Control and safety monitoring systems for large scale irrigation networks. The water losses in irrigation channels in Australia are large, but they can be substantially reduced by employing advanced control and monitoring systems, leading to significant environmental benefits. Due to the large size of the irrigation networks, design of control and monitoring systems represents technical challenges for which there are currently no good methodologies. In this project we will develop design methodo ....Control and safety monitoring systems for large scale irrigation networks. The water losses in irrigation channels in Australia are large, but they can be substantially reduced by employing advanced control and monitoring systems, leading to significant environmental benefits. Due to the large size of the irrigation networks, design of control and monitoring systems represents technical challenges for which there are currently no good methodologies. In this project we will develop design methodologies, and in particular we will focus on issues relating to the communication constraints arising since data are transmitted over a radio network and the trade off between robustness and performance in centralised and decentralised designs.Read moreRead less
Managing Australia's water resources: Automated demand scheduling and supply control systems for large scale irrigation networks. Irrigation water delivery losses in Australia are equal in volume to the total non-agricultural water consumption nationwide. In a drought-prone country where water is such a scarce resource, precise water management is critical. Through the intelligent development and application of technology to the supply and management of water flows in irrigation networks, this p ....Managing Australia's water resources: Automated demand scheduling and supply control systems for large scale irrigation networks. Irrigation water delivery losses in Australia are equal in volume to the total non-agricultural water consumption nationwide. In a drought-prone country where water is such a scarce resource, precise water management is critical. Through the intelligent development and application of technology to the supply and management of water flows in irrigation networks, this project will deliver increased flexibility and security in water delivery to farmers, and substantial water savings overall. These benefits will lead directly to increased productivity and growth in the rural sector and wider economy, whilst providing improved environmental and catchment flows of benefit to all Australians.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the long-term costs and benefits of community-based initiatives. The ultimate benefit from the research is a more efficient allocation of public funds to provide public services, i.e. an increase in the gain derived from the government budget. The relative advantages of alternative methods of delivering government services are subject to significant uncertainty, which means that policy decisions are often poorly informed. Improvements in the accuracy of predicting the costs and benefi ....Evaluating the long-term costs and benefits of community-based initiatives. The ultimate benefit from the research is a more efficient allocation of public funds to provide public services, i.e. an increase in the gain derived from the government budget. The relative advantages of alternative methods of delivering government services are subject to significant uncertainty, which means that policy decisions are often poorly informed. Improvements in the accuracy of predicting the costs and benefits of complex community-based initiatives will help policymakers identify the set of initiatives that provide the best outcomes for the community they serve, as well as informing the optimal specification of the individual initiatives.Read moreRead less
Competitive supplier bidding in supply chains. This project will use mathematical modelling to contribute to better management practice in dealing with procurement. With the increasing use of auctions and sophisticated bidding procedures it is essential to improve our understanding of this important area.
Advanced Control of Dual-Stage Hard Disk Drives. The project is of significant scientific merit, resulting in solutions to open problems in control of dual-stage hard disk drive systems. This will contribute to the maintenance of Australia's international research profile, help maintain its internal research vitality and also enhance the advanced engineering base of the country. An important benefit of this research is the direct application of developed ideas to the next generation data storage ....Advanced Control of Dual-Stage Hard Disk Drives. The project is of significant scientific merit, resulting in solutions to open problems in control of dual-stage hard disk drive systems. This will contribute to the maintenance of Australia's international research profile, help maintain its internal research vitality and also enhance the advanced engineering base of the country. An important benefit of this research is the direct application of developed ideas to the next generation data storage systems. The completion of this project will directly benefit Australia's developing high-tech industries.Read moreRead less
Robust Control of Electrostatic Microactuators. This proposal seeks to address a number of fundamental problems associated with electrostatic microactuators that form an integral part of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Performance of these microactuators is limited due to the presence of a specific form of nonlinearity in their dynamics. In this research advanced and innovative feedback controllers will be developed to improve operational performance of such microactuators. The global ME ....Robust Control of Electrostatic Microactuators. This proposal seeks to address a number of fundamental problems associated with electrostatic microactuators that form an integral part of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Performance of these microactuators is limited due to the presence of a specific form of nonlinearity in their dynamics. In this research advanced and innovative feedback controllers will be developed to improve operational performance of such microactuators. The global MEMS market is projected to increase from $10B in 2005 to $40B in 2015. This project will enhance Australia's standing in this important high-tech field.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101416
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$329,538.00
Summary
The value of model complexity for fisheries management. This project aims to quantify the benefits of using dynamic multi-species models for harvest decisions in the fishing industry. More than 99.8 per cent of fisheries are assessed using single-species models. Since fishers harvest multiple interacting species, not considering these interactions can lead to negative outcomes that reduce food security, eliminate human livelihoods, decrease economic production, and harm the environment. The proj ....The value of model complexity for fisheries management. This project aims to quantify the benefits of using dynamic multi-species models for harvest decisions in the fishing industry. More than 99.8 per cent of fisheries are assessed using single-species models. Since fishers harvest multiple interacting species, not considering these interactions can lead to negative outcomes that reduce food security, eliminate human livelihoods, decrease economic production, and harm the environment. The project is expected to provide guidance for fisheries scientists on when to use multi-species models for management, improved decision making capacity to reduce the risk of fishery collapse, a new method for dynamic model validation in the face of limited data, and enhanced collaboration between modellers and applied agencies. By reducing the risk of ecosystem collapse through better use of complex and simple models. The project will provide major benefits for the environment, humans, and the economy, at national and global scales.Read moreRead less
Extremum seeking control: a systematic design framework. Design of engineered systems whose operation is "best" or optimal in some sense is essential in tackling a range of socio-economic problems facing our society. This project will provide a methodology for design of such systems that would improve performance of various irrigation, optical communications, economics and power generation systems.
Designing an Intelligent Process Operation Management System. The complexity and sophistication of current generation of industrial processes, and the growing need for autonomous agents that control physical systems, motivate the need for the development of an intelligent process operation management system. In this project, the innovative integration of theories from different scientific fields (computer systems, process engineering, systems and control engineering) provides an excellent platfo ....Designing an Intelligent Process Operation Management System. The complexity and sophistication of current generation of industrial processes, and the growing need for autonomous agents that control physical systems, motivate the need for the development of an intelligent process operation management system. In this project, the innovative integration of theories from different scientific fields (computer systems, process engineering, systems and control engineering) provides an excellent platform for development of a smart data management tool, to oversee the major operational tasks within the plant and help the operators and engineers to make more informed decisions. Direct application of the techniques developed in this study to a pilot case study, could be used as a benchmark to show the potential benefits that can be gained through smart information use and data management.Read moreRead less
Emergence of modular structure in complex systems. Complex systems pervade our world, but are still poorly understood. Self-contained modules provide the most widespread and effective way of reducing and managing complexity, but the way they form in natural systems remains largely a mystery. This study investigates mechanisms that contribute to module formation in complex networks, including adaptation, clustering, enslavement, feedback, phase change and synchronisation. Outcomes will include in ....Emergence of modular structure in complex systems. Complex systems pervade our world, but are still poorly understood. Self-contained modules provide the most widespread and effective way of reducing and managing complexity, but the way they form in natural systems remains largely a mystery. This study investigates mechanisms that contribute to module formation in complex networks, including adaptation, clustering, enslavement, feedback, phase change and synchronisation. Outcomes will include insights into the organisation and functioning of many complex systems, including the Internet, ecological communities and genetic networks. Practical outcomes will include new modelling tools and applications both to evolutionary computation and the design and control of large information networks.Read moreRead less