An autonomously controlled ankle exoskeleton for gait rehabilitation. This project addresses a critical problem in gait rehabilitation; predicting unstable locomotion and designing interventions to augment limb-joint function. The project will develop an autonomous ankle-foot assistive device to actively increase ground clearance when high-risk foot trajectory is detected. Using wearable sensor data, machine learning algorithms will predict high-risk gait and compute an actuator-induced ankle to ....An autonomously controlled ankle exoskeleton for gait rehabilitation. This project addresses a critical problem in gait rehabilitation; predicting unstable locomotion and designing interventions to augment limb-joint function. The project will develop an autonomous ankle-foot assistive device to actively increase ground clearance when high-risk foot trajectory is detected. Using wearable sensor data, machine learning algorithms will predict high-risk gait and compute an actuator-induced ankle torque to maintain safe foot-ground clearance. A wearable autonomous joint-actuation system will contribute significantly to rehabilitation across a range of gait-impaired populations. The project's scientific and technological innovations will provide the opportunity for future developments in assistive technologies. Read moreRead less
How do past actions and rewards bias goal directed movement? This project aims to identify how different aspects of our past experience affect the accuracy of movements, and study the underlying brain mechanisms. This project will use timing methods and brain recordings to test how the history of movements we have executed in the past, and the rewards associated with those movements, interact to affect subsequent movement execution. The project should advance basic understanding of how the human ....How do past actions and rewards bias goal directed movement? This project aims to identify how different aspects of our past experience affect the accuracy of movements, and study the underlying brain mechanisms. This project will use timing methods and brain recordings to test how the history of movements we have executed in the past, and the rewards associated with those movements, interact to affect subsequent movement execution. The project should advance basic understanding of how the human brain controls movement, and provide theoretical foundations needed to improve the design of human-machine interfaces, and training approaches in industry, rehabilitation and sport.Read moreRead less
Optimising the spring in your step to enhance footwear design. This project aims to examine how the nervous system adjusts the mechanical function of our feet across a spectrum of speeds, from slow running through to maximal effort sprinting. The proposed research will explore how the nervous system controls the function of the foot to meet the ever-varying demands of locomotion in the real-world. Expected outcomes of this project are to determine if running shoes help or hinder the natural spri ....Optimising the spring in your step to enhance footwear design. This project aims to examine how the nervous system adjusts the mechanical function of our feet across a spectrum of speeds, from slow running through to maximal effort sprinting. The proposed research will explore how the nervous system controls the function of the foot to meet the ever-varying demands of locomotion in the real-world. Expected outcomes of this project are to determine if running shoes help or hinder the natural spring-like function of the foot. It will explain a conceptually novel design allowing shoes to support our feet, whilst harnessing the energetic benefits of the foot's spring-like function. This research has the potential to revolutionise athletic footwear design and has direct implications for enhanced performance in running athletes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100042
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$325,000.00
Summary
Multitasking effects on motor control in childhood through adolescence. This project aims to increase knowledge on the development of motor control and its cognitive determinants. The ability to perform cognitive and motor tasks simultaneously is a critical skill for daily living. From childhood to adolescence, and across a range of developmental disorders, simultaneous performance of cognitive and motor tasks represents a major challenge. Children with cognitive and motor coordination problems ....Multitasking effects on motor control in childhood through adolescence. This project aims to increase knowledge on the development of motor control and its cognitive determinants. The ability to perform cognitive and motor tasks simultaneously is a critical skill for daily living. From childhood to adolescence, and across a range of developmental disorders, simultaneous performance of cognitive and motor tasks represents a major challenge. Children with cognitive and motor coordination problems show increased inattention, hyperactivity, psychosocial difficulties and negative perceptions of self-worth. This project aims to investigate how the cognitive demands of balance control during walking changes from childhood to adolescence. The results may help to identify the mechanisms underlying childhood disorders associated with comorbid cognitive and motor impairments and provide strategies for earlier identification.Read moreRead less
Structural and neural determinants of stress and strain in human muscle. This project aims to further our understanding of the biomechanical stress and strains experienced by contracting human muscles. Using innovative imaging techniques such as microendoscopy and supersonic shear imaging, we expect to generate new significant evidence on the structural and neural factors that lead to areas of high stress in human muscles. Outcomes of this project include not only a new understanding of muscle d ....Structural and neural determinants of stress and strain in human muscle. This project aims to further our understanding of the biomechanical stress and strains experienced by contracting human muscles. Using innovative imaging techniques such as microendoscopy and supersonic shear imaging, we expect to generate new significant evidence on the structural and neural factors that lead to areas of high stress in human muscles. Outcomes of this project include not only a new understanding of muscle design on multi-scale level, but also of muscle function and adaptation. This should provide significant benefits in better predicting muscle injury and prescribing safe exercise, knowledge that would benefit biomechanical engineers and sport and exercise professionals.Read moreRead less
Robust Data-Driven Control for Safety-Critical Systems. This project aims to develop new approaches to controlling robotic and cyber-physical systems in safety-critical applications. This project expects to generate new knowledge in how to harness the power of machine learning for robot control, while guaranteeing safety and stability at all times. The outcomes of this project will be new algorithms and a deeper understanding of the interplay of data, learning, and models, as well as experimenta ....Robust Data-Driven Control for Safety-Critical Systems. This project aims to develop new approaches to controlling robotic and cyber-physical systems in safety-critical applications. This project expects to generate new knowledge in how to harness the power of machine learning for robot control, while guaranteeing safety and stability at all times. The outcomes of this project will be new algorithms and a deeper understanding of the interplay of data, learning, and models, as well as experimental validation on a surgical robot and a bipedal walking robot. This project will provide significant benefits by dramatically increasing the range of applications in which the power of machine learning can be safely applied to advance the capabilities and uptake of robotics.Read moreRead less
Control and learning for enhancing capabilities of quantum sensors. This project aims to develop new theories and algorithms to enhance capabilities in engineering quantum sensors from the perspective of systems and control. The project is significant because it is anticipated to advance key knowledge and provide systematic methods to enable achievement of high-precision sensing for wide applications, e.g., early disease detection, medical research, discovery of ore deposits and groundwater moni ....Control and learning for enhancing capabilities of quantum sensors. This project aims to develop new theories and algorithms to enhance capabilities in engineering quantum sensors from the perspective of systems and control. The project is significant because it is anticipated to advance key knowledge and provide systematic methods to enable achievement of high-precision sensing for wide applications, e.g., early disease detection, medical research, discovery of ore deposits and groundwater monitoring. The intended outcomes are fundamental theories, effective control and learning algorithms for achieving highly-sensitive sensors. These outcomes should make important contributions to and deliver new knowledge and skills for Australia's sensing industries, which could benefit Australia's economic growth.Read moreRead less
Learning deep resilient behaviour for uncertainty-aware autonomy. This research project aims to propose a novel framework for developing uncertainty-aware autonomous systems using deep learning. There are fundamental gaps in our knowledge of deep uncertainty quantification and its application for risk-aware decision making. Novel algorithms will be proposed to reliably generate deep uncertainty estimates with low computational overhead. These estimates will be then exploited by safety-critical s ....Learning deep resilient behaviour for uncertainty-aware autonomy. This research project aims to propose a novel framework for developing uncertainty-aware autonomous systems using deep learning. There are fundamental gaps in our knowledge of deep uncertainty quantification and its application for risk-aware decision making. Novel algorithms will be proposed to reliably generate deep uncertainty estimates with low computational overhead. These estimates will be then exploited by safety-critical systems such as autonomous robots to identify risky actions and avoid catastrophise. Developed algorithms will be implemented on an autonomous robotic system to make it averse to uncertainties. The outcomes will greatly increase reliable telerobotic applications in mining, manufacturing, defence, and health.Read moreRead less
Distributed Estimation, Control and Optimisation for Networked Systems. This project aims to study large scale networked systems in major infrastructures including power networks, transportation networks, internet of things, and other cyber-physical systems. This project is expected to develop new methodology and algorithms for distributed estimation, control and optimisation of these systems. Distributed solutions are essential because traditional techniques which were designed for small system ....Distributed Estimation, Control and Optimisation for Networked Systems. This project aims to study large scale networked systems in major infrastructures including power networks, transportation networks, internet of things, and other cyber-physical systems. This project is expected to develop new methodology and algorithms for distributed estimation, control and optimisation of these systems. Distributed solutions are essential because traditional techniques which were designed for small systems are not suitable for efficient operations of large scale systems. Application examples include distributed state estimation for power networks, control of multi-agent systems and optimal scheduling of transportation networks. The outcomes of this project are vital to the understanding and management of these systems. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101623
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$456,450.00
Summary
High-Fidelity Motion Simulator using Sickness-Free Motion Cueing Algorithm. This project aims to address the key deficiencies of driving and flight simulators by developing novel human perception-based motion cueing algorithms (MCAs) and leveraging advanced artificial intelligence techniques. Despite widespread applications, existing motion simulators fail to deliver the most accurate human sensation to the user. This failure is mainly attributable to the inefficiency and inflexibility of MCAs u ....High-Fidelity Motion Simulator using Sickness-Free Motion Cueing Algorithm. This project aims to address the key deficiencies of driving and flight simulators by developing novel human perception-based motion cueing algorithms (MCAs) and leveraging advanced artificial intelligence techniques. Despite widespread applications, existing motion simulators fail to deliver the most accurate human sensation to the user. This failure is mainly attributable to the inefficiency and inflexibility of MCAs used by simulators. It is expected that this project will significantly increase simulator motion fidelity and eliminate motion sickness. This will have substantial benefits to Australian research communities and industries, particularly where simulators are used for training, performance evaluation and virtual prototyping.Read moreRead less