Robotic microsurgery: intra-operative measurement, modelling and micromanipulation control. This research will significantly improve microsurgery and minimally invasive surgery techniques, and further produce important benefits to medicine and healthcare. The project will also open new domains in the capabilities of modelling and control of complex systems with significant impact and benefits to numerous science and engineering practices.
Laser-based sensing, measurement and control of multi-axis flexure-based mechanisms for nano manipulations. The project aims to investigate fundamental issues in measurement, design, optimisation, and control of multi-axis flexure-based nano manipulators. It aims to establish novel sensing methodologies for position and orientation measurements and feedback, and advanced control techniques for nano manipulation in view of actuators’ nonlinearities, interferences among motion axes, and external d ....Laser-based sensing, measurement and control of multi-axis flexure-based mechanisms for nano manipulations. The project aims to investigate fundamental issues in measurement, design, optimisation, and control of multi-axis flexure-based nano manipulators. It aims to establish novel sensing methodologies for position and orientation measurements and feedback, and advanced control techniques for nano manipulation in view of actuators’ nonlinearities, interferences among motion axes, and external disturbances. The research is significant as such nano manipulators and methodologies represent the building blocks for many future scientific and engineering nano manipulation systems. The project will establish new knowledge, methodologies, and instrumentations for measurement, characterisation and control of multi-axis flexure-based nano manipulators.Read moreRead less
Characterization, modelling and control for robotic thermal ablation. This project aims to study the fundamental issues in robotic-assisted minimally invasive thermal ablation, an important therapy for patients with cancer. It aims to establish advanced characterisation and modelling methodologies for thermomechanical behaviours of soft tissues, together with automatic planning and precise manipulation control techniques for robotic thermal ablation therapies. The project will establish new know ....Characterization, modelling and control for robotic thermal ablation. This project aims to study the fundamental issues in robotic-assisted minimally invasive thermal ablation, an important therapy for patients with cancer. It aims to establish advanced characterisation and modelling methodologies for thermomechanical behaviours of soft tissues, together with automatic planning and precise manipulation control techniques for robotic thermal ablation therapies. The project will establish new knowledge and instrumentation for robotic-assisted thermal ablation and minimally invasive surgery. The outcomes of this project will produce important benefits to medicine, healthcare and medical technology industry, and further consolidate Australia’s position in innovative technologies and research and development of advanced healthcare systems and instruments.Read moreRead less
Final frontier in computational modelling of movement. This project aims to create the computational models and methods needed to advance current understanding of musculoskeletal function during movement. Humans must maintain their capacity to move in order to maintain quality-of-life. Predictive modelling is potentially the most powerful approach for understanding musculoskeletal function during movement. Current computational methods are too slow and unreliable to deliver predictive simulation ....Final frontier in computational modelling of movement. This project aims to create the computational models and methods needed to advance current understanding of musculoskeletal function during movement. Humans must maintain their capacity to move in order to maintain quality-of-life. Predictive modelling is potentially the most powerful approach for understanding musculoskeletal function during movement. Current computational methods are too slow and unreliable to deliver predictive simulations of movement using realistic models of muscle and joint anatomy. This project expects to create the next generation of methods and algorithms needed to enable predictive modelling of movement. Predictive simulations will provide new insights into how muscles stabilise and control movements of the spine, pelvis and lower limbs during daily activities such as walking.Read moreRead less
Accurate Prediction of Safe Life of Buried Pipelines. Failures of buried pipes are disastrous, causing severe consequences and disruptions. They often reoccur because the fundamental cause-effect relation for pipe failures has not been fully understood and hence the safe life of pipelines cannot be reliably predicted. The aim of this research is to develop a new theory to predict pipe failures, based on a fundamental analysis of pipe behaviour and failure mechanisms and a reliability approach. T ....Accurate Prediction of Safe Life of Buried Pipelines. Failures of buried pipes are disastrous, causing severe consequences and disruptions. They often reoccur because the fundamental cause-effect relation for pipe failures has not been fully understood and hence the safe life of pipelines cannot be reliably predicted. The aim of this research is to develop a new theory to predict pipe failures, based on a fundamental analysis of pipe behaviour and failure mechanisms and a reliability approach. The outcomes will be a suite of models and solutions that will advance knowledge in deterioration science and failure theory. They will provide a sustainable solution to the intelligent management of buried pipelines throughout the world.Read moreRead less
Non-differentiable Energy Minimisation For Modelling Fractured Porous Media. This project is aimed at advancing theoretical, computational and experimental bases for the fracturing of geomaterials, and providing scientists and engineers with much needed predictive tools for quantitative assessment of the responses. By incorporating previously neglected aspects such as energy minimisation, advanced constitutive modelling, and non-planar interacting fracture growth, confidence in the design and pl ....Non-differentiable Energy Minimisation For Modelling Fractured Porous Media. This project is aimed at advancing theoretical, computational and experimental bases for the fracturing of geomaterials, and providing scientists and engineers with much needed predictive tools for quantitative assessment of the responses. By incorporating previously neglected aspects such as energy minimisation, advanced constitutive modelling, and non-planar interacting fracture growth, confidence in the design and planning of engineering processes in fractured porous media will be increased to the point that costly over/under designs are avoided. Through the use of the tools developed, it will be possible to detect weaknesses in the design, assess the impact and implement effective measures to improve performance.Read moreRead less
Robustness-oriented and serviceable design of innovative modular buildings. This project aims to unlock the full potential of prefabricated modular buildings through innovative framing solutions in combination with new evaluation methods to enhance serviceability and improve safety under extreme events. Advanced 3D hybrid testing and analysis will be used to create new knowledge on the complex system-level dynamic behaviour of modular buildings. The expected outcome of this project will lead to ....Robustness-oriented and serviceable design of innovative modular buildings. This project aims to unlock the full potential of prefabricated modular buildings through innovative framing solutions in combination with new evaluation methods to enhance serviceability and improve safety under extreme events. Advanced 3D hybrid testing and analysis will be used to create new knowledge on the complex system-level dynamic behaviour of modular buildings. The expected outcome of this project will lead to safe, affordable, and environmentally sustainabe modular building construction. The project will provide significant benefits to designers, manufacturers and regulators to improve the resilience of the building stock and to support greater design and manufacturing innovations.Read moreRead less
Next-generation smart water network for performance-driven asset management. This project aims to develop smart water network systems and techniques for continuous monitoring and early detection of structural failure in water distribution systems. Water assets are critical infrastructure, and they consist of a network of buried pipes that are old and deteriorating, with an annual maintenance overhead exceeding $1billion per year in Australia. This project is expected to deliver next-generation s ....Next-generation smart water network for performance-driven asset management. This project aims to develop smart water network systems and techniques for continuous monitoring and early detection of structural failure in water distribution systems. Water assets are critical infrastructure, and they consist of a network of buried pipes that are old and deteriorating, with an annual maintenance overhead exceeding $1billion per year in Australia. This project is expected to deliver next-generation smart water technology that enables continuous assessment of the actual performance of water pipe networks, guide “just in time” pipe replacement and optimise operations. This technology will assist asset managers to make informed decisions, strategically prioritise investment and extend asset life.Read moreRead less
Smart Pipe Condition Assessment in Water Distribution Systems. The project aims to develop an urgently needed smart pipe fault diagnosis, characterisation and prognosis system. Analysis techniques will be used for the detailed mapping of buried pipe condition between access points using micro-sized transient pressure waves. Water assets are critical infrastructure and they consist of a network of pipes that are often old and deteriorating. The annual maintenance cost exceeds $1b per year in Aus ....Smart Pipe Condition Assessment in Water Distribution Systems. The project aims to develop an urgently needed smart pipe fault diagnosis, characterisation and prognosis system. Analysis techniques will be used for the detailed mapping of buried pipe condition between access points using micro-sized transient pressure waves. Water assets are critical infrastructure and they consist of a network of pipes that are often old and deteriorating. The annual maintenance cost exceeds $1b per year in Australia. The outcome will be a next-generation tool that allows water utilities to move from reactive emergency repairs to proactive repair and predictive replacement. This will enable performance-driven asset management, extending asset life and replacing deteriorated high-risk pipe sections in a timely manner.Read moreRead less
Fundamental theoretical and experimental investigation of cartilage mechanics. Arthritis and chronic joint symptoms are one of the leading causes of disability in the community, yet a fundamental understanding of joint mechanics has yet to be realised. The aim of this project is to develop a new state-of-the-art mathematical model describing cartilage behaviour in humans. The model will explain how activities like walking maintain healthy cartilage by transferring growth factors through the tiss ....Fundamental theoretical and experimental investigation of cartilage mechanics. Arthritis and chronic joint symptoms are one of the leading causes of disability in the community, yet a fundamental understanding of joint mechanics has yet to be realised. The aim of this project is to develop a new state-of-the-art mathematical model describing cartilage behaviour in humans. The model will explain how activities like walking maintain healthy cartilage by transferring growth factors through the tissue, and quantitatively explain how wear is minimised in cartilage through weeping lubrication. This model will progress our understanding of cartilage mechanics in health and disease, and so help Australians age well and productively.Read moreRead less