An innovative theory driven approach to enhancing situation awareness among road users in Australia. This project will develop, via on-road studies exploring road user behaviour, a first of its kind systems theoretic model of situation awareness (SA) for road transport. The model will then be used to inform the development of roadway design solutions to enhance road user SA, which will be tested through advanced simulation.
Using visual science to reduce the dangers of night driving. This project aims to develop novel tests of visual function relevant to the modern night driving environment. Night driving is challenging for all drivers and has been linked to poor visibility under low light conditions. This project will characterise the visual challenges of the modern night driving environment, develop visual tests that incorporate the dynamic light levels typical of night-time roads and assess the association of th ....Using visual science to reduce the dangers of night driving. This project aims to develop novel tests of visual function relevant to the modern night driving environment. Night driving is challenging for all drivers and has been linked to poor visibility under low light conditions. This project will characterise the visual challenges of the modern night driving environment, develop visual tests that incorporate the dynamic light levels typical of night-time roads and assess the association of these tests with night driving performance. The outcomes will contribute new knowledge regarding dynamic visual processing and the ageing visual system and will inform vision testing, potential interventions to improve visual function for night driving and reduce the dangers of night driving.Read moreRead less
Next-gen accident prevention: a new theory and toolkit for safer systems. This project aims to address limitations associated with existing accident causation theory and methodologies. Accident prevention across high risk industries is constrained by limitations in accident theory and methodologies. As a result, reductions in injuries and fatalities in most domains are plateauing. The expected outputs of the project include a new theory of accident causation, a new proactive risk assessment meth ....Next-gen accident prevention: a new theory and toolkit for safer systems. This project aims to address limitations associated with existing accident causation theory and methodologies. Accident prevention across high risk industries is constrained by limitations in accident theory and methodologies. As a result, reductions in injuries and fatalities in most domains are plateauing. The expected outputs of the project include a new theory of accident causation, a new proactive risk assessment methodology and a new methodology for analysing accidents. This will provide organisations and researchers with a powerful framework for enhanced accident analysis and prevention activities. This will provide significant benefits, associated with reductions in accidents, injuries and fatalities.Read moreRead less
Managing the risks posed by Artificial General Intelligence. It is widely acknowledged that a failure to implement appropriate controls for the next generation of Artificial Intelligence, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), could have catastrophic consequences, including in the worst case - the extinction of the human race. This research aims to forecast the risks associated with AGI systems and identify the controls required to ensure that risks and existential threats are minimised. The exp ....Managing the risks posed by Artificial General Intelligence. It is widely acknowledged that a failure to implement appropriate controls for the next generation of Artificial Intelligence, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), could have catastrophic consequences, including in the worst case - the extinction of the human race. This research aims to forecast the risks associated with AGI systems and identify the controls required to ensure that risks and existential threats are minimised. The expected outputs will provide designers, organisations, regulators and governments with a framework to support the design, implementation, and management of safe and efficient AGI systems. This will ensure that the potential far-reaching benefits of AGI are realised without undue threat to society.Read moreRead less
Thermal Upheaval Buckling of Functionally Graded Pavement Slabs. Upheaval buckling or blowup of concrete pavements due to high environment temperature is a serious problem in transportation infrastructure which quite often leads to road failure or even traffic hazards. The proposed project presents a combined theoretical, numerical and experimental investigation on the effective enhancement of thermal buckling capacity of pavement slabs with or without initial imperfection by using light and gre ....Thermal Upheaval Buckling of Functionally Graded Pavement Slabs. Upheaval buckling or blowup of concrete pavements due to high environment temperature is a serious problem in transportation infrastructure which quite often leads to road failure or even traffic hazards. The proposed project presents a combined theoretical, numerical and experimental investigation on the effective enhancement of thermal buckling capacity of pavement slabs with or without initial imperfection by using light and green functionally graded concrete materials with reduced usage of plain Portland cements for less carbon dioxide emissions. The research outcomes will contribute significantly to the society by offering a novel environmental friendly pavement solution with greatly improved road safety.Read moreRead less
Occupational injury prevention in high temperature environments. This project aims to explore the contribution of heat as a risk factor in work-related illness and injury. Approximately 600 000 Australians experience a work-related illness or injury each year. Hot weather may directly or indirectly lead to accidents, but heat as a risk factor has not been systematically explored, and is particularly relevant in a warming climate. This project aims to improve safety and productivity in Australian ....Occupational injury prevention in high temperature environments. This project aims to explore the contribution of heat as a risk factor in work-related illness and injury. Approximately 600 000 Australians experience a work-related illness or injury each year. Hot weather may directly or indirectly lead to accidents, but heat as a risk factor has not been systematically explored, and is particularly relevant in a warming climate. This project aims to improve safety and productivity in Australian industry by generating new evidence and predictive models to inform injury prevention policy and guidance, and facilitating the development of practical, targeted resources. This project expects to add to the body of knowledge regarding workers’ health and safety and to be of benefit to industry and subpopulations at risk.Read moreRead less
The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling m ....The Effect of Fuel Type on Health and Environmental Risks Caused by Motor Vehicle Emissions. Motor vehicles constitute one of the most significant sources of air pollutants but the state of knowledge on the quantity of some of these does not permit for projection of the risk they create. This project aims at quantification of emissions of pollutants contributing to deterioration of health, ozone formation, global warming and acid rain as a function of fuel type, using a novel on-road sampling method. Resultantly, a holistic picture of integrated health and environmental risk will be developed that will build a scientific foundation for future fuel,transport and land use to protect the community and the environment.Read moreRead less
Sleeping with one ear open: the impact on sleep and waking function. The aim of the project is to assess the impact 'on-call' work has on sleep, stress, and next day performance. Two million Australians are on-call providing essential 24-hour services including emergency response. While sleep during on-call periods is disrupted when a call occurs, some research suggests that sleeping with one ear open waiting for a call may disrupt sleep even if no call occurs. If on-call sleep is less restorati ....Sleeping with one ear open: the impact on sleep and waking function. The aim of the project is to assess the impact 'on-call' work has on sleep, stress, and next day performance. Two million Australians are on-call providing essential 24-hour services including emergency response. While sleep during on-call periods is disrupted when a call occurs, some research suggests that sleeping with one ear open waiting for a call may disrupt sleep even if no call occurs. If on-call sleep is less restorative, then individuals are at risk of performance impairment and adverse health outcomes. This project aims to answer questions about the magnitude of sleep disruption when on-call, the mechanisms for any disruption, and impact on waking function.Read moreRead less
From science to policy: quantifying and managing the risk of mosquito borne disease in the context of climate change. It is important to assess and manage the health risks of climate change. This research will create fundamental knowledge and practical skills on the interdisciplinary assessment and management of health risks of climate change, and explore policy ramifications of research outcomes in this study.
Towards autonomous structural safety prognostics: integrating in-situ imaging and predictive modelling. This project aims to advance a scientific basis for autonomous safety prognostics by developing predictive models and in-situ damage imaging principles. Development of this new health prognostic approach will overcome the significant challenge of safety assurance of composite structures in the presence of in-service damage, which is largely hidden.