Electric field effects on cochlear tissues. The project aims to solve the underlying biology of how electricity flows through the cochlear tissues, where and how electrical stimulation excites the auditory neurons, and what the effects of sustained electrical stimulation are on the nerve fibre growth and function. The research aims to show how electric fields can be controlled in the cochlea, and how auditory nerve fibres are affected at the cellular and molecular level. The long-term aim is to ....Electric field effects on cochlear tissues. The project aims to solve the underlying biology of how electricity flows through the cochlear tissues, where and how electrical stimulation excites the auditory neurons, and what the effects of sustained electrical stimulation are on the nerve fibre growth and function. The research aims to show how electric fields can be controlled in the cochlea, and how auditory nerve fibres are affected at the cellular and molecular level. The long-term aim is to utilise these findings to improve the control of neuronal excitability, for development of interfaces with the nervous system.Read moreRead less
A thermodynamic pathway to intracellular delivery. Cells transmit information through molecules. By delivering foreign molecules into cells, such as DNA and proteins, it is possible to engineer and reprogram cells just like a computer. This proposal aims to develop a novel microfluidic device for intracellular delivery. The device will work by exposing cells to rapid thermal shock to generate transient disruptions in cell membranes and thereby enable influx of foreign molecules into cells. To un ....A thermodynamic pathway to intracellular delivery. Cells transmit information through molecules. By delivering foreign molecules into cells, such as DNA and proteins, it is possible to engineer and reprogram cells just like a computer. This proposal aims to develop a novel microfluidic device for intracellular delivery. The device will work by exposing cells to rapid thermal shock to generate transient disruptions in cell membranes and thereby enable influx of foreign molecules into cells. To understand how the method can be optimized, the thermodynamic pathway of membrane disruption will be investigated at a single cell level. The methods and insights arising from this project could eventually lead to novel, patentable and lower-cost health technologies.Read moreRead less
RoboCrab: An integrative approach to the natural ecology of decision making. The project aims to analyse and model the sophisticated and context-dependent escape behaviour of fiddler crabs under both natural conditions and in controlled laboratory settings. A crucial problem for biology is to understand how animals can make adaptive decisions in natural, complex sensory environments; such understanding also has direct application to robotics. The project plans to examine the effects of eye stabi ....RoboCrab: An integrative approach to the natural ecology of decision making. The project aims to analyse and model the sophisticated and context-dependent escape behaviour of fiddler crabs under both natural conditions and in controlled laboratory settings. A crucial problem for biology is to understand how animals can make adaptive decisions in natural, complex sensory environments; such understanding also has direct application to robotics. The project plans to examine the effects of eye stabilisation and oscillation, record from key neural stages using naturalistic stimuli to derive precise algorithms, and integrate and test the results on a robot model – RoboCrab. This may provide new insight into the integration of low-level sensory input with behavioural decision making circuits and the evolution of escape behaviours.Read moreRead less
Microcantilevers for multifrequency atomic force microscopy. This project aims to design a microcantilever with high-performing sensors more sensitive and with better noise performance than the typical optical system used in commercial Atomic Force Microscopes (AFMs). The AFM, a nanotechnology instrument, uses a microcantilever (with an extremely shape probe) to interrogate a sample surface. It has made important discoveries in nanotechnology, life sciences, nanomachining, material science and d ....Microcantilevers for multifrequency atomic force microscopy. This project aims to design a microcantilever with high-performing sensors more sensitive and with better noise performance than the typical optical system used in commercial Atomic Force Microscopes (AFMs). The AFM, a nanotechnology instrument, uses a microcantilever (with an extremely shape probe) to interrogate a sample surface. It has made important discoveries in nanotechnology, life sciences, nanomachining, material science and data storage systems. Despite its success, the technique’s spatial resolution and quantitative measurements are limited. This project could lead to breakthrough technologies such as atomic force spectroscopy to study elastic modulus of nanostructures, and establish Australia's prominence in this emerging field.Read moreRead less
Subsurface Atomic Force Microscopy using Dual Probes. The proposal aims to develop a new microscopy method for imaging nano-scale structures buried below the surface of a sample; for example, metal conductors in a computer processor chip. The expected outcome is a new method for creating subsurface images with an application focus on semiconductor device inspection and quality control. The proposed microscope is expected to create new economic opportunities including new commercial products, int ....Subsurface Atomic Force Microscopy using Dual Probes. The proposal aims to develop a new microscopy method for imaging nano-scale structures buried below the surface of a sample; for example, metal conductors in a computer processor chip. The expected outcome is a new method for creating subsurface images with an application focus on semiconductor device inspection and quality control. The proposed microscope is expected to create new economic opportunities including new commercial products, intellectual property, and the potential for a start-up venture. The benefits to Australia should include the creation of new job opportunities and the development of local expertise in a high-value market sector.Read moreRead less
Real-time friction sensing, feedback and control for dexterous prosthetic and robotic manipulation. Prosthetic and robotic hands demonstrate poor dexterity during object manipulation, often dropping objects. Humans rarely allow objects to slip because we can sense when an object is slippery and adjust our grip. Exceptionally little research has been directed at replicating this ability to sense friction. This project aims to enable artificial hands to estimate frictional properties while graspin ....Real-time friction sensing, feedback and control for dexterous prosthetic and robotic manipulation. Prosthetic and robotic hands demonstrate poor dexterity during object manipulation, often dropping objects. Humans rarely allow objects to slip because we can sense when an object is slippery and adjust our grip. Exceptionally little research has been directed at replicating this ability to sense friction. This project aims to enable artificial hands to estimate frictional properties while grasping an object. Non-invasive methods to feed back this frictional information to an amputee will also be investigated. Finally, the friction-sensing system will be used to improve robotic gripper control. The outcomes of this research will significantly advance the fields of prosthetics, telesurgery, and service and manufacturing robotics.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100184
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$183,437.00
Summary
Femtoliter Liquid Deposition Facility. This project aims to create a research capacity for direct printing of femtolitre volumes of functional liquids onto devices and surfaces. This project expects to enable the development of new sensing and electronic devices that require a novel fabrication step with delicate materials that cannot be deposited using existing processes. Expected outcomes include new chemical and biological sensors created through collaborative research between the partner in ....Femtoliter Liquid Deposition Facility. This project aims to create a research capacity for direct printing of femtolitre volumes of functional liquids onto devices and surfaces. This project expects to enable the development of new sensing and electronic devices that require a novel fabrication step with delicate materials that cannot be deposited using existing processes. Expected outcomes include new chemical and biological sensors created through collaborative research between the partner institutions and researchers. The benefits of this project should include the creation of a new rapid prototyping facility for Australian researchers, and the application of these capabilities for the development of new low-cost sensors for environmental gas sensing and glucose monitoring.Read moreRead less
A New Approach to Sampled-Data Control Design for Nonlinear Systems. This project aims to exploit new sampling and sampled-data modelling insights to bridge the continuous/sampled-data gap in the control of nonlinear systems. The goal is to investigate the impact of these insights on the control design problem and provide a new class of digital control laws for continuous time non-linear systems.
Robust control of power electronics and drives: a synthesis of traditional and model predictive control approaches. This project aims to generate high-performance strategies for the control of power converters. Through the combination of traditional and modern approaches, the project will develop methods which are more reliable and give better energy efficiency than current state of the art techniques.
Robust control of mobile networked systems. The conceptual advances with new design rules are to be developed in the area of robust control of mobile networked systems. A major benefit of the research to be carried out in this project will be its direct application to industrial control problems in the defence, communications and robotics industries and to the management of the environment.