Target detection in visual clutter. The interdisciplinary nature of the project will offer a stimulating environment for training a postdoctoral worker in the hot topic of computational neuroscience. While computationally expensive solutions to moving target detection in clutter have been implemented using conventional engineering, this project will offer insight into the efficiency of the biological brain (with benefit of millions of years of evolution towards compact, economical and optimal so ....Target detection in visual clutter. The interdisciplinary nature of the project will offer a stimulating environment for training a postdoctoral worker in the hot topic of computational neuroscience. While computationally expensive solutions to moving target detection in clutter have been implemented using conventional engineering, this project will offer insight into the efficiency of the biological brain (with benefit of millions of years of evolution towards compact, economical and optimal solutions). The results will assist development of efficient artificial intelligence. It will also assist our ongoing collaborations with defence partners to develop and apply algorithms in artificial vision systems. Read moreRead less
Understanding and Modelling Insect Motion Vision. The interdisciplinary project proposed will offer a stimulating environment for research/training into computational neuroscience, an attractive area for aspiring scientists. We have already demonstrated the feasibility of transferring physiology into applications, and expect this project to deliver functional motion vision models and devices. Our proposed work will have an impact beyond the advancement of neuro-physiology as knowledge gained is ....Understanding and Modelling Insect Motion Vision. The interdisciplinary project proposed will offer a stimulating environment for research/training into computational neuroscience, an attractive area for aspiring scientists. We have already demonstrated the feasibility of transferring physiology into applications, and expect this project to deliver functional motion vision models and devices. Our proposed work will have an impact beyond the advancement of neuro-physiology as knowledge gained is applicable in a range of areas, with applications in miniature unmanned vehicles and collision avoidance detectors in defence and civilian roles. Our project could also assist in the development of artificial intelligence and as a basis for designing implantable artificial eyes.Read moreRead less
From genotype to phenotype - systems biology bridging the gap. This project is basic research at the forefront of international science and deals with a fundamental question of modern biology: 'How do genes determine the makeup of an organism?' The main outcome will be a deeper understanding of the internal working mechanisms of a higher organism. The project combines some of the most advanced systems technologies - genomics, proteomics, metabonomics, fluxomics and computational biology in a nov ....From genotype to phenotype - systems biology bridging the gap. This project is basic research at the forefront of international science and deals with a fundamental question of modern biology: 'How do genes determine the makeup of an organism?' The main outcome will be a deeper understanding of the internal working mechanisms of a higher organism. The project combines some of the most advanced systems technologies - genomics, proteomics, metabonomics, fluxomics and computational biology in a novel and unique way. This combination is in itself a major advancement of scientific methods that will accelerate discovery in the field of systems biology. In this respect, the project is a premier example of the priority goal Breakthrough Science and of the national research priority Frontier Technologies.Read moreRead less
Emergence of robust, stable structures via computation within natural networks. An ever-increasing challenge for modern society is the sheer complexity of vast infrastructures. Unexpected, and sometimes catastrophic, behaviour often emerges from interactions between elements of large systems. As a result, highly complex systems such as the Internet, international finance markets, and power grids are highly susceptible to costly problems such as cascading failures, inefficiency, and critical sens ....Emergence of robust, stable structures via computation within natural networks. An ever-increasing challenge for modern society is the sheer complexity of vast infrastructures. Unexpected, and sometimes catastrophic, behaviour often emerges from interactions between elements of large systems. As a result, highly complex systems such as the Internet, international finance markets, and power grids are highly susceptible to costly problems such as cascading failures, inefficiency, and critical sensitivity. High-tech industries, such as biotechnology and information networking, also face problems in coordinating swarms of interacting agents. This project will contribute to solving such problems by identifying and adapting solutions from nature.Read moreRead less
Dual phase evolution in networks. A grand challenge for modern society is the sheer complexity of vast networks arising from organizations and infrastructures. Unexpected, sometimes catastrophic, behaviour often emerges from interactions within such systems. As a result, the Internet, financial markets, power grids and other vital infrastructures are susceptible to costly problems such as cascading failures, inefficiency, and unpredictability. High-tech industries, such as biotechnology and info ....Dual phase evolution in networks. A grand challenge for modern society is the sheer complexity of vast networks arising from organizations and infrastructures. Unexpected, sometimes catastrophic, behaviour often emerges from interactions within such systems. As a result, the Internet, financial markets, power grids and other vital infrastructures are susceptible to costly problems such as cascading failures, inefficiency, and unpredictability. High-tech industries, such as biotechnology and information networking, face problems in coordinating networks of interacting agents. This project will expand the horizon of complex systems by deriving the design principles underpinning stable and resilient network structures and validate these principles on real world networks.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
Topological Approaches for Three Dimensional Graph Drawing. Human analysis of huge quantities of relational data in biotechnology, web engineering, social networks, and computer networks requires visualization. In recent years, three-dimensional visualisation has promised to give new insights into such abstract data. However the past ten years of visualization research has had very little impact on the industry; visualization software providers have not adopted visualization methods developed b ....Topological Approaches for Three Dimensional Graph Drawing. Human analysis of huge quantities of relational data in biotechnology, web engineering, social networks, and computer networks requires visualization. In recent years, three-dimensional visualisation has promised to give new insights into such abstract data. However the past ten years of visualization research has had very little impact on the industry; visualization software providers have not adopted visualization methods developed by academics. We hypothesise that current 3D relational visualization methods fail because they do not pay attention to the human perception of topology. In this project we will leverage mathematical topology to construct new methods for the 3D visualization of relational data.
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New Methods for Interactive Visualization of Large Microarray Data Sets. This project will investigate methods for visualising graphs produced by AI-based analysis of real-world biological data. These new visualisation methods will assist biologists to develop new DNA Microarray experiments, the source of raw data for visualisation. Data from new enhanced experiments, plus background knowledge from integrated public databases will produce richer data for visualisation, thus creating a positive f ....New Methods for Interactive Visualization of Large Microarray Data Sets. This project will investigate methods for visualising graphs produced by AI-based analysis of real-world biological data. These new visualisation methods will assist biologists to develop new DNA Microarray experiments, the source of raw data for visualisation. Data from new enhanced experiments, plus background knowledge from integrated public databases will produce richer data for visualisation, thus creating a positive feedback loop in the course of research into both topics.Read moreRead less
Understanding how the primate brain processes visual information. Being able to see is a crucial aspect of our daily lives, which happens so effortlessly that it tends to be taken for granted. In comparison with other animals and artificial systems, the primate visual cortex is unsurpassed in its capacity to interpret complex and dynamic environments, in a manner that is fast and computationally robust. Discovering how this happens in terms of interactions between cells in the brain can help us ....Understanding how the primate brain processes visual information. Being able to see is a crucial aspect of our daily lives, which happens so effortlessly that it tends to be taken for granted. In comparison with other animals and artificial systems, the primate visual cortex is unsurpassed in its capacity to interpret complex and dynamic environments, in a manner that is fast and computationally robust. Discovering how this happens in terms of interactions between cells in the brain can help us design more efficient artificial systems capable of vision. This in turn can have profound implications for the creation of new technologies such as artificial eyes, autonomous robots, and intelligent sensors, and may also result in future benefits for medical science.Read moreRead less
To flee or not to flee: surviving on incomplete information. Even lowly animals, like the Australian fiddler crabs we will be investigating, are surprisingly competent in making the right decisions in complex situations. They actively acquire information and make good use of it to assure their immediate safety and their long term gains. Animals are exquisitely honed by evolution and we would benefit greatly by understanding what makes them so competent: on a theoretical level, we may learn about ....To flee or not to flee: surviving on incomplete information. Even lowly animals, like the Australian fiddler crabs we will be investigating, are surprisingly competent in making the right decisions in complex situations. They actively acquire information and make good use of it to assure their immediate safety and their long term gains. Animals are exquisitely honed by evolution and we would benefit greatly by understanding what makes them so competent: on a theoretical level, we may learn about efficient rules of good decision making and on a practical level, we may be able to design more flexible, robust and clever machines. Besides being useful in this wider context, the results of our research will thus also contribute to a new and 'sophisticated' appreciation of the cognitive design of animal.Read moreRead less