Optimising the spring in your step to enhance footwear design. This project aims to examine how the nervous system adjusts the mechanical function of our feet across a spectrum of speeds, from slow running through to maximal effort sprinting. The proposed research will explore how the nervous system controls the function of the foot to meet the ever-varying demands of locomotion in the real-world. Expected outcomes of this project are to determine if running shoes help or hinder the natural spri ....Optimising the spring in your step to enhance footwear design. This project aims to examine how the nervous system adjusts the mechanical function of our feet across a spectrum of speeds, from slow running through to maximal effort sprinting. The proposed research will explore how the nervous system controls the function of the foot to meet the ever-varying demands of locomotion in the real-world. Expected outcomes of this project are to determine if running shoes help or hinder the natural spring-like function of the foot. It will explain a conceptually novel design allowing shoes to support our feet, whilst harnessing the energetic benefits of the foot's spring-like function. This research has the potential to revolutionise athletic footwear design and has direct implications for enhanced performance in running athletes.Read moreRead less
Exploring new tools in nonlinear filtering and control. The conceptual advances with new design rules to be developed in the area of nonlinear filtering and control. Major benefits of this project will be its direct applications to state estimation and control problems in automobile, manufacturing, military hardware and medical device industries, and its increased capacity of contact research.
Reliable and efficient algorithms for modelling dynamical systems from data. Mathematical and computational models are increasingly important in diverse areas of science and engineering including aircraft and automotive design, robotics, medical sensing, and biology. However, finding an accurate model remains a difficult task. This project will develop new methods to reliably find highly accurate models from recorded data.
A New Approach to High-Performance Control of Nonlinear Systems. The coming generation of robots are highly mobile and will interact significantly with their environment, each other, and human collaborators. However, this leads to highly coupled nonlinear dynamical behaviour, and achieving accurate and reliable control of these systems is pushing current control theory to breaking point. This project aims to develop a new approach to control of nonlinear systems based on contraction theory and c ....A New Approach to High-Performance Control of Nonlinear Systems. The coming generation of robots are highly mobile and will interact significantly with their environment, each other, and human collaborators. However, this leads to highly coupled nonlinear dynamical behaviour, and achieving accurate and reliable control of these systems is pushing current control theory to breaking point. This project aims to develop a new approach to control of nonlinear systems based on contraction theory and convex optimisation, extending the power of optimisation-based control from linear to non-linear systems. The project is expected to lead to new theoretical developments, constructive algorithms and software, and experimental demonstrations on a range of platforms including bipedal walking robots and underwater robots.Read moreRead less
Advanced coverage control techniques for mobile networked systems. This project aims to efficiently control individual mobile sensors and actuators to achieve network-wide coverage quality for monitoring and control of industrial and environmental processes. Coverage control of mobile networked systems is important in control engineering due to the growing use of mobile robots and mobile wireless networks for sensing coverage and monitoring. The project will develop techniques for coverage contr ....Advanced coverage control techniques for mobile networked systems. This project aims to efficiently control individual mobile sensors and actuators to achieve network-wide coverage quality for monitoring and control of industrial and environmental processes. Coverage control of mobile networked systems is important in control engineering due to the growing use of mobile robots and mobile wireless networks for sensing coverage and monitoring. The project will develop techniques for coverage control of mobile networks which are expected to solve industrial control problems in the defence, communications and robotics industries and manage the environment.Read moreRead less
Control and state estimation in the next-generation interconnected systems. This project aims to develop a systematic and efficient approach to address fundamental challenges in control and secure state estimation in the next-generation interconnected systems. Control and state estimation in high-tech systems is an emerging area of control engineering. The importance of this area is quickly increasing due to the growing use of the next-generation interconnected systems, in which physical and hig ....Control and state estimation in the next-generation interconnected systems. This project aims to develop a systematic and efficient approach to address fundamental challenges in control and secure state estimation in the next-generation interconnected systems. Control and state estimation in high-tech systems is an emerging area of control engineering. The importance of this area is quickly increasing due to the growing use of the next-generation interconnected systems, in which physical and high-tech components are interacting in complex networks. The project is expected to have direct applications in the management of energy networks, and in industrial control and secure state estimation problems in the defence, communications, and automobile industries.Read moreRead less
Estimation of Complex Networked Dynamic Systems. An essential part of science and engineering is the development of mathematical models to describe how observed quantities relate to one another. For example, such models have proven to be extremely powerful in predicting the value of financial instruments, in providing high performance control of robots, and in detecting faults or changes in petrochemical processing plants. Constructing these models based on measurements from the system itself is ....Estimation of Complex Networked Dynamic Systems. An essential part of science and engineering is the development of mathematical models to describe how observed quantities relate to one another. For example, such models have proven to be extremely powerful in predicting the value of financial instruments, in providing high performance control of robots, and in detecting faults or changes in petrochemical processing plants. Constructing these models based on measurements from the system itself is known as system identification. This project is directed at developing new system identification methods for situations that, on the one hand, have previously been considered unsolvable, and on the other, are acknowledged as being of high practical interest.Read moreRead less
Non-contact Integrity Assessment of Façade Panels of High-rise Buildings. Disintegration of the external façade (with tiles, plates, etc.) of high-rise buildings presents a great challenge and a threat to community. This project develops fundamental knowledge and algorithms that underpin the deployment of a new technique for fast and automated quantitative integrity assessment of façade units of high-rise buildings, integrating mechanisms of directional acoustic waves, vibro-acoustics of façade ....Non-contact Integrity Assessment of Façade Panels of High-rise Buildings. Disintegration of the external façade (with tiles, plates, etc.) of high-rise buildings presents a great challenge and a threat to community. This project develops fundamental knowledge and algorithms that underpin the deployment of a new technique for fast and automated quantitative integrity assessment of façade units of high-rise buildings, integrating mechanisms of directional acoustic waves, vibro-acoustics of façade tiles or panels, laser sensing technology, deep learning algorithms and drone technology. Outcomes of this project are critical for implementing the new technology for enhanced safety to community and the development of new procedures for driving down maintenance costs of the external façade of high-rise buildings.Read moreRead less
Spatially distributed complex multiagent systems. This project will develop design methodologies for two related classes of technological systems: wireless sensor networks (in particular mobile sensor networks) and formations of mobile robotic agents. These technologies find application today in defence, and will probably become pervasive in the civilian sector.
Sound Control Panels Made of Digital Acoustics Elements. This project aims to pioneer a new generation of smart sound control panels made of digital acoustics elements for broadband sound control. The project expects to generate a break-through mechanistic understanding of energy dissipation among the acoustical, mechanical and electrical components in the proposed devices. It is expected that these devices will have superior sound absorption performance from 50 Hz to 10 kHz, and will be low cos ....Sound Control Panels Made of Digital Acoustics Elements. This project aims to pioneer a new generation of smart sound control panels made of digital acoustics elements for broadband sound control. The project expects to generate a break-through mechanistic understanding of energy dissipation among the acoustical, mechanical and electrical components in the proposed devices. It is expected that these devices will have superior sound absorption performance from 50 Hz to 10 kHz, and will be low cost, compact (<10 mm thick), environmentally sustainable, clean (fibreless), and be adaptive to environments. It will provide a solution for broadband sound control, which is critical for many domestic, industry, and military applications to create a quieter and more comfortable sound environment.Read moreRead less