Visual Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping in Deformable Environments. This project aims to investigate the problem of building a three-dimensional map of a deformable environment in real-time using images and at the same time localising the camera within the map. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of simultaneous localisation and mapping in deformable environments using visual sensors. Expected outcomes include in-depth understanding of the fundamental sensing requirem ....Visual Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping in Deformable Environments. This project aims to investigate the problem of building a three-dimensional map of a deformable environment in real-time using images and at the same time localising the camera within the map. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of simultaneous localisation and mapping in deformable environments using visual sensors. Expected outcomes include in-depth understanding of the fundamental sensing requirements for the problem to be solvable, the achievable accuracy, and efficient algorithms for achieving accurate three-dimensional reconstruction of deformable environments. The research outcomes from this project offer significant benefits to diverse areas such as minimally invasive robotic surgery.Read moreRead less
Robotic Perception with Unconventional Sensors . Autonomy in robotic systems currently relies on conventional sensors such as lasers and cameras. Alternative sensing modalities as in the case of active electromagnetic sensors are commonly used to detect flaws, cracks and assess infrastructure’s integrity, however, fundamental research questions preclude their use for robotic perception. This project will develop the theory and algorithms to enable perception tasks such as localisation, mapping a ....Robotic Perception with Unconventional Sensors . Autonomy in robotic systems currently relies on conventional sensors such as lasers and cameras. Alternative sensing modalities as in the case of active electromagnetic sensors are commonly used to detect flaws, cracks and assess infrastructure’s integrity, however, fundamental research questions preclude their use for robotic perception. This project will develop the theory and algorithms to enable perception tasks such as localisation, mapping and recognition with unconventional sensors. The outcomes of this research have the potential to improve the effectiveness of critical civil infrastructure maintenance technology through accurate and reliable inspections, and the reduced need for human intervention.Read moreRead less
Development of globally optimal solutions to simultaneous localisation and mapping for robot navigation. Building robots that can operate on their own is one of the potentially transformational technologies of this century. This project will develop algorithms that are well understood and robust to allow the deployment of robots in environments populated with people and in search and rescue operations where global positioning system is not available.
Learning and planning with qualitative models. This project will give a robot the ability to learn how to interact with its environment, using common sense reasoning to guide trial-and-error learning. The outcome will be a robot that is able to quickly adapt to new and changing environments, such as those which might be encountered in applications like robots for urban search and rescue.
Navigating brains: the neurobiology of spatial cognition. Navigation is one of the most crucial and most challenging problems animals face. Behavioural analyses have shown that animals make use of a number of different mechanisms to navigate, but very little is known of how different forms of spatial information are processed and integrated by the brain. The project aims to tackle this by placing tethered ants in a virtual-reality simulation of their real environment allowing precise control of ....Navigating brains: the neurobiology of spatial cognition. Navigation is one of the most crucial and most challenging problems animals face. Behavioural analyses have shown that animals make use of a number of different mechanisms to navigate, but very little is known of how different forms of spatial information are processed and integrated by the brain. The project aims to tackle this by placing tethered ants in a virtual-reality simulation of their real environment allowing precise control of visual navigational cues, as well as the opportunity to study the brains of the tethered ants as they solve the real-world challenge of finding home. This may reveal how simple brains efficiently solve navigational tasks, which may inform both cognitive biology and bio-inspired computation.Read moreRead less
Cybersecurity ethics training simulations for values-based decision-making. This Project will investigate ways to train reflective ethical decision making in cybersecurity management through the design of interactive social simulations. The Project will advance understanding and management of human factors in cybersecurity breaches and the field of serious game design for cybersecurity training by using new techniques for building artificially intelligent virtual agents, drawing on interdiscipli ....Cybersecurity ethics training simulations for values-based decision-making. This Project will investigate ways to train reflective ethical decision making in cybersecurity management through the design of interactive social simulations. The Project will advance understanding and management of human factors in cybersecurity breaches and the field of serious game design for cybersecurity training by using new techniques for building artificially intelligent virtual agents, drawing on interdisciplinary expertise in ethics, artificial intelligence and serious game design. Expected outcomes of the Project include a new framework and technologies for cybersecurity training. This should provide significant benefits through deeper understanding of the ethical impact of new cybertechnologies and training solutions.Read moreRead less
Intelligent pattern recognition of water end uses enabling recommendations. This project aims to develop a hybrid machine learning method for autonomously disaggregating high- and low-resolution water flow data received from smart meters into discrete end-use events, and a customised recommender system for efficient resource demand management. Project novelty and significance relates to this coupling and autonomous disaggregation of datasets from advanced sensors, enabling more efficient utility ....Intelligent pattern recognition of water end uses enabling recommendations. This project aims to develop a hybrid machine learning method for autonomously disaggregating high- and low-resolution water flow data received from smart meters into discrete end-use events, and a customised recommender system for efficient resource demand management. Project novelty and significance relates to this coupling and autonomous disaggregation of datasets from advanced sensors, enabling more efficient utility services delivery and lower customer utility bills. Project benefits include enabling utilities to better manage and plan resources in the information age, while empowering customers with real-time water end-use data and behaviour changing consumption recommendations.Read moreRead less
Inferring driver behaviours, intent and risk in complex traffic scenarios. This project intends to develop methods to evaluate risk during driving. The next generation of vehicles will be fitted with sophisticated perception and egocentric information. This will be combined with inter-vehicle communication enabling cooperative safety, used in conjunction with intelligent infrastructure. This technology is expected to be mandated in the United States starting from 2017. This project plans to deve ....Inferring driver behaviours, intent and risk in complex traffic scenarios. This project intends to develop methods to evaluate risk during driving. The next generation of vehicles will be fitted with sophisticated perception and egocentric information. This will be combined with inter-vehicle communication enabling cooperative safety, used in conjunction with intelligent infrastructure. This technology is expected to be mandated in the United States starting from 2017. This project plans to develop unsupervised learning algorithms to infer high-level driver behaviours, intent and contextual information to automatically evaluate levels of risk under complex driving scenarios. It plans to validate the results using naturalistic driving datasets taken in large-scale deployments around the world. This innovation may improve automotive safety and facilitate the deployment of autonomous vehicles.Read moreRead less
Robust Intelligence: Rational Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty. This project seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice with an innovative framework for rational decision-making under risk and uncertainty. Intelligent agents exercise profound and growing impact in business and society. However, significant problems arise in intelligent agent deployment as their theoretical underpinnings do not ensure rational decision-making in complex real-world settings. The project aims to ....Robust Intelligence: Rational Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty. This project seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice with an innovative framework for rational decision-making under risk and uncertainty. Intelligent agents exercise profound and growing impact in business and society. However, significant problems arise in intelligent agent deployment as their theoretical underpinnings do not ensure rational decision-making in complex real-world settings. The project aims to open the door to transformational technologies that may drive new entrepreneurial opportunities in agent-based global services.Read moreRead less
Self-organised communication as a foundation of large, complex societies. This Project aims to investigate how evolution has shaped the self-organisation of robust communication networks that emerge in large animal collectives from the actions of individuals following only simple, local rules. It expects to generate new knowledge into the fundamental principles guiding the self-organisation of networks that can sustain a complex society. Empirical work with ant colonies will inform the construct ....Self-organised communication as a foundation of large, complex societies. This Project aims to investigate how evolution has shaped the self-organisation of robust communication networks that emerge in large animal collectives from the actions of individuals following only simple, local rules. It expects to generate new knowledge into the fundamental principles guiding the self-organisation of networks that can sustain a complex society. Empirical work with ant colonies will inform the construction of simulation models to push the investigation beyond experimental limits. The Project should significantly advance our understanding of how communication networks enable the development of large societies, and thus of how to better manage autonomous man-made networks, most importantly the Internet-of-Things.Read moreRead less