Making eMaking Accessible for People with Intellectual Disabilities. This interdisciplinary research will create an evidence based eMaking program that empowers people with Intellectual Disabilities. eMaking benefits include collaborative problem solving and employment pathways; however, people with disabilities are often excluded. Through a unique, inclusive, outreach van, strategies to build accessible eMaking will be generated. Project outcomes include replicable, scalable eMaking activities ....Making eMaking Accessible for People with Intellectual Disabilities. This interdisciplinary research will create an evidence based eMaking program that empowers people with Intellectual Disabilities. eMaking benefits include collaborative problem solving and employment pathways; however, people with disabilities are often excluded. Through a unique, inclusive, outreach van, strategies to build accessible eMaking will be generated. Project outcomes include replicable, scalable eMaking activities and toolkits to facilitate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics for all. Project benefits include opportunities for people with Intellectual Disability to participate in meaningful recreational or work-focused eMaking, and changing community attitudes through shared eMaking participation.Read moreRead less
Using 3D printing to improve access to graphics by vision-impaired people. This project aims to investigate the possible benefits of 3D printing for production of accessible materials for vision-impaired people. Currently tactile graphics are used to provide severely vision-impaired adults and children with access to graphical content used in education and in orientation and mobility training. This project is expected to clarify the kinds of graphics for which 3D prints are better suited than ta ....Using 3D printing to improve access to graphics by vision-impaired people. This project aims to investigate the possible benefits of 3D printing for production of accessible materials for vision-impaired people. Currently tactile graphics are used to provide severely vision-impaired adults and children with access to graphical content used in education and in orientation and mobility training. This project is expected to clarify the kinds of graphics for which 3D prints are better suited than tactile graphics, and to build capacity within the national accessible format provision sector for the production and use of 3D prints. Benefits will include increased educational opportunities and quality of life for Australians with severe vision impairment, through improved access to graphic materials used in education and orientation and mobility training.
Read moreRead less
New information access technologies for people with intellectual disability. New information access technologies for people with intellectual disability. This project aims to co-design a social, interactive and visual internet search interface for people with intellectual disability. Enabling choice and independence is key to the new National Disability Insurance Scheme, but people with intellectual disability are effectively excluded from much of the Web. This project will investigate ways to a ....New information access technologies for people with intellectual disability. New information access technologies for people with intellectual disability. This project aims to co-design a social, interactive and visual internet search interface for people with intellectual disability. Enabling choice and independence is key to the new National Disability Insurance Scheme, but people with intellectual disability are effectively excluded from much of the Web. This project will investigate ways to access and provide information using technologies such as interactive avatars, virtual worlds and trusted social support. New interfaces will enable people with intellectual disability to inform themselves, make choices and foster their social inclusion. Expected outcomes are new search interface technology, a theoretical framework and new Web accessibility guidelines.Read moreRead less
Next Generation Ubiquitous Service Spaces. The challenges facing the next generation ubiquitous service computing come from scale and variability in user activities, services, and network connectivity. The project will deliver innovative, useful, and usable concepts and tools to allow provisioning of services in large scale, dynamic, and heterogeneous environments. This research will have significant benefits to Australia. It will strengthen research capabilities and provide an ideal opportunity ....Next Generation Ubiquitous Service Spaces. The challenges facing the next generation ubiquitous service computing come from scale and variability in user activities, services, and network connectivity. The project will deliver innovative, useful, and usable concepts and tools to allow provisioning of services in large scale, dynamic, and heterogeneous environments. This research will have significant benefits to Australia. It will strengthen research capabilities and provide an ideal opportunity to train postgraduate research students in cutting edge technologies. It will enhance smart information use for useful information sharing among individuals, private or public organisations. It will facilitate the development of IT solutions that help citizens be self-supported.Read moreRead less
A pictorial communication framework for inclusion. A picture can tell a thousand words; many people with an intellectual disability can only communicate with pictures and are otherwise isolated. This project will research how computers can understand and facilitate a rich pictorial communication between people and person to machine, thereby supporting inclusion. This will be achieved by inclusively co-designing with people with ID and members of the community: a) an audio-visual accessible searc ....A pictorial communication framework for inclusion. A picture can tell a thousand words; many people with an intellectual disability can only communicate with pictures and are otherwise isolated. This project will research how computers can understand and facilitate a rich pictorial communication between people and person to machine, thereby supporting inclusion. This will be achieved by inclusively co-designing with people with ID and members of the community: a) an audio-visual accessible search tool, b) a pictorial communication device, and c) a visual inclusive social network. These applications will inform future innovations for everyone, and allow citizens with ID to access online information, participate in community activities and be included in the workplace.Read moreRead less
Accessible Data Exploration and Analysis for Blind People. This project aims to develop new assistive technologies that will enable blind people to explore and analyse data more readily. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the fields of assistive technology, multimodal interfaces, dialogue systems and natural language understanding and generation. The expected outcome of the project is an innovative conversational agent that uses a mix of speech and tactile graphics to communicate ....Accessible Data Exploration and Analysis for Blind People. This project aims to develop new assistive technologies that will enable blind people to explore and analyse data more readily. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the fields of assistive technology, multimodal interfaces, dialogue systems and natural language understanding and generation. The expected outcome of the project is an innovative conversational agent that uses a mix of speech and tactile graphics to communicate with a blind user and proactively assists with data analysis tasks. This should provide significant benefits, as it will overcome barriers to data analysis and exploration by blind people that currently restrict access to government, health and personal data, and limit employment opportunities.Read moreRead less
Remote presence for guidance on physical tasks. This project aims to transform remote collaboration on physical tasks. Current systems for remote collaboration on physical tasks are not as effective as working face-to-face. This could be overcome by sharing non-verbal cues, designing systems to account for cultural issues, and using a new model of communication. This project will develop theories and interaction methods for remote guidance based on natural non-verbal communication cues and cultu ....Remote presence for guidance on physical tasks. This project aims to transform remote collaboration on physical tasks. Current systems for remote collaboration on physical tasks are not as effective as working face-to-face. This could be overcome by sharing non-verbal cues, designing systems to account for cultural issues, and using a new model of communication. This project will develop theories and interaction methods for remote guidance based on natural non-verbal communication cues and cultural issues. This project is expected to benefit industries with widely distributed multi-cultural workforces such as mining, defence and medicine.Read moreRead less
Distributed Estimation and Control under Communication Constraints. Sensor networks will be an important technology for Australia's future. Applications range from monitoring water quality to controlling complex defence systems. This project will lead to a better understanding of the fundamental limits of wireless sensor networks. Above and beyond the creation of new theory and algorithms, the national and community benefits will include: (i) enhancement of Australia's reputation for innovative ....Distributed Estimation and Control under Communication Constraints. Sensor networks will be an important technology for Australia's future. Applications range from monitoring water quality to controlling complex defence systems. This project will lead to a better understanding of the fundamental limits of wireless sensor networks. Above and beyond the creation of new theory and algorithms, the national and community benefits will include: (i) enhancement of Australia's reputation for innovative Engineering research through quality publications and international collaborations; and (ii) improvement of the research and development capability in the information and communications technology sector through high level training of postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows in this important technology.Read moreRead less
Eat, cook, grow: Ubiquitous technology for sustainable food culture in the city. Raising people's awareness of healthy and ecological food options with nutritional data and educational information does not foster a sustained practice towards a more environmentally friendly food culture. This study seeks to develop a better understanding how to go beyond just informing and into supporting and sustaining action and change. Drawing on interaction design, ubiquitous computing and real- time informat ....Eat, cook, grow: Ubiquitous technology for sustainable food culture in the city. Raising people's awareness of healthy and ecological food options with nutritional data and educational information does not foster a sustained practice towards a more environmentally friendly food culture. This study seeks to develop a better understanding how to go beyond just informing and into supporting and sustaining action and change. Drawing on interaction design, ubiquitous computing and real- time information, the study will deliver research findings that inform viable new design approaches and information interfaces which will strengthen Australia's position to resolve the problems of obesity, malnutrition and ecological issues of mass food processing, and contribute to the sustainability of life in Australian cities.Read moreRead less
Emerging technologies for enrichment in old age: A critical perspective. This project aims to generate knowledge about older adults' experiences with emerging technologies used for social and emotional enrichment. Technologies like virtual reality are said to offer social benefits for those in advanced old age, but we have limited knowledge about the issues that can impede older adults’ experiences with these technologies and even cause harm for vulnerable users. This project seeks to identify e ....Emerging technologies for enrichment in old age: A critical perspective. This project aims to generate knowledge about older adults' experiences with emerging technologies used for social and emotional enrichment. Technologies like virtual reality are said to offer social benefits for those in advanced old age, but we have limited knowledge about the issues that can impede older adults’ experiences with these technologies and even cause harm for vulnerable users. This project seeks to identify empirically informed strategies for good practice in the design and deployment of emerging technologies for enrichment in old age. This should inform the future ethical design and use of emerging technologies to benefit the social and emotional well-being of older Australians.Read moreRead less