From insects to robots: how brains make predictions and ignore distractions. This project aims to address fundamental questions in neuroscience and to integrate this biological understanding with the development of leading-edge robotics. Whether a human catching a ball or a dragonfly feeding in a swarm, brains have the remarkable ability to predict the future location of moving targets. The brain predicts in the presence of distractions and even if the target disappears, for example, when hidden ....From insects to robots: how brains make predictions and ignore distractions. This project aims to address fundamental questions in neuroscience and to integrate this biological understanding with the development of leading-edge robotics. Whether a human catching a ball or a dragonfly feeding in a swarm, brains have the remarkable ability to predict the future location of moving targets. The brain predicts in the presence of distractions and even if the target disappears, for example, when hidden behind another object. This project will investigate how brains use both environmental and internal information to select a target and predict its future location. By implementing bio-inspired computations in hardware, this project aims to provide significant benefits such as improving autonomous systems for defence, health and transportation.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH200100035
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub in New Safe and Reliable Energy Storage and Conversion Technologies. This Research Hub addresses safety and reliability issues, and environmental impact of current energy storage and conversion technologies. The research will deliver a new generation of technologies for storage from small scale portable devices to large scale industrial applications, using recycled and natural materials, and eliminating the serious fire risk in current technologies. Outcomes include innovative ....ARC Research Hub in New Safe and Reliable Energy Storage and Conversion Technologies. This Research Hub addresses safety and reliability issues, and environmental impact of current energy storage and conversion technologies. The research will deliver a new generation of technologies for storage from small scale portable devices to large scale industrial applications, using recycled and natural materials, and eliminating the serious fire risk in current technologies. Outcomes include innovative integrated energy conversion and storage technologies and new energy materials and devices designed for different scale applications, leading to creation of start up companies and commercialisation opportunities for existing partners, benefiting both the Australian economy and potentially transforming the energy industry landscape.Read moreRead less
Action selection in insects: how a microbrain knows what to do. Identifying what to do demands integrating sensory information with our current physiological state and memory of past experience to select the best possible action. This is the action selection problem. Our project aims to discover how tiny insect brains solve this fundamental problem. The project combines neural recordings from animals exploring virtual reality, behavioural analyses and computational modelling. The expected outco ....Action selection in insects: how a microbrain knows what to do. Identifying what to do demands integrating sensory information with our current physiological state and memory of past experience to select the best possible action. This is the action selection problem. Our project aims to discover how tiny insect brains solve this fundamental problem. The project combines neural recordings from animals exploring virtual reality, behavioural analyses and computational modelling. The expected outcome is a new understanding of the brain as an effective behavioural control system. This will benefit systems and comparative neuroscience. Our findings may also inspire solutions for robotic systems that must operate autonomously in remote and challenging environments such as disaster relief or exploration.Read moreRead less
Traffic microsimulation of ITS implementations in CBD road networks. This research project will investigate the advantages and disadvantages of using Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technologies in an Australian Central Business District (CBD) environment. It is often assumed that road networks and especially high activity areas such as CBDs can benefit significantly from ITS implementations. Traditionally ITS impacts have been difficult to quantify due to difficulties in isolating network ....Traffic microsimulation of ITS implementations in CBD road networks. This research project will investigate the advantages and disadvantages of using Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technologies in an Australian Central Business District (CBD) environment. It is often assumed that road networks and especially high activity areas such as CBDs can benefit significantly from ITS implementations. Traditionally ITS impacts have been difficult to quantify due to difficulties in isolating network effects and limitations with traditional traffic models. The project will overcome this difficulty by using a current state of the art traffic microsimulation model in order to test various ITS scenarios in a duplicate of a real world CBD.Read moreRead less
Multidimensional evaluation of the overall benefits of voluntary travel behaviour change programs. Voluntary Travel Behaviour Programs (VTBC) offer considerable promise for the management of traffic congestion and reduction in greenhouse gas and air quality emissions from road transport. Research to date has identified two outstanding issues: (1) measurement and evaluation of actual behaviour change and (2) identification of the full benefits and impacts of VTBC. Empirical studies indicate that ....Multidimensional evaluation of the overall benefits of voluntary travel behaviour change programs. Voluntary Travel Behaviour Programs (VTBC) offer considerable promise for the management of traffic congestion and reduction in greenhouse gas and air quality emissions from road transport. Research to date has identified two outstanding issues: (1) measurement and evaluation of actual behaviour change and (2) identification of the full benefits and impacts of VTBC. Empirical studies indicate that many of the benefits fall outside the transport area, including a wide range of socio-economic benefits to individuals and the community. This project will develop a survey tool for assessing benefits and impacts of VTBC within a properly designed and tested evaluation framework.Read moreRead less
Wide Speed Range, Inverterless, Constant Current Mode Alternator. Increasing auxiliary electric power demands in cars due to proposed new features such as electromechanical valves and active suspension has created a pressing need for a higher power car alternator. There has also been a continuing need for improved alternators for small-scale renewable energy generation such as wind turbines. These applications require the lowest possible cost solution which meets the challenging technical spec ....Wide Speed Range, Inverterless, Constant Current Mode Alternator. Increasing auxiliary electric power demands in cars due to proposed new features such as electromechanical valves and active suspension has created a pressing need for a higher power car alternator. There has also been a continuing need for improved alternators for small-scale renewable energy generation such as wind turbines. These applications require the lowest possible cost solution which meets the challenging technical specifications. Present research in this area is focussed on expensive inverter-based methods. We propose a low-cost, "inverterless" alternator configuration based on a specially-designed interior permanent magnet machine operating in a new current source mode.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC220100030
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,978,958.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Next-Gen Architectural Manufacturing. The Centre will generate specialised workforce capacity within Australia’s architectural sector. Leveraging advanced architectural computing discoveries will connect architectural design with the opportunities afforded by advanced manufacturing systems. The Centre will triangulate world-leading researchers, visionary partners, and talented graduates, integrating research into practice through digital business strategies, augmented int ....ARC Training Centre for Next-Gen Architectural Manufacturing. The Centre will generate specialised workforce capacity within Australia’s architectural sector. Leveraging advanced architectural computing discoveries will connect architectural design with the opportunities afforded by advanced manufacturing systems. The Centre will triangulate world-leading researchers, visionary partners, and talented graduates, integrating research into practice through digital business strategies, augmented intelligence, and computing domains of expertise. The Centre’s program of industry-embedded PhD’s, national/international placements, short courses, and post-doctoral projects will co-develop the change agents needed to transform the architectural profession to meet our nation’s immediate strategic needs.Read moreRead less
Elucidating the mechanics of facet dislocation and fracture in the neck. This project aims to address shortcomings in understanding the mechanics of neck trauma. Understanding the mechanical factors leading to cervical facet dislocation and fracture is necessary to improve injury prevention strategies and their assessment. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of spinal injury biomechanics, developing and using new experimental techniques. The project expects to provide know ....Elucidating the mechanics of facet dislocation and fracture in the neck. This project aims to address shortcomings in understanding the mechanics of neck trauma. Understanding the mechanical factors leading to cervical facet dislocation and fracture is necessary to improve injury prevention strategies and their assessment. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of spinal injury biomechanics, developing and using new experimental techniques. The project expects to provide knowledge necessary to improve crash test dummy design, associated injury criteria, and computational models, which provide the potential for improved injury prevention measures and methods for assessing existing and new technologies. The anticipated benefits of this project will be significant in reducing the personal and economic burden of spinal injuries.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100175
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$475,000.00
Summary
A high-payload, high-fidelity haptically-enabled motion simulation facility. An Australian-first motion simulation facility consisting of a high-payload, high-fidelity Stewart platform mounted on a dual-axis linear track is proposed. The facility will allow high acceleration and high vibration manoeuvres, and large displacements through an eight-degrees-of-freedom range of motion. It can carry the entire control compartment of a heavy vehicle, a truck, an ambulance, a train, or a multi-operator ....A high-payload, high-fidelity haptically-enabled motion simulation facility. An Australian-first motion simulation facility consisting of a high-payload, high-fidelity Stewart platform mounted on a dual-axis linear track is proposed. The facility will allow high acceleration and high vibration manoeuvres, and large displacements through an eight-degrees-of-freedom range of motion. It can carry the entire control compartment of a heavy vehicle, a truck, an ambulance, a train, or a multi-operator cockpit of a mining vehicle for simulation. The outcome will provide significant benefits for virtual vehicle prototyping and testing, driver training and behaviour modelling, motion perception and motion sickness research; therefore advancing Australia as the global leader in motion simulation and vehicular technologies.Read moreRead less
Behavioural responses to transport congestion: peak spreading and the more efficient usage of transport infrastructure. Transport networks in cities such as Sydney are at or near capacity. It is no longer socially, environmentally or financially sustainable to continue supplying additional transport infrastructure to meet increased demand. An alternative is to make better use of existing infrastructure by spreading demand more evenly across the day. This project will test behavioural responses t ....Behavioural responses to transport congestion: peak spreading and the more efficient usage of transport infrastructure. Transport networks in cities such as Sydney are at or near capacity. It is no longer socially, environmentally or financially sustainable to continue supplying additional transport infrastructure to meet increased demand. An alternative is to make better use of existing infrastructure by spreading demand more evenly across the day. This project will test behavioural responses to increased congestion and quantify the phenomenon of peak spreading. It will assess economic costs and benefits of using congestion as a signal to encourage more efficient network usage, and examine other tools (e.g. time-based transport pricing) to encourage more efficient use of transport infrastructure.Read moreRead less