Bio-inspired speech analysis: Specialised information processing of vocalisations in the auditory brainstem. This project has the potential to benefit bionic ear and hearing aid users through the development of signal processing methods that mimic the amazing abilities of the brain. Speech perception performance by bionic ear users has reached a plateau and these new strategies could produce the breakthrough needed to provide the next increase in performance. The benefit for greater improved hea ....Bio-inspired speech analysis: Specialised information processing of vocalisations in the auditory brainstem. This project has the potential to benefit bionic ear and hearing aid users through the development of signal processing methods that mimic the amazing abilities of the brain. Speech perception performance by bionic ear users has reached a plateau and these new strategies could produce the breakthrough needed to provide the next increase in performance. The benefit for greater improved hearing has enormous benefit and potential for improving the quality of life of the hearing impaired, especially those with severe and profound hearing loss. In addition, the algorithms may provide more robust automatic speech recognition, making this technology more useful in everyday situations; the markets that this would open up are enormous.Read moreRead less
Developing a Hemodynamic Model for Improving Clinical Treatment of Vascular Diseases. Stroke caused by vascular diseases is the second greatest single killer, which is taking away thousands of lives and costing billions every year in Australia. Improving the existing clinical treatments of these diseases is thus of utmost urgency. This project is targeted to developing a reliable Hemodynamic model through comprehensive experimental validation approach. It will not only foster a more in-depth res ....Developing a Hemodynamic Model for Improving Clinical Treatment of Vascular Diseases. Stroke caused by vascular diseases is the second greatest single killer, which is taking away thousands of lives and costing billions every year in Australia. Improving the existing clinical treatments of these diseases is thus of utmost urgency. This project is targeted to developing a reliable Hemodynamic model through comprehensive experimental validation approach. It will not only foster a more in-depth research of vascular diseases but also provide a virtual forecasting tool for physicians or surgeons to develop guidance on diagnosis and therapeutic planning of clinical treatment, which brings great socio-economic benefit to the health of the Australian community.Read moreRead less
Coupled Atmosphere-Bushfire Modelling with Application to Canberra 2003. Large bushfires are by far the largest contributor to property losses in Australia. Prescribed fire is an important land management tool for farmers, foresters and park managers among others. There is a need to develop practical and accurate tools for predicting the behaviour and spread of both prescribed and uncontrolled fires. Australian bushfire research and land management would benefit greatly from the application of m ....Coupled Atmosphere-Bushfire Modelling with Application to Canberra 2003. Large bushfires are by far the largest contributor to property losses in Australia. Prescribed fire is an important land management tool for farmers, foresters and park managers among others. There is a need to develop practical and accurate tools for predicting the behaviour and spread of both prescribed and uncontrolled fires. Australian bushfire research and land management would benefit greatly from the application of modern, advanced computational methods. The time is ripe for the huge advances in computer technology and numerical modelling to be applied directly to fire problems, benefiting public safety and the safety of fire-fighting volunteers.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
Non-invasive assessment of hip fracture risk in elderly people. No falls, no fractures - this will be the main benefit of the proposed research. The most significant outcome will be new computational tools to improve current understanding of the biomechanics of falls and bone fragility in elderly people, which, in turn, will help to reduce healthcare costs associated with the treatment and management of hip fractures. Realistic models and computer simulations of human movement can play a pivota ....Non-invasive assessment of hip fracture risk in elderly people. No falls, no fractures - this will be the main benefit of the proposed research. The most significant outcome will be new computational tools to improve current understanding of the biomechanics of falls and bone fragility in elderly people, which, in turn, will help to reduce healthcare costs associated with the treatment and management of hip fractures. Realistic models and computer simulations of human movement can play a pivotal role in three of Australia's largest industries: healthcare, through the diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders; sports, through the development of personalized training programs for elite athletes; and entertainment, through the development of video/digital games and animated films.Read moreRead less
Intelligent Self-Organizing Transport. The project aims to develop smart transport solutions for Australia's sprawling mega-cities with their complex challenges to provide mobility and equitable access, and with their susceptibility to failure in cases of disasters. In particular, the project will develop software establishing intelligent and self-organizing transport management in urban environments. The project has potential to increase the mobility of citizens, even in low-density suburbs, by ....Intelligent Self-Organizing Transport. The project aims to develop smart transport solutions for Australia's sprawling mega-cities with their complex challenges to provide mobility and equitable access, and with their susceptibility to failure in cases of disasters. In particular, the project will develop software establishing intelligent and self-organizing transport management in urban environments. The project has potential to increase the mobility of citizens, even in low-density suburbs, by reducing the desire for individual car traffic at the same time. Since a self-organizing transport management works ad-hoc, it can be deployed also in devastated areas, e.g., after disasters.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
Exploiting Database Technologies for the Visualization and Analysis of Measured and Simulated Plant Structures in Bioinformatics. The project will contribute to both bioinformatics and database research at both the national and international levels, although this project is specifically focusing on plant architecture but it has great potential other fields such as solving computationally difficult problems of branching in nature such as DNA and crystal related research. The results of this resea ....Exploiting Database Technologies for the Visualization and Analysis of Measured and Simulated Plant Structures in Bioinformatics. The project will contribute to both bioinformatics and database research at both the national and international levels, although this project is specifically focusing on plant architecture but it has great potential other fields such as solving computationally difficult problems of branching in nature such as DNA and crystal related research. The results of this research can be applied to all kinds of plants such as rice, cotton, rose etc.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
New models for predicting species' distributions. This project will deliver new and more robust methods for generating the information that underpins sound conservation and resource management decisions, with particular focus on new statistical techniques to predict species' distributions. Results will be relevant to a wide range of applications including management of rare and/or threatened species and ecosystems, setting realistic targets for species and ecosystem restoration, improved managem ....New models for predicting species' distributions. This project will deliver new and more robust methods for generating the information that underpins sound conservation and resource management decisions, with particular focus on new statistical techniques to predict species' distributions. Results will be relevant to a wide range of applications including management of rare and/or threatened species and ecosystems, setting realistic targets for species and ecosystem restoration, improved management of pest species, and sustainable harvesting of species. Emphasis will be placed on transfer of knowledge to users, fostering the development of new skills among Australian environmental and conservation managers, and contributing to the sustainable use of our biodiversity.Read moreRead less