Mapping ear morphology to individualised three dimensional audio. The project aims to develop a practical method to derive a listener's individualised Head Related Transfer Functions from two dimensional images of the head and ears. These are essential for generating high-fidelity three dimensional audio. The project will perceptually evaluate and test the proposed system when applied to teleconferencing, surveillance, and navigational guidance.
Ostracism and Aggression. Ostracism has been implicated in school shootings (e.g., Columbine) and other violent or anti-social episodes (e.g., Port Arthur shootings). Some argue that ostracism drives individuals toward joining violent extremist groups. Research, however, is mixed: sometimes targets of ostracism correct their behaviors to be more socially acceptable; whereas other times they react with aggression. This research program will investigate the conditions under which ostracism either ....Ostracism and Aggression. Ostracism has been implicated in school shootings (e.g., Columbine) and other violent or anti-social episodes (e.g., Port Arthur shootings). Some argue that ostracism drives individuals toward joining violent extremist groups. Research, however, is mixed: sometimes targets of ostracism correct their behaviors to be more socially acceptable; whereas other times they react with aggression. This research program will investigate the conditions under which ostracism either leads to paths of either pro-social or aggressive reactions. A new virtual reality paradigm will be developed to provide stronger manipulations of ostracism and to assist in discovering the crucial conditions responsible for these paths.Read moreRead less
Design in Context: Augmented Reality Technology to Improve the Quality and Performance of Architecture. This project will develop tools and knowledge to assess and improve the environmental performance and visual impact of design proposals prior to construction. The design simulation technology proposed here will allow stakeholders to concurrently test socio-cultural and functional performance over time, will allow more informed decision making and make a significant contribution to the social, ....Design in Context: Augmented Reality Technology to Improve the Quality and Performance of Architecture. This project will develop tools and knowledge to assess and improve the environmental performance and visual impact of design proposals prior to construction. The design simulation technology proposed here will allow stakeholders to concurrently test socio-cultural and functional performance over time, will allow more informed decision making and make a significant contribution to the social, cultural and economic life of Australia. The augmented reality technology to be developed in this project also has significant potential for applications in other domains and industries such as landscape and parks management.Read moreRead less
Individualisation for 3D Audio. The project aim is to allow the general listener to enjoy high-fidelity 3-D sound over headphones. Such 3-D audio is of paramount importance when inter-personal communication requires situational awareness, (eg search and rescue, fire-fighting, and air traffic control). To achieve this, the project aims to address one of the toughest problems in audio signal processing: deriving high-fidelity 3-D audio headphone filters from photos and/or 3D scans of ears. The pro ....Individualisation for 3D Audio. The project aim is to allow the general listener to enjoy high-fidelity 3-D sound over headphones. Such 3-D audio is of paramount importance when inter-personal communication requires situational awareness, (eg search and rescue, fire-fighting, and air traffic control). To achieve this, the project aims to address one of the toughest problems in audio signal processing: deriving high-fidelity 3-D audio headphone filters from photos and/or 3D scans of ears. The project plans to address fundamental research questions in statistical shape and data analysis and to perceptually evaluate the 3-D audio methods developed.Read moreRead less
Motherese by ear and eye: infant perception of visual prosody. The project breaks new ground in auditory-visual speech processing by using naturally expressive continuous speech to probe how infants perceive visual prosody. A strength of the project lies in its use of breakthrough animation technologies to create a state-of-the-art virtual Talking Mother to enable control of visual speech cues.
Encoding and Communicating Navigable Soundfields. While sound recording is commonplace, it is not currently practical to completely record a sound space such that the experience can be reproduced at a chosen 'listening point'. This is a significant restriction for audio applications in the entertainment, surveillance and virtual/mixed reality areas. The project will research novel and practical solutions to this problem and offers a significant conceptual advance in the transmission of complex a ....Encoding and Communicating Navigable Soundfields. While sound recording is commonplace, it is not currently practical to completely record a sound space such that the experience can be reproduced at a chosen 'listening point'. This is a significant restriction for audio applications in the entertainment, surveillance and virtual/mixed reality areas. The project will research novel and practical solutions to this problem and offers a significant conceptual advance in the transmission of complex audio scenes. This project will build fundamental new technology and IP for Australia in the digital media and audio space, one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy.Read moreRead less
Parametric coding of acoustic fields using models of auditory sensitivity. The project represents cutting edge research in the field of soundfield recording, audio compression and reproduction. The introduction of explicit acoustic field theory to the field of audio compression is a substantive and innovative change that not only furthers the knowledge base in the field but also provides a framework for contributions in related fields such as auditory prosthetics and noise cancellation. The most ....Parametric coding of acoustic fields using models of auditory sensitivity. The project represents cutting edge research in the field of soundfield recording, audio compression and reproduction. The introduction of explicit acoustic field theory to the field of audio compression is a substantive and innovative change that not only furthers the knowledge base in the field but also provides a framework for contributions in related fields such as auditory prosthetics and noise cancellation. The most obvious benefits will be international acclaim and the opportunity to patent, develop and ultimately export technology and systems. Outcomes from the project will benefit consumers and facilitate diverse industries within Australia ranging from health management to the consumer electronics and entertainment industry. Read moreRead less
Augmented Sociality: Enabling a Socialised Experience of Augmented Reality. This project will explore new socialised uses of Augmented Reality (AR) that expand creativity, social relations, and participation. We seek to better understand how AR content can be leveraged by people to create their own new ways of learning, collaborating, and relating with each other. To do so we will study and prototype new tools and platforms to allow non-experts to create their own AR media. We aim to enable peop ....Augmented Sociality: Enabling a Socialised Experience of Augmented Reality. This project will explore new socialised uses of Augmented Reality (AR) that expand creativity, social relations, and participation. We seek to better understand how AR content can be leveraged by people to create their own new ways of learning, collaborating, and relating with each other. To do so we will study and prototype new tools and platforms to allow non-experts to create their own AR media. We aim to enable people of all ages, education, and background, to imagine and create, and not just passively consume, AR contents, services, and applications. We will generate new applications of AR, a new platform to collaboratively create these applications, and a new theory of 'Augmented Sociality' to guide AR design.
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A Gesture-Based Interface for Designing in Virtual Reality. Many design professions including architecture, fashion, and engineering can benefit from the outcomes of this project and may return financial benefits to Australia, since they heavily rely on sketching in the conceptual design process. Other areas, such as films, computer games, user interface design that involves storyboarding and visualization may also benefit from sketching in virtual reality. Further research may be carried out us ....A Gesture-Based Interface for Designing in Virtual Reality. Many design professions including architecture, fashion, and engineering can benefit from the outcomes of this project and may return financial benefits to Australia, since they heavily rely on sketching in the conceptual design process. Other areas, such as films, computer games, user interface design that involves storyboarding and visualization may also benefit from sketching in virtual reality. Further research may be carried out using a variety of VR facilities and a responsive workbench (3D interactive table-top display) to allow distributed Virtual Prototyping between geographically separated design teams, to assemble the product drawn using a force feedback device to place Australia in a leading position.Read moreRead less
Multiscale stochastic modelling of genetic regulatory mechanisms. The completion of the human genome marked the culmination of one hundred years of reductionist science in cell biology. Although further bioinformatics analysis will continue, the focus is shifting towards synthesis and understanding how the regulatory genetic components dynamically interact to form functional phenotypes. The key to this is the understanding of the roles of stochasticity in cellular processes. This project will ex ....Multiscale stochastic modelling of genetic regulatory mechanisms. The completion of the human genome marked the culmination of one hundred years of reductionist science in cell biology. Although further bioinformatics analysis will continue, the focus is shifting towards synthesis and understanding how the regulatory genetic components dynamically interact to form functional phenotypes. The key to this is the understanding of the roles of stochasticity in cellular processes. This project will explore these roles and will develop an integrated complex systems modelling, simulation and visualisation framework for exploring and validating genetic regulatory models in general. This will be used on an exemplar application for understanding the induction process in lambda phage.Read moreRead less