Micromanipulation system. Many frontier areas such as micromanufacturing, microsurgery, biotechnology, and nanotechnology require high precision micromanipulation systems. This project aims to investigate fundamental issues in micromanipulation systems using an ARC-LIEF funded research facility, and establish methodologies for modelling and analysis, together with their experimental verification to evaluate the influence of various parameters in such systems. The findings will be utilised to e ....Micromanipulation system. Many frontier areas such as micromanufacturing, microsurgery, biotechnology, and nanotechnology require high precision micromanipulation systems. This project aims to investigate fundamental issues in micromanipulation systems using an ARC-LIEF funded research facility, and establish methodologies for modelling and analysis, together with their experimental verification to evaluate the influence of various parameters in such systems. The findings will be utilised to establish sensory-based control techniques to solve problems associated with predictability, control, and efficiency for future advancement of such novel systems. The outcomes will include acquiring new knowledge in micromanipulation systems for potential utilization of the innovative concepts in the frontier areas.Read moreRead less
Haptic exploration and manipulation of micro/nano scale environment. The proposed research is novel and innovative in character and it has potential benefits in many frontier areas utilising micro/nano manipulation systems. These include micromanufacturing and instrumentation, microbiology, microsurgery and nanotechnology. The outcomes of this project will add to the growth of world-class Australian engineering science, and consolidate Australia's position in innovative technologies and internat ....Haptic exploration and manipulation of micro/nano scale environment. The proposed research is novel and innovative in character and it has potential benefits in many frontier areas utilising micro/nano manipulation systems. These include micromanufacturing and instrumentation, microbiology, microsurgery and nanotechnology. The outcomes of this project will add to the growth of world-class Australian engineering science, and consolidate Australia's position in innovative technologies and international R&D. This highly challenging project will provide training for postdoctorate researchers, postgraduate and honours students. These researchers will gain expertise in many areas including micro/nano manipulation, sensing and control, system design and analysis, virtual reality and experimental techniques.Read moreRead less
ANATOMICAL ORGAN MODELLING AND SURGICAL PROCEDURE SIMULATION FOR THORACOSCOPIC SURGERY. We aim to establish novel virtual reality-based surgical procedure simulation methodologies, geometric and physical models of human organs, and surgical tools and interaction modules for thoracoscopic surgery or for minimally invasive surgical procedures. This is needed to optimize surgical strategy and to anticipate possible problems that may arise during the procedure, and to train medical staff as the tren ....ANATOMICAL ORGAN MODELLING AND SURGICAL PROCEDURE SIMULATION FOR THORACOSCOPIC SURGERY. We aim to establish novel virtual reality-based surgical procedure simulation methodologies, geometric and physical models of human organs, and surgical tools and interaction modules for thoracoscopic surgery or for minimally invasive surgical procedures. This is needed to optimize surgical strategy and to anticipate possible problems that may arise during the procedure, and to train medical staff as the trend towards robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery continues. What makes this project novel is the anatomical organ modeling approach based on virtual springs and dampers traversing between the top and bottom surfaces of the organs and tissues, contrary to previous approaches.Read moreRead less
High-Fidelity Modelling for Robotic-Assisted Minimally Invasive Needle Insertion. This project will develop robotic-assisted needle insertion and greatly improve minimally invasive surgery. It will also enhance the establishment of intellectual property for Australian medicine and produce important benefits to the healthcare sector. The proposed symbiotic integration of the systems will advance modelling technologies, and further create new capabilities for a wide range of science and engineerin ....High-Fidelity Modelling for Robotic-Assisted Minimally Invasive Needle Insertion. This project will develop robotic-assisted needle insertion and greatly improve minimally invasive surgery. It will also enhance the establishment of intellectual property for Australian medicine and produce important benefits to the healthcare sector. The proposed symbiotic integration of the systems will advance modelling technologies, and further create new capabilities for a wide range of science and engineering applications. The established methodologies and systems will also provide great potential benefits in many other areas, including microbiology, life sciences and bio/nano-technology. The project's outcomes will further consolidate Australia's position in innovative technologies and international research and development.Read moreRead less
A new paradigm for teaching machines to replicate the manipulation skills of humans using tactile sensing in a virtual environment. The broad aims of this proposal are to study machine learning in the psychomotor domain, and to show the feasibility of on line transfer of physically constrained manipulation skills from a human operator to a manipulator through demonstration utilising a virtual training environment with tactile sensing. The proposed work is unique in its approach and hypothesis, a ....A new paradigm for teaching machines to replicate the manipulation skills of humans using tactile sensing in a virtual environment. The broad aims of this proposal are to study machine learning in the psychomotor domain, and to show the feasibility of on line transfer of physically constrained manipulation skills from a human operator to a manipulator through demonstration utilising a virtual training environment with tactile sensing. The proposed work is unique in its approach and hypothesis, and will provide a new insight into the nature of transfer of manipulation skills from human to machine. It will produce new generic intelligent algorithms and methodologies to emulate different stages of human psychomotor learning in machine including perception, imitation, mechanism and complex/overt response.Read moreRead less
Decision making and mission planning for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles. The work specifically addresses the National Research Priorities
in sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity, techniques for
transforming Australian industry and Safeguarding Australia.
Without a thorough understanding of processes that affect the
state of health of our oceans they will continue to be affected by
natural phenomena and stresses caused by human activity. A more
comprehensive understanding of these natu ....Decision making and mission planning for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles. The work specifically addresses the National Research Priorities
in sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity, techniques for
transforming Australian industry and Safeguarding Australia.
Without a thorough understanding of processes that affect the
state of health of our oceans they will continue to be affected by
natural phenomena and stresses caused by human activity. A more
comprehensive understanding of these natural systems and the
interplay with human activities is therefore essential.Read moreRead less
New drives and control techniques for high performance piezoelectric actuation. Piezoelectric actuators are made from a ceramic material that expands in response to an applied voltage. Although these actuators develop the greatest forces and most precise motion of any actuator, a number of performance limitations exist. This proposal aims to overcome these limitations and greatly increase the performance of piezoelectric actuators.
Improved piezoelectric actuators will result in a parallel i ....New drives and control techniques for high performance piezoelectric actuation. Piezoelectric actuators are made from a ceramic material that expands in response to an applied voltage. Although these actuators develop the greatest forces and most precise motion of any actuator, a number of performance limitations exist. This proposal aims to overcome these limitations and greatly increase the performance of piezoelectric actuators.
Improved piezoelectric actuators will result in a parallel improvement of analytic and process machines throughout the scientific and industrial community. Examples include: improved atomic scale microscopes, finer tolerance steel rolling mills, more accurate micro-surgical tools, and automated manipulation of sperm and egg cells in IVF therapy.Read moreRead less
Development of Robust Control Systems for Magneto-Rheological Fluid-Based Smart Structures. Possessing the ability to withstand such destructive dynamic loading as gusty winds, fierce waves, and earthquakes, the smart structures of the future will enjoy the unprecedented safety and comfort bringing to their occupants and contents. This will directly benefit Australians. The development of the smart structure technology will also give domestic consultants the ability to compete internationally ....Development of Robust Control Systems for Magneto-Rheological Fluid-Based Smart Structures. Possessing the ability to withstand such destructive dynamic loading as gusty winds, fierce waves, and earthquakes, the smart structures of the future will enjoy the unprecedented safety and comfort bringing to their occupants and contents. This will directly benefit Australians. The development of the smart structure technology will also give domestic consultants the ability to compete internationally, resulting in obvious economic dividends and advantages benefiting Australia. Moreover, a successful effort leading to a major breakthrough of the important area of seismic protection research will have a significant impact far beyond the border of this country.Read moreRead less
Autonomous Exploration and Characterization of Benthic Habitats Linked to Oceanographic Processes. The work specifically addresses the National Research Priorities in sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity and climate change. Without a thorough understanding of processes that affect the state of health of our oceans they will continue to be affected by natural phenomena and stresses caused by human activity. A more comprehensive understanding of these natural systems and the interplay with ....Autonomous Exploration and Characterization of Benthic Habitats Linked to Oceanographic Processes. The work specifically addresses the National Research Priorities in sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity and climate change. Without a thorough understanding of processes that affect the state of health of our oceans they will continue to be affected by natural phenomena and stresses caused by human activity. A more comprehensive understanding of these natural systems and the interplay with human activities is therefore essential.Read moreRead less
Learning from Uncertain and Missing Labelling in Relational Data. Perceptual models for unstructured environments require complex modelling, usually specified in an ad-hoc manner. This project will substantially increase the range of robotic applications by learning more complex spatial statistical models for perception in challenging environments. Robots will be able to improve their perception capabilities with minimal human supervision.
Mining is one of the major components of the Australian ....Learning from Uncertain and Missing Labelling in Relational Data. Perceptual models for unstructured environments require complex modelling, usually specified in an ad-hoc manner. This project will substantially increase the range of robotic applications by learning more complex spatial statistical models for perception in challenging environments. Robots will be able to improve their perception capabilities with minimal human supervision.
Mining is one of the major components of the Australian economy. This project will improve mining automation and contribute to a more efficient industry, capable to compete internationally in the new globalisation context. Efficient extraction will also reduce the human impact and will be a significant factor for an environmentally sustainable development. Read moreRead less