Extending the scope of modular analysis for the validation of large systems. The increasing complexity of computer systems has severe implications for verification and validation, especially for critical systems (e.g. medical supervision, avionics mission systems). The standard approach is to build a formal model of the system and automatically analyse its behaviour. Such models can be captured in a modular, high-level description, but the number of states is usually so large as to preclude an ....Extending the scope of modular analysis for the validation of large systems. The increasing complexity of computer systems has severe implications for verification and validation, especially for critical systems (e.g. medical supervision, avionics mission systems). The standard approach is to build a formal model of the system and automatically analyse its behaviour. Such models can be captured in a modular, high-level description, but the number of states is usually so large as to preclude analysis. The modular analysis proposed in this project matches the analysis technique to the structure of the model. Preliminary results are promising and motivate the extension of the technique to a larger class of modular descriptions.Read moreRead less
Digital Imagery for Building 3D City Models. The project will investigate the application of digital photogrammetric imagery, and primarily high-resolution satellite imagery for the creation of visually realistic 3D city models. Virtual reality computer models of urban scenes find application in urban planning, facilities management, engineering and even virtual tourism. Building upon recently initiated collaborative research, the project aims to develop improved methods and procedures for autom ....Digital Imagery for Building 3D City Models. The project will investigate the application of digital photogrammetric imagery, and primarily high-resolution satellite imagery for the creation of visually realistic 3D city models. Virtual reality computer models of urban scenes find application in urban planning, facilities management, engineering and even virtual tourism. Building upon recently initiated collaborative research, the project aims to develop improved methods and procedures for automated, image-based object reconstruction to support the generation of metrically accurate 3D computer models of buildings and the built environment.Read moreRead less
Expressive power and complexity of temporal logics for model-checking. Hardware verification based upon mathematical logic is now routinely
used in industry to verify the correctness of large digital circuits
using a technique called model-checking. Such discrete systems move
from one state to another according to the regular ticks of a clock.
The challenge now is to find tractable methods for reasoning about
real-time systems and hybrid systems that move in a continuous manner
with respec ....Expressive power and complexity of temporal logics for model-checking. Hardware verification based upon mathematical logic is now routinely
used in industry to verify the correctness of large digital circuits
using a technique called model-checking. Such discrete systems move
from one state to another according to the regular ticks of a clock.
The challenge now is to find tractable methods for reasoning about
real-time systems and hybrid systems that move in a continuous manner
with respect to time: examples include aeroplanes flying according to
the laws of physics and a moving robot arm. We shall invent new logics
which are specifically tailored for tractable reasoning about
real-time and hybrid systems.Read moreRead less
The evolutionary effect of the domestication process in a model organism. A significant proportion of research in the field of evolutionary biology, focuses on captive populations of laboratory-bred animals. Little is known about the impact of the domestication process on these species, raising questions about the relevance of such studies. The Australian zebra finch is the avian model species of choice in evolutionary biology laboratories in Europe and the USA and the focus of many high profile ....The evolutionary effect of the domestication process in a model organism. A significant proportion of research in the field of evolutionary biology, focuses on captive populations of laboratory-bred animals. Little is known about the impact of the domestication process on these species, raising questions about the relevance of such studies. The Australian zebra finch is the avian model species of choice in evolutionary biology laboratories in Europe and the USA and the focus of many high profile publications. Our investigation into the affect of domestication on the evolutionary biology of this key model species will have a high international impact, raising the profile of Australian research, in addition to providing fundamental knowledge across several areas of reproductive biology.Read moreRead less
Evolution of host relationships among the parasitic wasps inferred from morphology, DNA sequences and mitochondrial genome organisation. The parasitic Hymenoptera (wasps) are extensively used as biological control agents of agricultural and horticultural pests worldwide, but detailed information on their evolutionary relationships, how they have coevolved with major host groups, and the patterns of host relationships across various wasp families are lacking. This project will employ DNA sequence ....Evolution of host relationships among the parasitic wasps inferred from morphology, DNA sequences and mitochondrial genome organisation. The parasitic Hymenoptera (wasps) are extensively used as biological control agents of agricultural and horticultural pests worldwide, but detailed information on their evolutionary relationships, how they have coevolved with major host groups, and the patterns of host relationships across various wasp families are lacking. This project will employ DNA sequence data from 'new' genes, information on mitochondrial genome organisation, as well as morphology, to generate robust phylogenies for braconid and scelionid wasps that can be used to determine patterns of host utilisation and predict hosts for wasp groups where this information is currently unknown.Read moreRead less
Development of Australian model systems for speciation research. Our project will contribute to an understanding of the process of speciation, a fundamental biological problem, for which there are few well-developed model systems in the world. We will further our understanding of how Australia's extraordinary diversity of animal species have evolved, knowledge which is valuable for understanding the future impact of climatic and environmental changes on species. Our research will generate furthe ....Development of Australian model systems for speciation research. Our project will contribute to an understanding of the process of speciation, a fundamental biological problem, for which there are few well-developed model systems in the world. We will further our understanding of how Australia's extraordinary diversity of animal species have evolved, knowledge which is valuable for understanding the future impact of climatic and environmental changes on species. Our research will generate further knowledge of the diversity and biological significance of subterranean fauna in the arid zone of Australia, providing important background data for assessing the impacts of mining activities on groundwater-dependent-ecosystems and improved strategies for their sustainable management. Read moreRead less
From developmental stability to organismic senility: Hox genes and telomere impact on life history evolution. Australia benefits from training researchers and technicians in new, break-through biotechnology and from applying this knowledge to relevant, cutting-edge questions in highly publicized research fields. This project contains both these ingredients. Our model species (a lizard) has a relatively high level of offspring malformations (ca 15%), which makes it much more likely to detect thei ....From developmental stability to organismic senility: Hox genes and telomere impact on life history evolution. Australia benefits from training researchers and technicians in new, break-through biotechnology and from applying this knowledge to relevant, cutting-edge questions in highly publicized research fields. This project contains both these ingredients. Our model species (a lizard) has a relatively high level of offspring malformations (ca 15%), which makes it much more likely to detect their underlying genetic mechanism. Furthermore, we can also assess how these animals survive and reproduce in relation to how quickly they age, which can be measured by assessing the shortening of telomeres per unit time. Thus, this collaboration provides an opportunity to train Australian researchers and in that process generate very high profile research.Read moreRead less
Meta-Ontology based Protocols for the Cooperation in Heterogeneous Agent Systems. Cooperation and communication are two important research issues in the area of multi-agent systems and distributed artificial intelligence. The aim of this project is to study and develop meta-ontology based protocols for cooperation in multi-agent systems. The outcomes of the project include semantics of meta-ontology, a conceptual model to encompass the defined semantics, implementation of the model, and test res ....Meta-Ontology based Protocols for the Cooperation in Heterogeneous Agent Systems. Cooperation and communication are two important research issues in the area of multi-agent systems and distributed artificial intelligence. The aim of this project is to study and develop meta-ontology based protocols for cooperation in multi-agent systems. The outcomes of the project include semantics of meta-ontology, a conceptual model to encompass the defined semantics, implementation of the model, and test results in an open environment. The Key Laboratory of Intelligent Information Processing at Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is very active in the area of distributed artificial intelligence and agent technologies, and is an ideal partner for this project.Read moreRead less