How do bees orchestrate smooth landings? The results should pave the way for the development of novel, biologically inspired strategies for the control of landing in unmanned aerial vehicles. Endowing aircraft with the capability of autonomous flight and landing has been a major challenge in engineering technology. There is now considerable interest, nationally and world wide, in the development of small, intelligent, autonomous airborne vehicles for application in a number of areas of defense, ....How do bees orchestrate smooth landings? The results should pave the way for the development of novel, biologically inspired strategies for the control of landing in unmanned aerial vehicles. Endowing aircraft with the capability of autonomous flight and landing has been a major challenge in engineering technology. There is now considerable interest, nationally and world wide, in the development of small, intelligent, autonomous airborne vehicles for application in a number of areas of defense, surveillance and space exploration. The proposed research will help Australia maintain a leading edge in uncovering important biological principles of flight control that can be translated into useful technological applications.Read moreRead less
Linking human brain structure to function with ultra-high resolution fMRI. This project will examine the structure and function of the sensory cortex of the human brain using ultra-high resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (7 Tesla MRI). The project pushes new boundaries for resolution with ultra-high field MRI (7 Tesla) and, as such, will advance techniques for the acquisition, analysis, and computational modelling of high-resolution fMRI brain imaging, providing detail of the funct ....Linking human brain structure to function with ultra-high resolution fMRI. This project will examine the structure and function of the sensory cortex of the human brain using ultra-high resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (7 Tesla MRI). The project pushes new boundaries for resolution with ultra-high field MRI (7 Tesla) and, as such, will advance techniques for the acquisition, analysis, and computational modelling of high-resolution fMRI brain imaging, providing detail of the functional organisation of the sensory cortex at a level never previously possible in the living human brain. This will provide new understanding of the neural-level networks that underpin attention and touch perception in the human brain.Read moreRead less
Motion and Spatial Coding in Vision. The results of this project will have implications for the design and implementation of artificial visual systems. Completion of this project will depend upon international collaboration - forging links between a young Australian investigator and outstanding overseas scientists as well as providing excellent training opportunities. Subsequent publication of the research in top-ranking international journals will further promote Australian science abroad.
Rod-cone interaction under mesopic illumination. Visual function and performance can be degraded under dim light levels. This occurs in many indoor settings, emergency and traffic lighting conditions. Approximately 45% of all Australian traffic fatalities occur under dim light. The research program uses a frontier technology to determine how vision is degraded under dim lighting and provide accurate parameters to better design mesopic lighting environments to maximize visual function and perform ....Rod-cone interaction under mesopic illumination. Visual function and performance can be degraded under dim light levels. This occurs in many indoor settings, emergency and traffic lighting conditions. Approximately 45% of all Australian traffic fatalities occur under dim light. The research program uses a frontier technology to determine how vision is degraded under dim lighting and provide accurate parameters to better design mesopic lighting environments to maximize visual function and performance. This work will help to evaluate new energy-efficient lighting systems and optimise traffic lighting for early recognition of obstacles and dangerous situations. Read moreRead less
Psychophysical Assessment of Receptoral and Post-Receptoral Visual Function. Visual function and performance can be degraded under dim light levels. This occurs in many indoor settings, emergency lighting and road traffic lighting conditions. Approximately 45% of all Australian road traffic fatalities occur under dim lighting conditions. My data will be unique, as it will provide accurate parameters to better design mesopic lighting environments to maximize visual function and performance. This ....Psychophysical Assessment of Receptoral and Post-Receptoral Visual Function. Visual function and performance can be degraded under dim light levels. This occurs in many indoor settings, emergency lighting and road traffic lighting conditions. Approximately 45% of all Australian road traffic fatalities occur under dim lighting conditions. My data will be unique, as it will provide accurate parameters to better design mesopic lighting environments to maximize visual function and performance. This work will help to optimise road traffic lighting for the early recognition of obstacles and dangerous situations. The research program will make important scientific contributions to understanding human visual function and performance at dim light levels.Read moreRead less
The rules governing combined rod and cone photoreceptor signalling in visual pathways. The research program investigates vision at dim (mesopic) light levels where rod and cone photoreceptors simultaneously transmit visual information. The interaction between rod and cone signals is not trivial because their different amplitudes, timings and delays significantly change the perceptual qualities of our visual experience. The research addresses fundamental questions about how the retina and brain i ....The rules governing combined rod and cone photoreceptor signalling in visual pathways. The research program investigates vision at dim (mesopic) light levels where rod and cone photoreceptors simultaneously transmit visual information. The interaction between rod and cone signals is not trivial because their different amplitudes, timings and delays significantly change the perceptual qualities of our visual experience. The research addresses fundamental questions about how the retina and brain integrate disparate signals from the rods and cones to produce a homogenous visual percept. New psychophysical and electroretinographic paradigms will independently control the retinal photoreceptors to resolve the long standing problem of how noise modifies signalling and information flow between the retina and visual cortex.Read moreRead less
Dendritic information processing during sensory-motor behaviour. The neocortex is centrally involved in the control of animal behaviour. It is largely unknown how neocortical neurons contribute to the neuronal computations that generate behaviour. The project will study how individual neurons in the neocortex compute the sensory and motor signals that underlie an important exploratory behaviour in rodents.
Visual guidance of flight in birds. Birds flying rapidly amidst the branches of trees engage continually in a three-dimensional slalom. This project will study birds flying through tunnels and gaps, to understand how they use their eyes and wings to achieve this agility. The results could suggest better designs for unmanned aerial vehicles operating in dense urban environments.
Melanopsin function in humans. This project aims to understand melanopsin signalling in humans. A newly discovered retinal ganglion cell class expresses the melanopsin photopigment. Melanopsin signalling controls neural functions for light dependent image formation and non-image forming processes. Many of these are unknown in humans. This project will use a 5-primary photostimulator to define how melanopsin controls these processes in humans. The outcomes are expected to advance understanding of ....Melanopsin function in humans. This project aims to understand melanopsin signalling in humans. A newly discovered retinal ganglion cell class expresses the melanopsin photopigment. Melanopsin signalling controls neural functions for light dependent image formation and non-image forming processes. Many of these are unknown in humans. This project will use a 5-primary photostimulator to define how melanopsin controls these processes in humans. The outcomes are expected to advance understanding of human vision. This could provide avenues for using light to increase active participation in society and improve health and well-being, and strategies to assess human vision and the body’s internal clock.Read moreRead less
A contractile cochlear frame - a possible new mechanism of sound adaptation. It is generally accepted that the rigid frame that harbours sensory structures in the hearing organs of modern higher vertebrates has only a passive supporting role. We have discovered a contractile component in the cartilaginous cochlear frame of the lizard Teratoscincus scincus and demonstrated that the tonus of the contractile tissue can be regulated. We hypothesize a new, previously unknown mechanism of slow mechani ....A contractile cochlear frame - a possible new mechanism of sound adaptation. It is generally accepted that the rigid frame that harbours sensory structures in the hearing organs of modern higher vertebrates has only a passive supporting role. We have discovered a contractile component in the cartilaginous cochlear frame of the lizard Teratoscincus scincus and demonstrated that the tonus of the contractile tissue can be regulated. We hypothesize a new, previously unknown mechanism of slow mechanical adaptation in the vertebrate hearing organ. The aim of the proposed project is to examine this hypothesis in more detail.
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