Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354596
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
Perception and Action in Auditory Scenes (PAAS): Neural, Behavioural, Computational and Mechanical Systems. Auditory scenes are temporal and ephemeral yet pervasively influence human life. How humans negotiate such scenes has not been solved, a fact highlighted by attempts to build machines to respond to speech, warnings etc., in real-world situations with room reverberation, different talkers, and background noise. No one discipline can solve such problems. In this network outstanding researche ....Perception and Action in Auditory Scenes (PAAS): Neural, Behavioural, Computational and Mechanical Systems. Auditory scenes are temporal and ephemeral yet pervasively influence human life. How humans negotiate such scenes has not been solved, a fact highlighted by attempts to build machines to respond to speech, warnings etc., in real-world situations with room reverberation, different talkers, and background noise. No one discipline can solve such problems. In this network outstanding researchers from physical, medical, human, and social sciences with interests in speech, music and audition will provide insights into how humans and machines localize, recognize, interpret and produce auditory events, and advance frontier technologies, e.g., automatic speech recognition, hearing prostheses, auditory monitoring/warning systems.Read moreRead less
Implicit transmission of embodied culture. Is a culturally diverse, yet socially integrated community possible? In multicultural societies such as Australia, this is a pressing and significant question. To form and maintain a vibrant and prosperous community in the face of globalization, it is essential to understand the fundamental processes by which cultures are formed and transformed in everyday social activities. This project examines one such process, implicit cultural transmission, propose ....Implicit transmission of embodied culture. Is a culturally diverse, yet socially integrated community possible? In multicultural societies such as Australia, this is a pressing and significant question. To form and maintain a vibrant and prosperous community in the face of globalization, it is essential to understand the fundamental processes by which cultures are formed and transformed in everyday social activities. This project examines one such process, implicit cultural transmission, proposed to function in the nonconscious transmission of cultural information. Understanding the dynamics of this subtle, yet pervasive, mode of cultural influence is central to a full appreciation of how one's own culture and those of others' integrate and flourish.Read moreRead less
Neurobiological computation using self organization. Despite their phenomenal power and speed there are many simple things that computers still cannot do, that humans, and indeed many animals, are able to perform effortlessly. The research outlined in this proposal aims to develop new, biologically inspired, computational approaches that attempt to bridge this gap. This research will help place Australia, despite its relatively small size, as a leading research community in the development of ....Neurobiological computation using self organization. Despite their phenomenal power and speed there are many simple things that computers still cannot do, that humans, and indeed many animals, are able to perform effortlessly. The research outlined in this proposal aims to develop new, biologically inspired, computational approaches that attempt to bridge this gap. This research will help place Australia, despite its relatively small size, as a leading research community in the development of the next wave of computing devices. The development of new and "more natural" approaches to computing will deliver large dividends to a range of social, economic and environmental problems.Read moreRead less
Behaviour of large networks of neurons in a functioning organ: a realistic computer-based model of the enteric nervous system. The organisation of the gut nervous system is well understood, but how nerve cells cooperate to control gut movements and secretions are matters of conjecture. We will test these conjectures by simulating the behaviour of the gut nervous system using an anatomically and physiologically realistic computer model to predict the way the gut responds to specific stimuli and t ....Behaviour of large networks of neurons in a functioning organ: a realistic computer-based model of the enteric nervous system. The organisation of the gut nervous system is well understood, but how nerve cells cooperate to control gut movements and secretions are matters of conjecture. We will test these conjectures by simulating the behaviour of the gut nervous system using an anatomically and physiologically realistic computer model to predict the way the gut responds to specific stimuli and test these predictions using novel methods for recording gut movements and nervous activity. This will provide the first complete description of how a mammalian nervous system generates complex behaviours and will provide substantial pointers to how other nervous systems achieve similar tasks.Read moreRead less
Air Traffic Controller Competencies and Selection. This project targets a National Priority area Safeguarding Australia, Priority Goal: Critical Infrastructure. The partner organization Airservices Australia is a key player in the effective operation of the Australian aviation industry which is a critical and strategic component of the national transport infrastructure. Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) provide the nation with aviation services that require them to perform all tasks without error. ....Air Traffic Controller Competencies and Selection. This project targets a National Priority area Safeguarding Australia, Priority Goal: Critical Infrastructure. The partner organization Airservices Australia is a key player in the effective operation of the Australian aviation industry which is a critical and strategic component of the national transport infrastructure. Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs) provide the nation with aviation services that require them to perform all tasks without error. The project will help develop the standards of excellence of Australian ATCs, contribute to internationalizing Australian human factors literature, develop the knowledge and skills of the Airservices staff and research team, and assist RAF and civil ATC collaboration.Read moreRead less
Organization and Plasticity of Visual Processing in a Miniature Brain. To recognise objects a brain must have an internal representation of most likely object appearance. Two ways in which brains may posses this information include a hard wired template system, and/or the neuroplasticity to learn novel objects. Recent investigations on honeybee vision show that this animal can learn to recognise very difficult objects, although currently we do not know how the miniaturised bee brain manages thes ....Organization and Plasticity of Visual Processing in a Miniature Brain. To recognise objects a brain must have an internal representation of most likely object appearance. Two ways in which brains may posses this information include a hard wired template system, and/or the neuroplasticity to learn novel objects. Recent investigations on honeybee vision show that this animal can learn to recognise very difficult objects, although currently we do not know how the miniaturised bee brain manages these tasks. This project will reveal changes that occur in the processing of visual objects by the bee's brain with increasing experience, with potential applications including robotics or building interfaces between sensors and biological systems.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354513
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
The Computational Processing of Human Language. Language is what makes us distinctly human; consequently, language attracts interest from many fields of research, particularly linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science. Moreover, language is the primary medium for the storage and dissemination of knowledge, a fact that has drawn many computer scientists to attempt to process, analyse and understand language. This network will bridge the many disciplines that are concerned with language, ex ....The Computational Processing of Human Language. Language is what makes us distinctly human; consequently, language attracts interest from many fields of research, particularly linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science. Moreover, language is the primary medium for the storage and dissemination of knowledge, a fact that has drawn many computer scientists to attempt to process, analyse and understand language. This network will bridge the many disciplines that are concerned with language, explore new ways in which computational models inform our understanding of human languages, and exploit new opportunities for applying theories of language in the development of human language technologies.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100211
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
The Big Australian Speech Corpus: An audio-visual speech corpus of Australian English. Contemporary speech science and technology are driven by the availability of large speech corpora. While audio databases exist for languages spoken in America, Europe and Japan, there is currently no large auditory-visual database of spoken language, and certainly not one for Australian English. Here we will establish the Big Australian Speech Corpus, which will support a speech science research and developmen ....The Big Australian Speech Corpus: An audio-visual speech corpus of Australian English. Contemporary speech science and technology are driven by the availability of large speech corpora. While audio databases exist for languages spoken in America, Europe and Japan, there is currently no large auditory-visual database of spoken language, and certainly not one for Australian English. Here we will establish the Big Australian Speech Corpus, which will support a speech science research and development using Australian English and facilitate the development of Australian speech technology applications from automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech synthesis used in taxi and other ordering services, to hearing prostheses and talking head aids for learning-impaired children, and a range of security and forensic applications.Read moreRead less