Power Control and Scheduling for Cellular Communications. Australia is a major user of cellular communications technology with four 3G networks. There is huge public interest in core performance metrics including coverage, quality of service, power consumption and cost. The research covered by this proposal is aimed at improving the above performance metrics and hence achieving greater satisfaction from the Australian public in their wireless communication systems.
Optimisation Geometry. Signal processing is an enabling technology for multi-billion dollar industries including broadband connections, medical imaging devices and automotive collision avoidance systems. A key component is real-time optimisation. While various aspects of real-time optimisation have been studied extensively, especially under the banner of adaptive signal processing, the general (non-adaptive) problem will be studied here from a geometric viewpoint. Morse theory and other tools fr ....Optimisation Geometry. Signal processing is an enabling technology for multi-billion dollar industries including broadband connections, medical imaging devices and automotive collision avoidance systems. A key component is real-time optimisation. While various aspects of real-time optimisation have been studied extensively, especially under the banner of adaptive signal processing, the general (non-adaptive) problem will be studied here from a geometric viewpoint. Morse theory and other tools from differential topology will be used to understand the inherent complexity of real-time optimisation problems and to develop novel numerical algorithms for classes of real-time optimisation problems having widespread applicability.Read moreRead less
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
Robust estimation of cardiac output and oxygen consumption from simple non-invasive physiological variables. We aim to develop robust mathematical and physiological models to estimate cardiac output and oxygen consumption of an exercising individual from simple non-invasive physiological parameters such as heart rate, respiration, body temperature and body movement (using multiple triaxial accelerometers).
The models developed will provide a better understanding of the human cardiovascular s ....Robust estimation of cardiac output and oxygen consumption from simple non-invasive physiological variables. We aim to develop robust mathematical and physiological models to estimate cardiac output and oxygen consumption of an exercising individual from simple non-invasive physiological parameters such as heart rate, respiration, body temperature and body movement (using multiple triaxial accelerometers).
The models developed will provide a better understanding of the human cardiovascular system response to exercise, and could be incorporated as part of a closed loop control system for cardiac pacemakers and/or heart assist devices.
Outcomes will include increased scientific knowledge, new robust models of the exercising cardiovascular /respiratory / thermoregulatory system and advanced biomedical instrumentation.
Read moreRead less
Decentralized Control Problems for Networked Systems. The conceptual advances to be made in the area decentralized control of networked systems.
New design rules for decentralized control in networked systems will be developed and published in the top international journals and major international conferences.
Also, a contribution of the project will be to produce high quality Ph.D. graduates in this area of control theory.
Development of a Risk Assessment and Cost-Effectiveness Model for Optimising Geotechnical Roadway Assets. Roadway performance is strongly a function of the topography and foundation conditions through which the roadway passes, dictating the need for cuttings and fills, and approaches to handle problematic foundation conditions. The project aims to develop a risk management model to minimise the geotechnical risks and costs involved in roadway construction and maintenance, and maximise design li ....Development of a Risk Assessment and Cost-Effectiveness Model for Optimising Geotechnical Roadway Assets. Roadway performance is strongly a function of the topography and foundation conditions through which the roadway passes, dictating the need for cuttings and fills, and approaches to handle problematic foundation conditions. The project aims to develop a risk management model to minimise the geotechnical risks and costs involved in roadway construction and maintenance, and maximise design life. In Queensland, the value of roadway geotechnical assets is about $ 7.5 billion, with $ 0.5 billion spent annually adding to and maintaining these assets. The expected outcome of the project is maximising the life of geotechnical roadway assets for the funds available.Read moreRead less
Safe Adaptive Control. Adaptive controllers are intelligent controllers, which can redesign themselves as they learn more about the environment. There are many algorithms for adaptive controllers; some of them can cause unacceptable behaviour during the learning process. Safe adaptive controllers are those for which this behaviour is ruled out. This project is concerned with developing procedures for guaranteeing the safety property in a wide variety of situations.
Feedback entropy in dynamical systems. This project aims to use the fundamental concept of entropy to help evaluate the decision-making effort in a variety of feedback control systems in science and engineering. This understanding will help develop smarter technologies and algorithms in areas such as manufacturing, vehicular technology and automated irrigation.
Nonstochastic information flows in networked dynamical systems. Feedback control is a crucial element of manufacturing, vehicular and energy systems, and is needed to guarantee hard performance bounds in safety- and mission-critical environments. When these control systems are implemented over communication networks, the amount of information flowing through them becomes a critical determinant of performance. However, the nonprobabilistic control objectives make standard information theory inapp ....Nonstochastic information flows in networked dynamical systems. Feedback control is a crucial element of manufacturing, vehicular and energy systems, and is needed to guarantee hard performance bounds in safety- and mission-critical environments. When these control systems are implemented over communication networks, the amount of information flowing through them becomes a critical determinant of performance. However, the nonprobabilistic control objectives make standard information theory inapplicable. This project aims to develop a novel, nonstochastic theory of information in order to analyse and design networked dynamical systems that obey worst-case performance limits. This will yield robust, probability-free algorithms for distributed control, filtering and causality inference.Read moreRead less
Analysis and Design of Networked Control Systems. Drive-by-wire cars, fly-by-wire aircraft and sensor/actuator wireless networks in process and manufacturing industries are just a few examples of emerging networked control technologies that are currently reshaping our world. These technological advances have a vast potential to reduce the cost, weight and volume of engineered systems, simplify their maintenance and installation and their novel architectures and features may enable us to address ....Analysis and Design of Networked Control Systems. Drive-by-wire cars, fly-by-wire aircraft and sensor/actuator wireless networks in process and manufacturing industries are just a few examples of emerging networked control technologies that are currently reshaping our world. These technological advances have a vast potential to reduce the cost, weight and volume of engineered systems, simplify their maintenance and installation and their novel architectures and features may enable us to address significant environmental and socio-economic challenges, such as an increased demand for energy and other limited resources. This project will develop a systematic design methodology for networked control systems that will be essential in ensuring that its full potential is exploited.Read moreRead less