What learning is there in learning control? This project seeks to establish a meaningful definition and quantifiable measure of learning in the context of adaptive or learning control. The project is designed within the context of human motor skill learning, and assesses the speed of learning and the quality of learning (reflected by the accuracy of the motor task execution). The project plans to use measures to provide a mathematically precise meaning for the notion of learning. The outcome has ....What learning is there in learning control? This project seeks to establish a meaningful definition and quantifiable measure of learning in the context of adaptive or learning control. The project is designed within the context of human motor skill learning, and assesses the speed of learning and the quality of learning (reflected by the accuracy of the motor task execution). The project plans to use measures to provide a mathematically precise meaning for the notion of learning. The outcome has the potential to be applied to the design of technology-assisted training of motor skills, from the recovery of lost motor skills after trauma to the development of elite athletes.Read moreRead less
Task-centric Synthesis for Wearable Assistive Robots. Wearable Assistive Robots, designed to be worn on the human body, show tremendous potentials to provide what the wearer lacks in performing physically challenging tasks, such as seen in manufacturing, agricultural and healthcare industries. However, fundamental challenges still prevent the realisation of such benefits in the practical settings outside the laboratory. This project addresses these challenges by establishing (1) a systematic des ....Task-centric Synthesis for Wearable Assistive Robots. Wearable Assistive Robots, designed to be worn on the human body, show tremendous potentials to provide what the wearer lacks in performing physically challenging tasks, such as seen in manufacturing, agricultural and healthcare industries. However, fundamental challenges still prevent the realisation of such benefits in the practical settings outside the laboratory. This project addresses these challenges by establishing (1) a systematic design approach for wearable robots to achieve the intended task while optimising other relevant considerations, such as human factors and the practical bulk of the robot; and (2) a novel control and interaction strategy to accommodate the variations in realistic living and working environments.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101128
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$399,235.00
Summary
Control and filtering of distributed systems with communication-scheduling. This project aims to develop an analysis and design framework to enhance the reliability of the next-generation advanced manufacturing systems with security vulnerability and communication scheduling. Reliable control and filtering of distributed systems is an emerging area of automation and control engineering in the tide of the 4th industrial revolution. Expected outcomes of this project include obtaining analysis crit ....Control and filtering of distributed systems with communication-scheduling. This project aims to develop an analysis and design framework to enhance the reliability of the next-generation advanced manufacturing systems with security vulnerability and communication scheduling. Reliable control and filtering of distributed systems is an emerging area of automation and control engineering in the tide of the 4th industrial revolution. Expected outcomes of this project include obtaining analysis criteria uncovering the effect from communication scheduling and cyber-attacks, and developing a novel framework based on co-design perspective to realize the distributed system design, while being applied in the cooperative control of various robots or manipulators in unmanned factories.Read moreRead less
Fork safely: improving safety of ordinary forklifts by automating task-specific operations. Forklift trucks are used for goods handling extensively in all sectors of industry. However, statistics show high figures of forklift accidents, with an average of 250 serious injuries per year in Victoria alone. This project will seek to address the operational safety of forklifts by automating the execution of typical forklift tasks.
Innovative X-by-Wire Control Systems for Improved Vehicle Manoeuvrability and Stability. Future automobiles will be equipped with safety-critical ‘x-by-wire’ systems, such as ‘steer-by-wire’, ‘brake-by-wire’, and ‘drive-by-wire’, to enable active safety control and improve reliability and performance. This project aims to develop a new coordinated control strategy based on an in-depth understanding of the fundamental dynamics and stability characteristics of vehicles. Corresponding x-by-wire sys ....Innovative X-by-Wire Control Systems for Improved Vehicle Manoeuvrability and Stability. Future automobiles will be equipped with safety-critical ‘x-by-wire’ systems, such as ‘steer-by-wire’, ‘brake-by-wire’, and ‘drive-by-wire’, to enable active safety control and improve reliability and performance. This project aims to develop a new coordinated control strategy based on an in-depth understanding of the fundamental dynamics and stability characteristics of vehicles. Corresponding x-by-wire systems will then be implemented, using a novel networked bilateral-control concept and new haptic devices for enhancing the overall performance and safety of vehicles. This project will lead to the innovative design of vehicle active safety systems for automobile manufacturing in Australia and the rest of the world.Read moreRead less
Practical model-based control for low emission and low cost diesel engines. Practical model-based control for low emission and low cost diesel engines. This project aims to develop and implement robust multivariable model predictive control algorithms for low emission and low cost diesel engines that reduce calibration effort. Legislative and increasing consumer requirements demand better control approaches than have been deployed in production vehicles to date, and motivate the use of model bas ....Practical model-based control for low emission and low cost diesel engines. Practical model-based control for low emission and low cost diesel engines. This project aims to develop and implement robust multivariable model predictive control algorithms for low emission and low cost diesel engines that reduce calibration effort. Legislative and increasing consumer requirements demand better control approaches than have been deployed in production vehicles to date, and motivate the use of model based techniques to meet performance and emissions specifications. However, current model-based controllers amplify the calibration effort and increase development costs as the tuning parameters are not related to time domain specifications. The anticipated outcome is new model based control architectures that improve diesel engine operation and reduce its calibration effort and cost.Read moreRead less
Interactive companion robot with nanowire-based electronic skin. Interactive companion robot with nanowire-based electronic skin. This project aims to design an interactive companion robot with electronic skin which can communicate with people by touch and enhance their psychological development. Interactive companion robots can improve the social life quality of people with communication disorders and help elderly people. Although touch is extremely important in human communication, most compan ....Interactive companion robot with nanowire-based electronic skin. Interactive companion robot with nanowire-based electronic skin. This project aims to design an interactive companion robot with electronic skin which can communicate with people by touch and enhance their psychological development. Interactive companion robots can improve the social life quality of people with communication disorders and help elderly people. Although touch is extremely important in human communication, most companion robots lack haptic sensing, which degenerates the human-robot interaction. The anticipated outcome is a touchable robot with developmental benefits for autistic children and psychological benefits for elderly people.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100175
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$475,000.00
Summary
A high-payload, high-fidelity haptically-enabled motion simulation facility. An Australian-first motion simulation facility consisting of a high-payload, high-fidelity Stewart platform mounted on a dual-axis linear track is proposed. The facility will allow high acceleration and high vibration manoeuvres, and large displacements through an eight-degrees-of-freedom range of motion. It can carry the entire control compartment of a heavy vehicle, a truck, an ambulance, a train, or a multi-operator ....A high-payload, high-fidelity haptically-enabled motion simulation facility. An Australian-first motion simulation facility consisting of a high-payload, high-fidelity Stewart platform mounted on a dual-axis linear track is proposed. The facility will allow high acceleration and high vibration manoeuvres, and large displacements through an eight-degrees-of-freedom range of motion. It can carry the entire control compartment of a heavy vehicle, a truck, an ambulance, a train, or a multi-operator cockpit of a mining vehicle for simulation. The outcome will provide significant benefits for virtual vehicle prototyping and testing, driver training and behaviour modelling, motion perception and motion sickness research; therefore advancing Australia as the global leader in motion simulation and vehicular technologies.Read moreRead less
Robust Coherent Control Engineering for Quantum Systems and Networks. This project aims to develop new methods for the design of robust coherent controllers for emerging applications to quantum systems and networks. Using robust controllers which are themselves quantum systems, tools from the theory of optimal risk sensitive control aim to enable technological systems to be designed with high levels of performance in the face of unavoidable uncertainties due to imperfect fabrication and interact ....Robust Coherent Control Engineering for Quantum Systems and Networks. This project aims to develop new methods for the design of robust coherent controllers for emerging applications to quantum systems and networks. Using robust controllers which are themselves quantum systems, tools from the theory of optimal risk sensitive control aim to enable technological systems to be designed with high levels of performance in the face of unavoidable uncertainties due to imperfect fabrication and interactions with the environment. The research aims to yield systematic control engineering methods to combat the effects of quantum decoherence which is critical in order to make quantum technologies such as quantum computing truly practical. Applications include computing, secure communications, sensing and simulationsRead moreRead less
Coherent control engineering for state estimation in quantum linear systems. This project aims to develop new methodologies for designing coherent controllers to facilitate optimal estimation in systems incorporating quantum sensors such as optomechanical and atom-interference sensors. New quantum sensors are being developed which have the potential to achieve sensitivities approaching fundamental physical limits. However to fully exploit these devices, this project will develop new control engi ....Coherent control engineering for state estimation in quantum linear systems. This project aims to develop new methodologies for designing coherent controllers to facilitate optimal estimation in systems incorporating quantum sensors such as optomechanical and atom-interference sensors. New quantum sensors are being developed which have the potential to achieve sensitivities approaching fundamental physical limits. However to fully exploit these devices, this project will develop new control engineering and signal processing methods taking into account the fundamental properties of quantum systems and noise. This will enable quantum sensors to be applied to a wide range of applications including transport, medical imaging, civil engineering, and the detection of hazards.Read moreRead less