Visual methods for advanced automation of underwater manipulation. This project will increase the autonomy of underwater robotic systems engaged in intervention and inspection tasks. Such activities are essential for the operation of subsea robotic systems used in offshore industries, scientific exploration and defence. Our approach will improve perception and situational awareness through the principled fusion of multiple navigation and camera sensors. We will use this improved scene understand ....Visual methods for advanced automation of underwater manipulation. This project will increase the autonomy of underwater robotic systems engaged in intervention and inspection tasks. Such activities are essential for the operation of subsea robotic systems used in offshore industries, scientific exploration and defence. Our approach will improve perception and situational awareness through the principled fusion of multiple navigation and camera sensors. We will use this improved scene understanding to effectively plan the motion of vehicles and manipulators through larger and more complex workspaces, enabling semi-supervised and autonomous task execution. Our project will demonstrate these capabilities in real-world deployments relevant to industry and marine science.Read moreRead less
Self-supervised feature learning for rapid processing of marine imagery. Fast and reliable quantitative estimates of marine environmental health are needed for scientific studies, design and management of protected areas, and regulatory compliance of industrial activity in the ocean. Australia is collecting seafloor images at increasing rates but expert annotations are not keeping up, meaning that typical machine learning approaches struggle. This project will develop self-supervised techniques ....Self-supervised feature learning for rapid processing of marine imagery. Fast and reliable quantitative estimates of marine environmental health are needed for scientific studies, design and management of protected areas, and regulatory compliance of industrial activity in the ocean. Australia is collecting seafloor images at increasing rates but expert annotations are not keeping up, meaning that typical machine learning approaches struggle. This project will develop self-supervised techniques that use large amounts of unlabeled data to enhance performance. Our design takes advantage of additional information available for marine imagery such as geolocation and remote sensing context. We will explore how these representations can guide additional sampling and improve performance in classification tasks.Read moreRead less
Muscle-based Signals for Responsive Physically-Assistive Robotics. This project aims to develop a physically assistive robot for industrial use that interprets signals from the human user’s muscles during a physical activity and responds with appropriate assistance. This is significant because the robot must accommodate the complexity of movement required in industrial settings and adapt to variabilities in muscle activation signals among users that also change in time. The expected research out ....Muscle-based Signals for Responsive Physically-Assistive Robotics. This project aims to develop a physically assistive robot for industrial use that interprets signals from the human user’s muscles during a physical activity and responds with appropriate assistance. This is significant because the robot must accommodate the complexity of movement required in industrial settings and adapt to variabilities in muscle activation signals among users that also change in time. The expected research outcome is an intuitive, assistive robot worn by the human workforce that enhances their productivity and longevity, improves working conditions, lowers production costs, and increases workforce resilience. The robot’s capabilities will be demonstrated in this project through the challenging activity of sheep shearing.Read moreRead less
Next-Generation Intelligent Robotic Mobility Aid for Vision Impaired People. More than 253 million people worldwide are blind or have low vision, with over 575,000 in Australia. This research aims to develop the world's first functional robotic guide with advanced robotic sensing, navigation, control, machine learning-based decision making and user interfaces. The project will generate novel theoretical breakthroughs, produce feasible prototypes, train young researchers, innovate industry capabi ....Next-Generation Intelligent Robotic Mobility Aid for Vision Impaired People. More than 253 million people worldwide are blind or have low vision, with over 575,000 in Australia. This research aims to develop the world's first functional robotic guide with advanced robotic sensing, navigation, control, machine learning-based decision making and user interfaces. The project will generate novel theoretical breakthroughs, produce feasible prototypes, train young researchers, innovate industry capabilities and provide new research that will transform the lives of visually impaired people. The project is expected to further benefit the service and mobility aid industry, researchers and wider community in substantial social, economic and diverse terms. The mobility aid has potential for commercialisationRead 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
Supervised autonomy for AUVs using limited bandwidth communication channels. This project aims to improve the feedback link between robotic platforms and an operator, to increase the effectiveness of underwater survey operations. During surveys, some level of adaptation is required to allow underwater robots to respond to the data they are collecting. It is often difficult to reliably program an autonomous system to identify salient data, particularly when the mission involves searching for part ....Supervised autonomy for AUVs using limited bandwidth communication channels. This project aims to improve the feedback link between robotic platforms and an operator, to increase the effectiveness of underwater survey operations. During surveys, some level of adaptation is required to allow underwater robots to respond to the data they are collecting. It is often difficult to reliably program an autonomous system to identify salient data, particularly when the mission involves searching for particular features whose sensor signatures may be difficult to determine a priori. In contrast, humans are generally good at quickly identifying important data or determining when a mission is not achieving its goals. The project aims to develop novel acoustic communication schemes that will allow communication between the human operator and the underwater robot, exploiting developments in machine learning, network and communication theory.Read moreRead less
Novel Early Warning System for Hypoglycaemia. An innovative technique will be developed for early detection of low blood glucose level (hypoglycaemia), a life-threatening complication affecting millions of people with Type 1 diabetes worldwide. Real-time analysis of the effectiveness of skin impedance, ECG (in particular heart rate and QT interval), and EEG (alpha wave) will be combined with robust adaptive neural networks to provide a novel theoretical and practical basis for developing a non-i ....Novel Early Warning System for Hypoglycaemia. An innovative technique will be developed for early detection of low blood glucose level (hypoglycaemia), a life-threatening complication affecting millions of people with Type 1 diabetes worldwide. Real-time analysis of the effectiveness of skin impedance, ECG (in particular heart rate and QT interval), and EEG (alpha wave) will be combined with robust adaptive neural networks to provide a novel theoretical and practical basis for developing a non-invasive hypoglycaemia monitor. This device has the potential to save lives, improve quality of life for people with diabetes and their carers, and put Australia at the forefront in this $US5 billion pa industry.Read moreRead less
Development of an Intelligent Perception System for Electric Brakes. Electric braking is a vital component of the drive by-wire systems whose development is currently being supported worldwide by many automobile manufacturers. The aim of this project is to contribute to the development of an efficient fully functional electrically operated braking system. The main focus is on development of the intelligent perceptual sensors required for optimum performance of a by-wire braking system (to be com ....Development of an Intelligent Perception System for Electric Brakes. Electric braking is a vital component of the drive by-wire systems whose development is currently being supported worldwide by many automobile manufacturers. The aim of this project is to contribute to the development of an efficient fully functional electrically operated braking system. The main focus is on development of the intelligent perceptual sensors required for optimum performance of a by-wire braking system (to be commercialised by 2007). This project will also facilitate the development of professional courses for by-wire technology. Such courses will play a crucial role in maintaining the competitiveness of the Australian car component industry as by-wire technology emerges.Read moreRead less
A Vision Controlled Autonomous Multi-Robot Welding System. This developed system will increase the application of robotic welding in more Australian industries thereby increaseing the productivity and competitiveness of the nation. The system will provide a safer work environment for workers by reducing and potentially eliminating direct exposure of workers to the welding process. This fully automated welding system will give the Lincoln a significant advantage in commercialise this technology b ....A Vision Controlled Autonomous Multi-Robot Welding System. This developed system will increase the application of robotic welding in more Australian industries thereby increaseing the productivity and competitiveness of the nation. The system will provide a safer work environment for workers by reducing and potentially eliminating direct exposure of workers to the welding process. This fully automated welding system will give the Lincoln a significant advantage in commercialise this technology both in Australia and overseas. Therefore, this will reap considerable economic benefit for the company, and the nation. This project will also provide a realistic industrial environment for PhD student training.Read moreRead less
Zero Defect Manufacturing of Complex Assemblies. The aim of this research project is to develop the tools required to design and implement zero defect manufacturing systems. It is intended that generic guidelines will be developed for achieving zero defect manufacturing of complex assemblies in a cost effective manner. Methodologies and techniques derived from these guidelines will be tested and validated on an existing door trim assembly production line. This project with its emphasis on utilis ....Zero Defect Manufacturing of Complex Assemblies. The aim of this research project is to develop the tools required to design and implement zero defect manufacturing systems. It is intended that generic guidelines will be developed for achieving zero defect manufacturing of complex assemblies in a cost effective manner. Methodologies and techniques derived from these guidelines will be tested and validated on an existing door trim assembly production line. This project with its emphasis on utilising manufacturing systems involving a mix of human and robot based operations and in process inspection techniques to achieve defect free manufacturing is particularly relevant to medium size component suppliers.Read moreRead less