Developing Intelligent Systems for Manufacturing Control. The primary aim of this project is to develop control systems that interactively learn from the environment to increase the capabilities and performance of manufacturing processes. To achieve this we propose to develop manufacturing control systems that can automatically adapt to the changes in the process under control. Since these systems are expected to operate with limited or no human intervention, they need to be intelligent enough t ....Developing Intelligent Systems for Manufacturing Control. The primary aim of this project is to develop control systems that interactively learn from the environment to increase the capabilities and performance of manufacturing processes. To achieve this we propose to develop manufacturing control systems that can automatically adapt to the changes in the process under control. Since these systems are expected to operate with limited or no human intervention, they need to be intelligent enough to be able to learn from a changing environment and adapt correspondingly in order to achieve and maintain performance objectives.
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Insect-inspired flapping wing robots: autonomous flight control systems. This project aims to design a novel control scheme for insect-inspired, flapping-wing, micro aerial vehicles. This type of micro aerial vehicle has complex, periodic, time-varying and inherently unstable dynamics, which are practically challenging to model and implement in hardware. This project will design energy-based automatic stabilization and task-dependent control, and develop the insect-inspired platform for testing ....Insect-inspired flapping wing robots: autonomous flight control systems. This project aims to design a novel control scheme for insect-inspired, flapping-wing, micro aerial vehicles. This type of micro aerial vehicle has complex, periodic, time-varying and inherently unstable dynamics, which are practically challenging to model and implement in hardware. This project will design energy-based automatic stabilization and task-dependent control, and develop the insect-inspired platform for testing nonlinear control strategies. The expected outcomes will include new system and control theories, concepts, principles and technologies in controller design that can provide reliable flight control for bio-inspired, flapping-wing systems.Read moreRead less
Complexity-manageable methodologies and efficient computational tools for analysis and design of large-scale systems. The tools to be developed in this project have impact on a broad range of disciplines, including system analysis, feedback control technology, signal processing, communication network, and information theory. Practically, the success of this project will create cutting edge technologies applicable to design and management of important infrastructures of the modern society such as ....Complexity-manageable methodologies and efficient computational tools for analysis and design of large-scale systems. The tools to be developed in this project have impact on a broad range of disciplines, including system analysis, feedback control technology, signal processing, communication network, and information theory. Practically, the success of this project will create cutting edge technologies applicable to design and management of important infrastructures of the modern society such as communication networks, transportation systems, electrical power grids, and collaborative intelligent machines, and water distribution networks. Success of this project will bring novel methodologies and computational tools which help engineers to systematically design and validate the performance of their engineering systems.Read moreRead less
Robustness Analysis and Control Design of Distributed and Networked Systems. The theory and computational tools to be developed in this project have impact on a broad range of areas, including various engineering disciplines, biology, and medical and environmental sciences. In terms of practical interests, this project will create cutting edge technologies which are applicable to important infrastructures of the modern society such as communication networks, transportation systems, electrical po ....Robustness Analysis and Control Design of Distributed and Networked Systems. The theory and computational tools to be developed in this project have impact on a broad range of areas, including various engineering disciplines, biology, and medical and environmental sciences. In terms of practical interests, this project will create cutting edge technologies which are applicable to important infrastructures of the modern society such as communication networks, transportation systems, electrical power grids, collaborative intelligent machines, and water distribution networks. Read moreRead less
Sequencing and assembling microbial community metagenomes in real-time. This project aims to assemble metagenomes directly from environmental samples using nanopore sequencing. Short-read approaches to metagenomics cannot assemble mixed genomes from an environmental sample, so focus on describing which species and genes are present. Long-read nanopore sequencing enables the assembly of full genomes of multiple species in a sample. Assembling complete genomes in important resources such as water ....Sequencing and assembling microbial community metagenomes in real-time. This project aims to assemble metagenomes directly from environmental samples using nanopore sequencing. Short-read approaches to metagenomics cannot assemble mixed genomes from an environmental sample, so focus on describing which species and genes are present. Long-read nanopore sequencing enables the assembly of full genomes of multiple species in a sample. Assembling complete genomes in important resources such as water and soil should lead to deeper understanding of the dynamics, variation and transfer of genetic material within these resources’ microbial communities, strategies to manage microbial diversity, and improved productivity and long-term sustainability for these resources.Read moreRead less
Human-Robot Co-Evolution: Achieving the full potential of future workplaces. Physical human-robot systems are widely used to amplify the capability of human labourers and improve ergonomics in the workplace. This project aims to develop robot controllers that shape the co-evolution of these systems. Through physical human-robot interaction studies it will generate new knowledge of how humans adapt to working with robots, which will then be incorporated into the robot controller design. Expected ....Human-Robot Co-Evolution: Achieving the full potential of future workplaces. Physical human-robot systems are widely used to amplify the capability of human labourers and improve ergonomics in the workplace. This project aims to develop robot controllers that shape the co-evolution of these systems. Through physical human-robot interaction studies it will generate new knowledge of how humans adapt to working with robots, which will then be incorporated into the robot controller design. Expected outcomes include a better understanding of human adaptation and a systematic approach to shaping human-robot interaction over time. This should provide significant benefits across different skill and labour-intensive industries in Australia, such as improved worker productivity and safer human-robot collaboration.Read moreRead less
Variable Structure Control Systems in Networked Environments. This project will be the first in the world to lay the foundation for a new theory for understanding and designing new variable structure control systems in the networked environments, which is in great need due to increasing use of shared communication networks in modern industrial systems. It will firmly place Australia at the forefront of this research by developing a cutting edge technology for improving reliability and efficiency ....Variable Structure Control Systems in Networked Environments. This project will be the first in the world to lay the foundation for a new theory for understanding and designing new variable structure control systems in the networked environments, which is in great need due to increasing use of shared communication networks in modern industrial systems. It will firmly place Australia at the forefront of this research by developing a cutting edge technology for improving reliability and efficiency of industrial variable structure control systems in the networked environments, hence resulting in cost-saving and improved productivity for industry. It will provide training for new leading researchers specialised in this new theory and technology.Read moreRead less
What learning is there in learning control? This project seeks to establish a meaningful definition and quantifiable measure of learning in the context of adaptive or learning control. The project is designed within the context of human motor skill learning, and assesses the speed of learning and the quality of learning (reflected by the accuracy of the motor task execution). The project plans to use measures to provide a mathematically precise meaning for the notion of learning. The outcome has ....What learning is there in learning control? This project seeks to establish a meaningful definition and quantifiable measure of learning in the context of adaptive or learning control. The project is designed within the context of human motor skill learning, and assesses the speed of learning and the quality of learning (reflected by the accuracy of the motor task execution). The project plans to use measures to provide a mathematically precise meaning for the notion of learning. The outcome has the potential to be applied to the design of technology-assisted training of motor skills, from the recovery of lost motor skills after trauma to the development of elite athletes.Read moreRead less
Tackling Atmospheric Chemistry Grand Challenges in the Southern Hemisphere. The project aims to provide a southern hemisphere perspective on current challenges in atmospheric chemistry: air quality, oxidation capacity, stratospheric change, and chemistry–climate interactions. Australia’s geographic position in the relatively clean southern hemisphere allows a unique opportunity to study environments with limited human influence, an opportunity that has largely been lost in the more populous nort ....Tackling Atmospheric Chemistry Grand Challenges in the Southern Hemisphere. The project aims to provide a southern hemisphere perspective on current challenges in atmospheric chemistry: air quality, oxidation capacity, stratospheric change, and chemistry–climate interactions. Australia’s geographic position in the relatively clean southern hemisphere allows a unique opportunity to study environments with limited human influence, an opportunity that has largely been lost in the more populous northern hemisphere. The intended outcomes of the project include validated ground-based and satellite datasets for monitoring Australia’s air quality, improved atmospheric models for predicting future atmospheric change, and a deeper understanding of the processes driving atmospheric composition worldwide.Read moreRead less
Renewable energy generation from flow-induced vibration. Much engineering effort has been expended to eliminate vibration of marine structures. This project seeks to provide the basis for the development of tidal energy harnessing, by deliberately amplifying and harnessing vibration. This technology offers the promise of capturing clean, zero-emissions energy, while presenting no risk to marine life.