Ontology-based collaboration in design. The design process of a building project establishes function, form and performance for the final building. When multiple participants from varying professions are involved there is a serious problem in coordinating, communicating, and locating information around each design decision. Establishing an ontology for this process, and using this ontology to structure all participant communication, will allow the requisite information from all participants to b ....Ontology-based collaboration in design. The design process of a building project establishes function, form and performance for the final building. When multiple participants from varying professions are involved there is a serious problem in coordinating, communicating, and locating information around each design decision. Establishing an ontology for this process, and using this ontology to structure all participant communication, will allow the requisite information from all participants to be considered for each design decision. This will greatly reduce rework and poor design decisions based on missed information. It will also ensure that participants are aware of all related information for their particular design tasks.Read moreRead less
Facilitating intuitive interaction with complex devices for older users. Poorly designed interfaces impact more strongly on older people. Helping designers to make more intuitive interfaces for older community members has great potential for improving their lives and health, and thus benefiting the community generally. Making modern devices easier for older people to use will allow them to participate more fully in society and/or the workplace. This will also help to prevent them from becoming i ....Facilitating intuitive interaction with complex devices for older users. Poorly designed interfaces impact more strongly on older people. Helping designers to make more intuitive interfaces for older community members has great potential for improving their lives and health, and thus benefiting the community generally. Making modern devices easier for older people to use will allow them to participate more fully in society and/or the workplace. This will also help to prevent them from becoming isolated and possibly depressed. This project will apply intuitive interaction to healthcare devices that older people use, which can save costly mistakes and even lives.Read moreRead less
Gesture-controlled interaction to enrich information access. This project is a study of gestural computing (enabled by sensors such as pressure mats, infra-red sensors and video tracking) which aims to move away from desk-bound, restrictive computing environments and towards computing that is more integral to the building structure and space itself. Linking gesture controllers and information sonification delivers a unique bridge between data and human interaction. Enriching the capacity to acce ....Gesture-controlled interaction to enrich information access. This project is a study of gestural computing (enabled by sensors such as pressure mats, infra-red sensors and video tracking) which aims to move away from desk-bound, restrictive computing environments and towards computing that is more integral to the building structure and space itself. Linking gesture controllers and information sonification delivers a unique bridge between data and human interaction. Enriching the capacity to access information in dense workplace environments is central to improved efficiency across the Australian workforce. Greater accuracy and enhanced techniques for controlling information in visually-overloaded work environments contribute to Australia's competitive leadership in a global marketplace.Read moreRead less
Intelligent Agents for Concept Invention of Design Forms. Concept invention refers to the act of discovering new concepts for the first time. Concept invention may require a new interpretation and a shift in intentional mode that motivates new mappings of the situation prior to the discovery of a new concept. This project is concerned with developing intelligent design agents that are capable of inventing creative concepts of design forms, shapes and compositions while involved in the design pr ....Intelligent Agents for Concept Invention of Design Forms. Concept invention refers to the act of discovering new concepts for the first time. Concept invention may require a new interpretation and a shift in intentional mode that motivates new mappings of the situation prior to the discovery of a new concept. This project is concerned with developing intelligent design agents that are capable of inventing creative concepts of design forms, shapes and compositions while involved in the design process. A new approach of exploiting the notion of displacement of concepts with regard to concept invention in designing will be adopted and utilised in developing the structure of intelligent agents.Read moreRead less
Acts of electronic negotiation: Overcoming communication barriers to transdisciplinary innovation in design. Improved collaboration between the diverse contributors to design in the construction industry is urgently needed to reduce waste, streamline production and improve performance. It is also a key to better and more advanced design. The quality of human to human interaction in computer mediated environments is critical to the occurrence of innovation between design disciplines. This project ....Acts of electronic negotiation: Overcoming communication barriers to transdisciplinary innovation in design. Improved collaboration between the diverse contributors to design in the construction industry is urgently needed to reduce waste, streamline production and improve performance. It is also a key to better and more advanced design. The quality of human to human interaction in computer mediated environments is critical to the occurrence of innovation between design disciplines. This project will create a pool of highly qualified personnel in this area in Australia, including participating designers introduced to novel empowering approaches to network communication. It will develop and apply knowledge from other disciplines to developing tools for the design community. Read moreRead less
Dynamic Controllability Analysis for Plantwide Process Design and Control. World-wide chemical plants represent many billions of dollars of investment. Improvements to the process designs in terms of controllability would have the potential to provide large economic benefits, as it implies improved productivity, reduced operating costs and product variability. This proposed research will be a step towards integration of process design and control, which has been widely recognized as the key to t ....Dynamic Controllability Analysis for Plantwide Process Design and Control. World-wide chemical plants represent many billions of dollars of investment. Improvements to the process designs in terms of controllability would have the potential to provide large economic benefits, as it implies improved productivity, reduced operating costs and product variability. This proposed research will be a step towards integration of process design and control, which has been widely recognized as the key to this improvement. The outcomes from this project may be readily implemented in process design practice, and therefore have a direct impact to the Australian and world-wide process industries, helping to build a more efficient and environmental conscious Australian process industries.Read moreRead less
Digital Outsourcing in Architecture: Opportunities for Australian Firms or Perils for Australian Workforce? This research will help assess competitiveness and viability of different digital outsourcing practices in connection to the needs, the operative conditions and the products of the Australian building design sector. The information will give industry analysts a tool to identify the markets within which these arrangements are likely to spread or occur in the future, and take consequent corr ....Digital Outsourcing in Architecture: Opportunities for Australian Firms or Perils for Australian Workforce? This research will help assess competitiveness and viability of different digital outsourcing practices in connection to the needs, the operative conditions and the products of the Australian building design sector. The information will give industry analysts a tool to identify the markets within which these arrangements are likely to spread or occur in the future, and take consequent corrective or supportive action. The outcomes of this project will benefit Australia by forecasting changes in professional employment prospects, and by providing a framework to consider development scenarios for architectural educational and professional institutions, national research and development priorities, and international trade agreement agendas.Read moreRead less
Teimu (The Garden of Dreams): aural and aesthetic attributes of Japanese gardens as models for spatial environments. Traditional Japanese garden design has greatly influenced both 20C Western landscape designers and composers of Western art music. By investigating the aural and aesthetic attributes of five renowned Japanese gardens, RMIT and University of Melbourne researchers will seek out spatial sound designs that could enhance sound quality in urban environments and provide a pioneering app ....Teimu (The Garden of Dreams): aural and aesthetic attributes of Japanese gardens as models for spatial environments. Traditional Japanese garden design has greatly influenced both 20C Western landscape designers and composers of Western art music. By investigating the aural and aesthetic attributes of five renowned Japanese gardens, RMIT and University of Melbourne researchers will seek out spatial sound designs that could enhance sound quality in urban environments and provide a pioneering approach to architectural modeling and the built environment. This project has long-term cross-disciplinary implications. The results and methods contained in this project may assist in innovative sound design for new media applications, better listening environments in urban areas, unique approaches for data modeling, and a catalyst for future design strategies.Read moreRead less
Challenging the inflexibility of the flexible digital model. Shared digital Building Information Models that link diverse heterogeneous information are beginning to show promising results in reducing the enormous fiscal and environmental cost of clashes, errors and rework caused by design and communication errors in construction. Model flexibility is a crucial factor in enacting the best design decisions at every stage while maintaining current shared information. But there are, as yet, no examp ....Challenging the inflexibility of the flexible digital model. Shared digital Building Information Models that link diverse heterogeneous information are beginning to show promising results in reducing the enormous fiscal and environmental cost of clashes, errors and rework caused by design and communication errors in construction. Model flexibility is a crucial factor in enacting the best design decisions at every stage while maintaining current shared information. But there are, as yet, no examples of comprehensive flexible building information modelling in Australia. This research builds on an Australian concentration of world class expertise to create new knowledge to overcome the obstacles. It will directly benefit the quality and cost of the Australian built environment.Read moreRead less
Robust fluid mixing through topological chaos. The Australian chemicals and plastics industry has an annual turnover of over $20 billion and employs over 77,000 people; fluid mixing is fundamental to this industry, yet the industry is recognised as underinvesting in research and development in this essential area. Furthermore, frontier technologies such as biotechnology and the next generation of smart materials also crucially rely on fluid mixing. This project aims to evaluate a new paradigm ( ....Robust fluid mixing through topological chaos. The Australian chemicals and plastics industry has an annual turnover of over $20 billion and employs over 77,000 people; fluid mixing is fundamental to this industry, yet the industry is recognised as underinvesting in research and development in this essential area. Furthermore, frontier technologies such as biotechnology and the next generation of smart materials also crucially rely on fluid mixing. This project aims to evaluate a new paradigm (topological chaos) for the design of mixers, to provide better and more robust mixers that work from microscopic to industrial scales.Read moreRead less