Visual Tracking: Geometric Fitting and Filtering. One of the most elementary things that people and sighted animals do is to follow moving objects with their eyes. Movement is a cue to the importance and relevance of objects in a scene. Visually tracking objects allows the determination of important characteristics - distance to the object, shape of the object, likely behaviour of the object etc. Though systems have been built that can perform visual tracking: accuracy and reliability must be i ....Visual Tracking: Geometric Fitting and Filtering. One of the most elementary things that people and sighted animals do is to follow moving objects with their eyes. Movement is a cue to the importance and relevance of objects in a scene. Visually tracking objects allows the determination of important characteristics - distance to the object, shape of the object, likely behaviour of the object etc. Though systems have been built that can perform visual tracking: accuracy and reliability must be improved though a better understanding of the underlying processes. Applications include visual inspection (industrial automation), surveillance (civil and military), robot vision for scene understanding and navigation, multimedia production (automatic human motion capture for example), and human computer interfaces.
Read moreRead less
An Electro-Neural Vision System for the Blind. This project is aimed at the development of a device that can provide blind people with limited visual perception of the environment (i.e. alternative vision) via the use of miniature stereo video cameras, laser range sensors, vision processing equipment and electrodes placed on the surface of the skin for delivering the visual information to the brain.
Autonomous Functions for Smart Cars. The aim of this project is to develop autonomous functions for smart cars, such as lane departure warning, driver fatigue warning, and automatic lane following. Every year 70,000 people are killed in road accidents, 95% of which can be attributed to driver error. The potential outcomes of this project therefore significant. Many of the theoretical methods required for this project have been developed by our group. However, further theoretical refinements fo ....Autonomous Functions for Smart Cars. The aim of this project is to develop autonomous functions for smart cars, such as lane departure warning, driver fatigue warning, and automatic lane following. Every year 70,000 people are killed in road accidents, 95% of which can be attributed to driver error. The potential outcomes of this project therefore significant. Many of the theoretical methods required for this project have been developed by our group. However, further theoretical refinements followed by experimental verification is necessary. For smart cars to be accepted, the systems must be demonstrated to be reliable and to operate in a wide range of conditions.Read moreRead less
Vision Based Guidance, Navigation and Control of a Tail-Sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The development of a high precision visual guidance system for vertical takeoff and landing UAVs will significantly enhance their operational effectiveness by allowing them to land accurately on the back of small vessels or in confined clearings. Together with the extra navigation-system redundancy vis-a-vis GPS system failure and the ability to self-identify reasonable emergency landing sites, the proposed v ....Vision Based Guidance, Navigation and Control of a Tail-Sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The development of a high precision visual guidance system for vertical takeoff and landing UAVs will significantly enhance their operational effectiveness by allowing them to land accurately on the back of small vessels or in confined clearings. Together with the extra navigation-system redundancy vis-a-vis GPS system failure and the ability to self-identify reasonable emergency landing sites, the proposed vision-based system represents a significant capability improvement over what is currently available. It will thus enhance the ability of defence and civil-defence units to patrol Australian borders effectively and to react to threats. It will also have significant export potential to allied nations.Read moreRead less
Operator Decision Modelling in Autonomous Systems. The incorporation of humans as decision-makers into a complex system comprising of many autonomous agents is becoming increasingly important in areas such as defence, search-and-rescue, special emergency services, bush-fire and ecology management. This project will address how human decisions are made in such systems through the formulation and demonstration of innovative algorithms which model the operator decision making process. Generating so ....Operator Decision Modelling in Autonomous Systems. The incorporation of humans as decision-makers into a complex system comprising of many autonomous agents is becoming increasingly important in areas such as defence, search-and-rescue, special emergency services, bush-fire and ecology management. This project will address how human decisions are made in such systems through the formulation and demonstration of innovative algorithms which model the operator decision making process. Generating solutions to this increasingly important area will provide Australia's industry and community services the necessary knowledge for deploying such systems and thus improving service effectiveness, as well as the implementation of autonomous systems into new areas and thus increasing economic growth.Read moreRead less
Cost-effective autonomous systems for large scale monitoring of marine protected areas. This project seeks to develop autonomous technologies that will enable Australia's expanding system of marine protected areas (MPAs) to more effectively preserve marine biodiversity and long term ecosystem function through scalable, cost-effective monitoring. Monitoring will enable MPA managers to assess whether preservation and sustainability goals are being met and to adapt zoning policies in response. Au ....Cost-effective autonomous systems for large scale monitoring of marine protected areas. This project seeks to develop autonomous technologies that will enable Australia's expanding system of marine protected areas (MPAs) to more effectively preserve marine biodiversity and long term ecosystem function through scalable, cost-effective monitoring. Monitoring will enable MPA managers to assess whether preservation and sustainability goals are being met and to adapt zoning policies in response. Australia will benefit from informed sustainable use policies that preserve the marine environment for future generations without unnecessarily restricting recreational and commercial access today.Read moreRead less
Multi-sensory Fusion and Understanding in Robotic Assistive Technology Environments. The research will yield improved international standing through scientific advances disseminated through high impact refereed publications and open source software. The synergy between Language Technology and Robotics will attract post-graduate students in these areas, and potentially commercialisation interest. The demonstration prototype will provide proof of concept of an application that improves the capabil ....Multi-sensory Fusion and Understanding in Robotic Assistive Technology Environments. The research will yield improved international standing through scientific advances disseminated through high impact refereed publications and open source software. The synergy between Language Technology and Robotics will attract post-graduate students in these areas, and potentially commercialisation interest. The demonstration prototype will provide proof of concept of an application that improves the capabilities of human-centric environments, especially for people with limited mobility or cognitive function. The deployment of this research will extend the independence of such people beyond the time when they may otherwise need to be institutionalized, which will benefit both them and the remainder of society.Read moreRead less
Robotic Inspection and Safe Removals of Suspicious/Abandoned Luggage. Abandoned luggage 'discovered' at airports and other sites by iOmniscient's video surveillance system maycontain explosive, dangerous chemicals or lethal biological agents. This project is about using sensor equipped robots to inspect this luggage by x-ray and other means (e.g.: ultrasound or electromagnetic sensors) and then, if appropriate, to remove it to a safe disposal area so as to minimise the risk to others sharing th ....Robotic Inspection and Safe Removals of Suspicious/Abandoned Luggage. Abandoned luggage 'discovered' at airports and other sites by iOmniscient's video surveillance system maycontain explosive, dangerous chemicals or lethal biological agents. This project is about using sensor equipped robots to inspect this luggage by x-ray and other means (e.g.: ultrasound or electromagnetic sensors) and then, if appropriate, to remove it to a safe disposal area so as to minimise the risk to others sharing this public space and those personnel responsible for security operations. iOmniscient Pty.Ltd., as the industrial partner, clearly has a commercial interest in the success of this project and thus is strongly motivated to support it.Read moreRead less
Robotic Vehicles for Fire Fighting and Emergency Services Support. The use of robots to support humans in bushfire fighting, search and rescue missions, civil disaster operations and terrorist apprehension (including hostage rescue) can save lives, minimise injury and improve security. This project aims at providing such capabilities and to deploy them in modes from direct teleoperation to fully autonomous operation as the situation dictates, in full partnership with the Victorian Country Fire A ....Robotic Vehicles for Fire Fighting and Emergency Services Support. The use of robots to support humans in bushfire fighting, search and rescue missions, civil disaster operations and terrorist apprehension (including hostage rescue) can save lives, minimise injury and improve security. This project aims at providing such capabilities and to deploy them in modes from direct teleoperation to fully autonomous operation as the situation dictates, in full partnership with the Victorian Country Fire Authority.Read moreRead less
Autonomous service robots in a multi-agent based system for household and industrial environments. This project addresses fundamental research issues required to develop autonomous mobile robots for intelligent cleaning services. As an interdisciplinary project spanning the fields of robotics, mechatronics and AI, it offers potential benefits in bringing robots into less-structured human environments. Robots performing autonomous cleaning (including hazardous waste and spillage) and security tas ....Autonomous service robots in a multi-agent based system for household and industrial environments. This project addresses fundamental research issues required to develop autonomous mobile robots for intelligent cleaning services. As an interdisciplinary project spanning the fields of robotics, mechatronics and AI, it offers potential benefits in bringing robots into less-structured human environments. Robots performing autonomous cleaning (including hazardous waste and spillage) and security tasks in both household and industrial environments has tremendous national/community benefits in cost and time savings, improved efficiency and safety, and facilitating hazardous or labour intensive tasks. Other benefits include research training, strengthening Australia's R&D position in key innovative technologies, and creating jobs and exports.Read moreRead less