgical tools and interaction modules for thoracoscopic surgery or for minimally invasive surgical procedures. This is needed to optimize surgical strategy and to anticipate possible problems that may arise during the procedure, and to train medical staff as the trend towards robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery continues. What makes this project novel is the anatomical organ modeling approach based on virtual springs and dampers traversing between the top and bottom surfaces of the organs and tissues, contrary to previous approaches.Read moreRead less
High-Fidelity Modelling for Robotic-Assisted Minimally Invasive Needle Insertion. This project will develop robotic-assisted needle insertion and greatly improve minimally invasive surgery. It will also enhance the establishment of intellectual property for Australian medicine and produce important benefits to the healthcare sector. The proposed symbiotic integration of the systems will advance modelling technologies, and further create new capabilities for a wide range of science and engineerin ....High-Fidelity Modelling for Robotic-Assisted Minimally Invasive Needle Insertion. This project will develop robotic-assisted needle insertion and greatly improve minimally invasive surgery. It will also enhance the establishment of intellectual property for Australian medicine and produce important benefits to the healthcare sector. The proposed symbiotic integration of the systems will advance modelling technologies, and further create new capabilities for a wide range of science and engineering applications. The established methodologies and systems will also provide great potential benefits in many other areas, including microbiology, life sciences and bio/nano-technology. The project's outcomes will further consolidate Australia's position in innovative technologies and international research and development.Read moreRead less
A new paradigm for teaching machines to replicate the manipulation skills of humans using tactile sensing in a virtual environment. The broad aims of this proposal are to study machine learning in the psychomotor domain, and to show the feasibility of on line transfer of physically constrained manipulation skills from a human operator to a manipulator through demonstration utilising a virtual training environment with tactile sensing. The proposed work is unique in its approach and hypothesis, a ....A new paradigm for teaching machines to replicate the manipulation skills of humans using tactile sensing in a virtual environment. The broad aims of this proposal are to study machine learning in the psychomotor domain, and to show the feasibility of on line transfer of physically constrained manipulation skills from a human operator to a manipulator through demonstration utilising a virtual training environment with tactile sensing. The proposed work is unique in its approach and hypothesis, and will provide a new insight into the nature of transfer of manipulation skills from human to machine. It will produce new generic intelligent algorithms and methodologies to emulate different stages of human psychomotor learning in machine including perception, imitation, mechanism and complex/overt response.Read moreRead less
Simultaneous localisation and image fusion for robotic explorations. Australia has played a leading role in the field of autonomous system research that s becoming increasingly prevalent in industrial applications such as environment monitoring, remote sensing, and battlefield intelligence. Unstructured and landmark-deficient operating conditions impose significant challenges in achieving accurate mapping and localisation. This research will develop a framework for image-based mapping and fusion ....Simultaneous localisation and image fusion for robotic explorations. Australia has played a leading role in the field of autonomous system research that s becoming increasingly prevalent in industrial applications such as environment monitoring, remote sensing, and battlefield intelligence. Unstructured and landmark-deficient operating conditions impose significant challenges in achieving accurate mapping and localisation. This research will develop a framework for image-based mapping and fusion, thus contributing to the key enabling technologies for autonomous systems. The outcomes of this project will contribute to the current international leadership of Australia in this fast-evolving technology.Read moreRead less
A Novel Reconfigurable Unlimited Spherical Motion Generator. The main contribution of this research lies in the National Research Priority of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries. The main outcome is a strategy to produce unlimited spherical motion with high precision. It is an innovative solution that is applicable to many cutting edge research and industry problems. Immediate application is expected to produce a faithful motion simulation, for flight, astr ....A Novel Reconfigurable Unlimited Spherical Motion Generator. The main contribution of this research lies in the National Research Priority of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries. The main outcome is a strategy to produce unlimited spherical motion with high precision. It is an innovative solution that is applicable to many cutting edge research and industry problems. Immediate application is expected to produce a faithful motion simulation, for flight, astronaut, and vehicle control training. It would potentially improve the quality of human resources and the quality of Australian industry, both civil and military. This project would also enhance the Australian competitive technological edge in developing advanced mechatronic systems.Read moreRead less