Development of a Global Decision Support System towards Virtual Manufacturing. The aim of this research project is to develop a global decision support system (GDSS) in order to assist SMEs to improve their competitiveness in the dynamic global market while providing an industry oriented research training for a high calibre PhD student, who would be a valuable asset to Australia. The GDSS will help SMEs leverage their operations in a global context and to adopt a realistic virtual manufacturing ....Development of a Global Decision Support System towards Virtual Manufacturing. The aim of this research project is to develop a global decision support system (GDSS) in order to assist SMEs to improve their competitiveness in the dynamic global market while providing an industry oriented research training for a high calibre PhD student, who would be a valuable asset to Australia. The GDSS will help SMEs leverage their operations in a global context and to adopt a realistic virtual manufacturing system in the future. The significance of the project includes developing a new methodology and a GDSS to assess virtual manufacturing issues for SMEs and assisting them making timely decisions.Read moreRead less
Immersive Technologies for Rapid Metallic Tank Inspection and Repairs. Metal tank silos house some of the most dangerous chemicals, which erode the internal structure of the tank over time. It is critical to check the integrity of the tank to prevent disasters from occurring. NDE solutions uses a rapid motion scanner (RMS) to scan the interior surface of the container while it is still full of its storage material. It is the aim of this project to use Augmented Reality, to overlay the scan provi ....Immersive Technologies for Rapid Metallic Tank Inspection and Repairs. Metal tank silos house some of the most dangerous chemicals, which erode the internal structure of the tank over time. It is critical to check the integrity of the tank to prevent disasters from occurring. NDE solutions uses a rapid motion scanner (RMS) to scan the interior surface of the container while it is still full of its storage material. It is the aim of this project to use Augmented Reality, to overlay the scan provided by the RMS, onto the worker's view of the tank, control the robot via. hand gestures, and facilitate remote training/guidance. The result will allow for inspection workers to quickly and accurately the location of critical failures, without performing the hazardous procedures of internal tank inspection. Read moreRead less
Managing uncertainty in RFID traceability networks. Australia suffers 5.4 million cases of food-borne illness every year, which leads to 2.1 million days of lost work, 1.2 million people visiting a doctor, and 120 deaths annually. This has revealed the urgent need for improved ways of locating and recalling problematic products that have been released into the community. The project will develop novel techniques driven by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for improving the effici ....Managing uncertainty in RFID traceability networks. Australia suffers 5.4 million cases of food-borne illness every year, which leads to 2.1 million days of lost work, 1.2 million people visiting a doctor, and 120 deaths annually. This has revealed the urgent need for improved ways of locating and recalling problematic products that have been released into the community. The project will develop novel techniques driven by Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for improving the efficiency and accuracy of product tracking in distribution networks. This project will place Australia at the forefront of RFID research. It will also be an excellent vehicle for educating young researchers and engineers in Australia.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the long-term costs and benefits of community-based initiatives. The ultimate benefit from the research is a more efficient allocation of public funds to provide public services, i.e. an increase in the gain derived from the government budget. The relative advantages of alternative methods of delivering government services are subject to significant uncertainty, which means that policy decisions are often poorly informed. Improvements in the accuracy of predicting the costs and benefi ....Evaluating the long-term costs and benefits of community-based initiatives. The ultimate benefit from the research is a more efficient allocation of public funds to provide public services, i.e. an increase in the gain derived from the government budget. The relative advantages of alternative methods of delivering government services are subject to significant uncertainty, which means that policy decisions are often poorly informed. Improvements in the accuracy of predicting the costs and benefits of complex community-based initiatives will help policymakers identify the set of initiatives that provide the best outcomes for the community they serve, as well as informing the optimal specification of the individual initiatives.Read moreRead less
STABILISATION OF TITANIA PIGMENTS FOR IMPROVED WATER-BASED PAINT APPLICATIONS. This project aims to improve the stability and optical properties of titania pigments in water-based paints. Tailored dispersing agents will be used to stabilise pigments in paints in both the wet and dry state. Enhanced understanding of the dispersing agents interaction with the titania pigment surface and the subsequent stability of the pigment in dry paint films will allow advances in water-based paint stability. T ....STABILISATION OF TITANIA PIGMENTS FOR IMPROVED WATER-BASED PAINT APPLICATIONS. This project aims to improve the stability and optical properties of titania pigments in water-based paints. Tailored dispersing agents will be used to stabilise pigments in paints in both the wet and dry state. Enhanced understanding of the dispersing agents interaction with the titania pigment surface and the subsequent stability of the pigment in dry paint films will allow advances in water-based paint stability. This understanding facilitates continued movement away from solvent-based paints required by environmental and health legislation. The potential growth in market share for the Australian pigment industry is in excess of $50M pa.Read moreRead less
Stabilisation of Titania Pigment Slurries During Processing. This project aims to improve the stabilisation properties of titania pigment slurries during production. Current polyphosphate dispersants used by Tiwest are unstable under processing conditions. Tailored, robust dispersing reagents will therefore be investigated in order to provide improved stabilisation of pigments during processing. Enhanced understanding of the dispersing reagents interaction with the titania pigment surface and th ....Stabilisation of Titania Pigment Slurries During Processing. This project aims to improve the stabilisation properties of titania pigment slurries during production. Current polyphosphate dispersants used by Tiwest are unstable under processing conditions. Tailored, robust dispersing reagents will therefore be investigated in order to provide improved stabilisation of pigments during processing. Enhanced understanding of the dispersing reagents interaction with the titania pigment surface and the subsequent stability of the pigment will allow advances in processing and consequently improved final products. The potential growth in market share, by improved product performance, is in excess of $50M pa.Read moreRead less
Designing the next generation of geosynthetic liner systems . The project aims to improve the effectiveness of geosynthetic liner systems to contain emerging contaminants such as per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) for better protection of Australian groundwater resources. The project expects to experimentally validate theory to improve predictive models for performance of geosynthetic liner systems. Expected outcomes include new and updated design guidelines for effective environmental ....Designing the next generation of geosynthetic liner systems . The project aims to improve the effectiveness of geosynthetic liner systems to contain emerging contaminants such as per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) for better protection of Australian groundwater resources. The project expects to experimentally validate theory to improve predictive models for performance of geosynthetic liner systems. Expected outcomes include new and updated design guidelines for effective environmental protection against PFASs and establishment of new approaches for predicting functional containment lifetimes of liner systems. These outcomes are expected to benefit the waste and remediation industries by influencing next-generation design regulations to ensure long-term environmental protection from PFAS.Read moreRead less
Co-design and dynamic mission optimisation of hypersonic flight vehicles. This project aims to deliver fundamental knowledge by integrating the modelling and control with the design of next generation hypersonic platforms. In an era where Australia's national security reliance on geographic isolation and support from allied forces are being challenged, the research outcomes of this project will play an important role in understanding the capabilities of hypersonic systems. The project will also ....Co-design and dynamic mission optimisation of hypersonic flight vehicles. This project aims to deliver fundamental knowledge by integrating the modelling and control with the design of next generation hypersonic platforms. In an era where Australia's national security reliance on geographic isolation and support from allied forces are being challenged, the research outcomes of this project will play an important role in understanding the capabilities of hypersonic systems. The project will also have significant spillover benefits into other complex system domains, where computational tools can be used to aid in design leading to high embedded-IP products for Australian industry. Furthermore, the proposal encompasses a strong research training aspect, with graduates exposed to leading edge industry and academia.Read moreRead less
Electronic Voting and Electoral Inclusion: Implications for South Australia. South Australia is unique in having a highly concentrated urban population, a large Aboriginal population living in remote regions, and non-compulsory voting enrolment. The voting inclusion of all South Australians therefore presents a number of challenges. The project explores the potential of electronic voting to improve voting access among residents of isolated and remote regions of South Australia. Levels and cau ....Electronic Voting and Electoral Inclusion: Implications for South Australia. South Australia is unique in having a highly concentrated urban population, a large Aboriginal population living in remote regions, and non-compulsory voting enrolment. The voting inclusion of all South Australians therefore presents a number of challenges. The project explores the potential of electronic voting to improve voting access among residents of isolated and remote regions of South Australia. Levels and causes of non-voting will be established using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Results will be assessed against a comprehensive literature analysis of the use of eVoting world-wide. Finally, recommendations for future directions will be made.Read moreRead less
Context and Activity Recognition for Personalised Behaviour Recommendation. The Internet of Things (IoT) together with the rising popularity of smartphones opens a new world for many exciting opportunities. The overall goal of this project is to develop new algorithms and data analytical techniques in an IoT environment that can accurately monitor and analyse personalised daily activities on a continuous, real-time basis. The expected result of this project will support many critical application ....Context and Activity Recognition for Personalised Behaviour Recommendation. The Internet of Things (IoT) together with the rising popularity of smartphones opens a new world for many exciting opportunities. The overall goal of this project is to develop new algorithms and data analytical techniques in an IoT environment that can accurately monitor and analyse personalised daily activities on a continuous, real-time basis. The expected result of this project will support many critical applications such as better wellness tracking and lifestyle-related illness prevention, which will be particularly critical to Australia's aging population. This project will also serve as a vehicle to educate and train Australia’s young scholars and engineers.Read moreRead less