Revealing the beneficial effects of acoustic stimulation on the human brain. This project aims to provide greater understanding of the neural mechanisms by which initiation of motor responses can be improved by unexpected auditory stimulation. Initiating motor actions appears natural and effortless, but is underpinned by complex neural mechanisms that are not well understood. Using novel brain stimulation techniques, the project aims to assess the potential for properly timed strong sensory stim ....Revealing the beneficial effects of acoustic stimulation on the human brain. This project aims to provide greater understanding of the neural mechanisms by which initiation of motor responses can be improved by unexpected auditory stimulation. Initiating motor actions appears natural and effortless, but is underpinned by complex neural mechanisms that are not well understood. Using novel brain stimulation techniques, the project aims to assess the potential for properly timed strong sensory stimulation during movement preparation to induce neural plasticity and motor learning. This knowledge would have important implications across a number of fields, including neuroscience, sports science, and applied ergonomics.Read moreRead less
An automated 3D model-based object recognition system. A novel, practical 3D vision system is proposed as a platform for fundamental applied research in 3D data acquisition, object modelling and object recognition. The significance of the vision system lies in the advancement of knowledge in three key areas of computer vision, registration, recognition and error propagation. The result is a system capable of sensing, modelling and identifying arbitrarily shaped free-form objects in a scene, an a ....An automated 3D model-based object recognition system. A novel, practical 3D vision system is proposed as a platform for fundamental applied research in 3D data acquisition, object modelling and object recognition. The significance of the vision system lies in the advancement of knowledge in three key areas of computer vision, registration, recognition and error propagation. The result is a system capable of sensing, modelling and identifying arbitrarily shaped free-form objects in a scene, an attribute lacking in current systems. Such a system can provide substantial economic benefits to industrial procedures such as grasp planning and quality control.Read moreRead less
The emotional face. The recognition of emotional facial expressions is essential for successful social functioning. This project will determine how information concerning facial expressions is encoded by the human brain, providing potential insight into situations where this process can fail, such as in old age or autism.
Why being lost-in-thought can blind you: the effects of distractor processing on perception. In many cases distraction occurs when we are lost-in-thought, leading us to miss key perceptual events that could prevent accidents. This project will examine this poorly-understood phenomenon, testing how and why this type of distraction occurs, and providing a solid foundation for future basic and applied research in multiple fields.