Distributed Estimation and Control under Communication Constraints. Sensor networks will be an important technology for Australia's future. Applications range from monitoring water quality to controlling complex defence systems. This project will lead to a better understanding of the fundamental limits of wireless sensor networks. Above and beyond the creation of new theory and algorithms, the national and community benefits will include: (i) enhancement of Australia's reputation for innovative ....Distributed Estimation and Control under Communication Constraints. Sensor networks will be an important technology for Australia's future. Applications range from monitoring water quality to controlling complex defence systems. This project will lead to a better understanding of the fundamental limits of wireless sensor networks. Above and beyond the creation of new theory and algorithms, the national and community benefits will include: (i) enhancement of Australia's reputation for innovative Engineering research through quality publications and international collaborations; and (ii) improvement of the research and development capability in the information and communications technology sector through high level training of postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows in this important technology.Read moreRead less
Developing Intelligent Systems for Manufacturing Control. The primary aim of this project is to develop control systems that interactively learn from the environment to increase the capabilities and performance of manufacturing processes. To achieve this we propose to develop manufacturing control systems that can automatically adapt to the changes in the process under control. Since these systems are expected to operate with limited or no human intervention, they need to be intelligent enough t ....Developing Intelligent Systems for Manufacturing Control. The primary aim of this project is to develop control systems that interactively learn from the environment to increase the capabilities and performance of manufacturing processes. To achieve this we propose to develop manufacturing control systems that can automatically adapt to the changes in the process under control. Since these systems are expected to operate with limited or no human intervention, they need to be intelligent enough to be able to learn from a changing environment and adapt correspondingly in order to achieve and maintain performance objectives.
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Emergence of modular structure in complex systems. Complex systems pervade our world, but are still poorly understood. Self-contained modules provide the most widespread and effective way of reducing and managing complexity, but the way they form in natural systems remains largely a mystery. This study investigates mechanisms that contribute to module formation in complex networks, including adaptation, clustering, enslavement, feedback, phase change and synchronisation. Outcomes will include in ....Emergence of modular structure in complex systems. Complex systems pervade our world, but are still poorly understood. Self-contained modules provide the most widespread and effective way of reducing and managing complexity, but the way they form in natural systems remains largely a mystery. This study investigates mechanisms that contribute to module formation in complex networks, including adaptation, clustering, enslavement, feedback, phase change and synchronisation. Outcomes will include insights into the organisation and functioning of many complex systems, including the Internet, ecological communities and genetic networks. Practical outcomes will include new modelling tools and applications both to evolutionary computation and the design and control of large information networks.Read moreRead less
Studying Discretisation Behaviours in Variable Structure Control Systems. Variable structure control is a technology that helps build very simple and effective switching control devices for dealing with environmental uncertainties, which are widely used, for example, in industrial control systems/processes. The outcomes from this research will help the understanding of control performance deterioration due to discretisation and developing effective measures for protection from possible ill beha ....Studying Discretisation Behaviours in Variable Structure Control Systems. Variable structure control is a technology that helps build very simple and effective switching control devices for dealing with environmental uncertainties, which are widely used, for example, in industrial control systems/processes. The outcomes from this research will help the understanding of control performance deterioration due to discretisation and developing effective measures for protection from possible ill behaviours of these control devices. This research will place Australia in the forefront of the development of this new technology, resulting in enhanced reliability of control devices, improved productivity and cost saving for industries, and consequent improvement in quality of life.Read moreRead less
Nodal Power Saving for Disconnected Ad Hoc Sensor Networks. Bushfire, age care and farming is Australia's today and tomorrow.
A key aspect in bushfire control is early detection of ignitions by spreading miniature low power sensors in a large potential area in an ad hoc fashion and localizing. Response to panic alarm buttons by retirees in a retirement village where they are free to walk around while their location is monitored in real time using a wireless tag they carry to transmit data re ....Nodal Power Saving for Disconnected Ad Hoc Sensor Networks. Bushfire, age care and farming is Australia's today and tomorrow.
A key aspect in bushfire control is early detection of ignitions by spreading miniature low power sensors in a large potential area in an ad hoc fashion and localizing. Response to panic alarm buttons by retirees in a retirement village where they are free to walk around while their location is monitored in real time using a wireless tag they carry to transmit data relating to their physical health(i.e blood pressure, ECG etc). Locating live stocks roaming around in the dairy industry using sensory transmission used for monitoring their statues is vitals for the farmer for improving efficiency.
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Overseeing the internet: new paradigms of network measurement. Like the electricity network, the Internet is a core infrastructure, and so must be reliable, efficient, and fairly accessible. A gap in bandwidth supply is like a blackout in terms of lost business and productivity. Inefficiency increases costs as more equipment is needed for the same service, and an inability to police network providers distorts economics and strangles access to the best services. Network health can only be assesse ....Overseeing the internet: new paradigms of network measurement. Like the electricity network, the Internet is a core infrastructure, and so must be reliable, efficient, and fairly accessible. A gap in bandwidth supply is like a blackout in terms of lost business and productivity. Inefficiency increases costs as more equipment is needed for the same service, and an inability to police network providers distorts economics and strangles access to the best services. Network health can only be assessed through measurements, however, current methods are incapable of measuring some of the most important metrics, for instance whether a provider is conforming to its contract. This project will provide the breakthroughs necessary to ensure that network behaviour can be accurately and comprehensively assessed.Read moreRead less
Resource-aware Signal Processing and Control Algorithms for Networked Sensor Systems. Networked sensing and control is an important technology for Australia's future. Applications range from monitoring wildlife habitats to safety management of large civil structures. This project will lead to sustainable engineering solutions for these applications and provide key fundamental performance limits. Beyond the creation of new theory and algorithms, the national and community benefits will include: ....Resource-aware Signal Processing and Control Algorithms for Networked Sensor Systems. Networked sensing and control is an important technology for Australia's future. Applications range from monitoring wildlife habitats to safety management of large civil structures. This project will lead to sustainable engineering solutions for these applications and provide key fundamental performance limits. Beyond the creation of new theory and algorithms, the national and community benefits will include: (i) enhancement of Australia's reputation for innovative Engineering research through quality publications and international collaborations; and (ii) improvement of the research and development capability in the ICT sector through rigorous training of postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows.Read moreRead less
Emergence of robust, stable structures via computation within natural networks. An ever-increasing challenge for modern society is the sheer complexity of vast infrastructures. Unexpected, and sometimes catastrophic, behaviour often emerges from interactions between elements of large systems. As a result, highly complex systems such as the Internet, international finance markets, and power grids are highly susceptible to costly problems such as cascading failures, inefficiency, and critical sens ....Emergence of robust, stable structures via computation within natural networks. An ever-increasing challenge for modern society is the sheer complexity of vast infrastructures. Unexpected, and sometimes catastrophic, behaviour often emerges from interactions between elements of large systems. As a result, highly complex systems such as the Internet, international finance markets, and power grids are highly susceptible to costly problems such as cascading failures, inefficiency, and critical sensitivity. High-tech industries, such as biotechnology and information networking, also face problems in coordinating swarms of interacting agents. This project will contribute to solving such problems by identifying and adapting solutions from nature.Read moreRead less
Enabling Reliable, Efficient, and Secure Networks: Next Generation Measurement for the Internet. Like the electricity network, the Internet is a core infrastructure connecting society, and so must be reliable, efficient, and secure. A gap in bandwidth supply is like a blackout in terms of lost business, productivity and essential data. Inefficiency increases costs as more equipment is needed for the same service, and poor security threatens both the economic and personal spheres, limiting free ....Enabling Reliable, Efficient, and Secure Networks: Next Generation Measurement for the Internet. Like the electricity network, the Internet is a core infrastructure connecting society, and so must be reliable, efficient, and secure. A gap in bandwidth supply is like a blackout in terms of lost business, productivity and essential data. Inefficiency increases costs as more equipment is needed for the same service, and poor security threatens both the economic and personal spheres, limiting freedom and adding cost. A raw material of network health and security is network measurements showing what is going on. However, current methods cannot cope with the size and speed of today's Internet. This project will provide the measurement breakthroughs necessary to ensure that networks are reliable, secure, and fairly priced.Read moreRead less
A Methodology for Designing Information Systems based on Situational Theories of Agency. Information systems (IS) are part of work systems that are goal-directed. Existing methodologies for designing IS implicitly assume that goal-directed behaviour is enabled by deliberation upon abstract models (the 'thinker' metaphor). Recent work in robotics and artificial intelligence has tested an alternative theory of goal-directed behaviour that emphasises reactive responses to situations (the 'routine' ....A Methodology for Designing Information Systems based on Situational Theories of Agency. Information systems (IS) are part of work systems that are goal-directed. Existing methodologies for designing IS implicitly assume that goal-directed behaviour is enabled by deliberation upon abstract models (the 'thinker' metaphor). Recent work in robotics and artificial intelligence has tested an alternative theory of goal-directed behaviour that emphasises reactive responses to situations (the 'routine' metaphor). We will refine and test a new IS design methodology based on this situational theory and show that it can produce effective IS designs, applicable to time-constrained routine operational domains, which are radically different from those produced using existing methodologies.Read moreRead less