Precision inertial sensing with cold atoms. Many advances in our technology-driven society rely on precision measurement. The project will provide the Australian industrial and government sectors with new and better inertial sensors to measure acceleration, rotation and gravity. The technology will find application in navigation, defence, mineral exploration, earth science and fundamental physics.
Managing the risks posed by Artificial General Intelligence. It is widely acknowledged that a failure to implement appropriate controls for the next generation of Artificial Intelligence, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), could have catastrophic consequences, including in the worst case - the extinction of the human race. This research aims to forecast the risks associated with AGI systems and identify the controls required to ensure that risks and existential threats are minimised. The exp ....Managing the risks posed by Artificial General Intelligence. It is widely acknowledged that a failure to implement appropriate controls for the next generation of Artificial Intelligence, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), could have catastrophic consequences, including in the worst case - the extinction of the human race. This research aims to forecast the risks associated with AGI systems and identify the controls required to ensure that risks and existential threats are minimised. The expected outputs will provide designers, organisations, regulators and governments with a framework to support the design, implementation, and management of safe and efficient AGI systems. This will ensure that the potential far-reaching benefits of AGI are realised without undue threat to society.Read moreRead less
Developing Australia's legal response to military and security applications of nanotechnology. A critical regulatory gap exists for military applications of nanotechnology under international law. This project will provide a conceptual framework and policy options to develop Australia's legal response to the use of nanotechnology in military and security settings through collaborations with experts in the United States.
Next Generation Batteries: Exploiting Divalent Magnesium. This project aims to develop magnesium-based batteries with higher capacities and longer lifetimes. Modern society is increasingly demanding batteries that are safer, have higher capacities, and importantly, are cheaper than the ones available today. Magnesium-based batteries offer a tantalising prospect due to their intrinsic higher capacities and lower costs. And yet, their large-scale uptake continues to be a formidable challenge due t ....Next Generation Batteries: Exploiting Divalent Magnesium. This project aims to develop magnesium-based batteries with higher capacities and longer lifetimes. Modern society is increasingly demanding batteries that are safer, have higher capacities, and importantly, are cheaper than the ones available today. Magnesium-based batteries offer a tantalising prospect due to their intrinsic higher capacities and lower costs. And yet, their large-scale uptake continues to be a formidable challenge due to the poor reliability and lifetime of magnesium electrodes. This project plans to use the latest computational, electrochemical and metallurgical techniques synergistically to overcome the technical barriers in mitigating these issues. This work may lead to a targeted development of a new family of reliable, low-cost and high performance magnesium batteries.Read moreRead less
Ferroelectric piezoelectric materials and key problems associated with their applications in mechanical, electrical and optical energy transformations. This project aims to investigate the dynamic microstructure of ferroelectric piezoelectric materials in response to electrical fields or mechanical stresses, and therefore identify the factors enhancing the mechanical, electrical and optical couplings for intentional improvement and development of these materials for use in energy transformations ....Ferroelectric piezoelectric materials and key problems associated with their applications in mechanical, electrical and optical energy transformations. This project aims to investigate the dynamic microstructure of ferroelectric piezoelectric materials in response to electrical fields or mechanical stresses, and therefore identify the factors enhancing the mechanical, electrical and optical couplings for intentional improvement and development of these materials for use in energy transformations.Read moreRead less
An investigation of novel Microelectromechanical Systems based technologies for visible/near infra-red spectroscopic imaging. This project will develop new spectroscopic imaging technologies that make possible low-cost, portable instruments with enhanced performance, and that enable new applications. Examples include on-farm precision agriculture, skin cancer detection, food security and processing, airport security, pollution monitoring and industrial process control.
Emerging technologies of warfare as a challenge to the law of armed conflict: cyber-attacks, robotics and nanotechnology. In order to reduce suffering in war, international law places limits on the ways in which the adversary can be harmed. This project will assess how the law fares in dealing with emerging technologies, such as hostile uses of computer networks, robotics and nanotechnology. It will provide guidance to policy makers on how the law can be improved.
Behaviour Bootstrapping for Ad Hoc, Heterogeneous Robot Swarms. This project aims to develop algorithms to permit groups of robots to evolve coordinated, collective, swarm behaviours. Groups of robots will be conceptualised as developmental swarm organisms with an initially limited set of behaviours, but equipped with structures and processes to permit them to evolve new behaviours. This project expects to deliver the next generation of computational intelligence technologies to enable humans to ....Behaviour Bootstrapping for Ad Hoc, Heterogeneous Robot Swarms. This project aims to develop algorithms to permit groups of robots to evolve coordinated, collective, swarm behaviours. Groups of robots will be conceptualised as developmental swarm organisms with an initially limited set of behaviours, but equipped with structures and processes to permit them to evolve new behaviours. This project expects to deliver the next generation of computational intelligence technologies to enable humans to harness large groups of robots for new kinds of transport and inspection tasks in smart cities, smart farming and defence. The expected outcomes of the project include new software frameworks for distributed developmental learning, extending developmental robotics to evolutionary robot swarms. Read moreRead less
Experimental validation of the strain invariant failure theory for carbon/epoxy composites. The project will be of national and international benefit, through providing a validated, enhanced design capability for advanced composite materials. Greater depth of understanding of such materials will allow more efficient structures to be designed in applications requiring high strength and stiffness, low weight, and resistance to corrosion and fatigue. Such applications include the aerospace, offshor ....Experimental validation of the strain invariant failure theory for carbon/epoxy composites. The project will be of national and international benefit, through providing a validated, enhanced design capability for advanced composite materials. Greater depth of understanding of such materials will allow more efficient structures to be designed in applications requiring high strength and stiffness, low weight, and resistance to corrosion and fatigue. Such applications include the aerospace, offshore and mining industries. There are, therefore, far-reaching benefits in industries important to Australia. In addition, the reputation of the Australian aerospace research industry will be promoted through a collaborative association with Boeing, a world leader in development of commercial aircraft.Read moreRead less
Innovative solutions to enhance space situational awareness. This project seeks to significantly advance Australia's space situational awareness by researching advanced orbit prediction techniques. The development of novel space object orbit prediction techniques will greatly improve collision warnings for satellite operators that provide essential space-based services to Australian Government and industries.