Technological innovation and change in supply chain integration. In examining emerging technology that can transform the performance of Australian industry we address the following priority goals: better understanding the processes that will advance knowledge and facilitate the development of technological innovations; the potential application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies across an entire supply chain; and the improved management of information in the storage, distribut ....Technological innovation and change in supply chain integration. In examining emerging technology that can transform the performance of Australian industry we address the following priority goals: better understanding the processes that will advance knowledge and facilitate the development of technological innovations; the potential application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies across an entire supply chain; and the improved management of information in the storage, distribution, and delivery of products (smart information use). Improvement in the operational efficiency and performance of the supply chain will increase national wealth while minimising environmental impacts on the environment, for example, through the better utilisation of heavy freight carriers.Read moreRead less
An Implementation Tool for Achieving Individual and Enterprise Innovation Competency. A prime challenge facing management today is how an organisation can foster a supportive culture for innovation. The purpose of this study is to apply and verify the effectiveness of existing innovation models to the manufacturing industry, culminating in a new model and set of metrics to guide the development of individual and enterprise innovation competencies. The innovation competencies will be validated th ....An Implementation Tool for Achieving Individual and Enterprise Innovation Competency. A prime challenge facing management today is how an organisation can foster a supportive culture for innovation. The purpose of this study is to apply and verify the effectiveness of existing innovation models to the manufacturing industry, culminating in a new model and set of metrics to guide the development of individual and enterprise innovation competencies. The innovation competencies will be validated through a combination of project and problem-based action learning methodologies. The project deliverables will be a range of tools, techniques and other resources to assist enterprises to become innovation ready.Read moreRead less
Decision support systems for the implementation of team based cellular manufacturing in adaptive organizations. Cellular manufacturing, where a family of products is produced in discrete multi-machine cells, has been adopted by many firms to increase flexibility, reduce costs and improve quality. However the implementation of cellular manufacturing is a complex process as technology, customer needs, product characteristics, enterprise goals and organisation structure can influence the effectiven ....Decision support systems for the implementation of team based cellular manufacturing in adaptive organizations. Cellular manufacturing, where a family of products is produced in discrete multi-machine cells, has been adopted by many firms to increase flexibility, reduce costs and improve quality. However the implementation of cellular manufacturing is a complex process as technology, customer needs, product characteristics, enterprise goals and organisation structure can influence the effectiveness of the implementation. This project will develop an intelligent model for the implementation of cellular manufacturing in batch production and test it in a case study. The work will contribute to Australia's contribution to the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems international research project SYMPHONY.Read moreRead less
Multifunctional mixed matrix membranes incorporating aligned carbon nanotubes. The pressure on water supplies in Australia will only increase in coming years meaning that effective and cheap means of recycling water must be found. By developing a carbon nanotube-based water filtration system, we intend to promote the growth of Australia's world-class reputation in water remediation. The technological outcomes from this research will lead to direct economic and environmental benefits for the comm ....Multifunctional mixed matrix membranes incorporating aligned carbon nanotubes. The pressure on water supplies in Australia will only increase in coming years meaning that effective and cheap means of recycling water must be found. By developing a carbon nanotube-based water filtration system, we intend to promote the growth of Australia's world-class reputation in water remediation. The technological outcomes from this research will lead to direct economic and environmental benefits for the community and offer commercial opportunities for industry. Training research scientists of the future forms an integral part of our program as it is crucial to maintain a critical mass in this potentially forthcoming water based economy.
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Cooperative Mesh Networks for Municipal Wireless Access. Robust mobile broadband data communication is vital for public safety and emergency services applications. This project will improve the performance and cost-effectiveness of mesh networks, enabling new network architectures. Immediate benefits to Australia will be: Contribution to a growing knowledge base and fundamental capabilities wireless broadband communications; Education of future leading academic and industrial innovators; Raising ....Cooperative Mesh Networks for Municipal Wireless Access. Robust mobile broadband data communication is vital for public safety and emergency services applications. This project will improve the performance and cost-effectiveness of mesh networks, enabling new network architectures. Immediate benefits to Australia will be: Contribution to a growing knowledge base and fundamental capabilities wireless broadband communications; Education of future leading academic and industrial innovators; Raising the international profile of Australian research in information technology. The contribution of Information and Communications Technology to the National economy is widely recognized. ICT contributes to wealth creation, employment and exports, underpinning many innovation processes.Read moreRead less
How to manage on-farm surface water storage for sustainable and safe catchments. Unsafe on-farm storage of runoff is a potential but silent problem ready to strike downstream communities. Unfair storage already occurs at the expense of farmers, communities and environment. Stakeholders will gain understanding of these two inter-related problems and the factors that drive them. The national benefit will be empirical evidence and policy guidance about the drivers of on-farm dam storage which ensur ....How to manage on-farm surface water storage for sustainable and safe catchments. Unsafe on-farm storage of runoff is a potential but silent problem ready to strike downstream communities. Unfair storage already occurs at the expense of farmers, communities and environment. Stakeholders will gain understanding of these two inter-related problems and the factors that drive them. The national benefit will be empirical evidence and policy guidance about the drivers of on-farm dam storage which ensures fairness and safety in surface water sharing systems by (1)providing certainty of water entitlements and encouraging farming investment in safe dams, (2)minimising hardship to farmers and communities not benefiting from their full entitlement and to those that suffer from dam failures, and (3)maximising environment's share.Read moreRead less
Beyond the limits of corrosion detection in inaccessible areas. The project will develop a new technology for medium-range corrosion mapping in inaccessible areas of infrastructure. This will overcome the limitations of existing corrosion inspection techniques for corrosion inspection at inaccessible areas. The project will create a new concept and generate new knowledge on accurate corrosion mapping in inaccessible areas. The expected outcomes are significant improvements in the capability and ....Beyond the limits of corrosion detection in inaccessible areas. The project will develop a new technology for medium-range corrosion mapping in inaccessible areas of infrastructure. This will overcome the limitations of existing corrosion inspection techniques for corrosion inspection at inaccessible areas. The project will create a new concept and generate new knowledge on accurate corrosion mapping in inaccessible areas. The expected outcomes are significant improvements in the capability and practicability over existing corrosion inspection technologies adopted by industry for a wide range of infrastructure, in particular the Oil and Gas, Mining, Energy and Water infrastructure, as well as improving the reliability and cost-efficiency of the corrosion inspection.Read moreRead less
Optical fibre dip-sensors for in-situ environmental monitoring. This project will continue to build Australia's reputation as a global leader in both the science and technology of emerging optical fibres, which is an enabling field of research with enormous number applications in medicine, defence, and sensing. It will be an excellent vehicle for educating young physicists and engineers in Australia. The new class of low-cost environmental sensors to be created here will provide benefit to Austr ....Optical fibre dip-sensors for in-situ environmental monitoring. This project will continue to build Australia's reputation as a global leader in both the science and technology of emerging optical fibres, which is an enabling field of research with enormous number applications in medicine, defence, and sensing. It will be an excellent vehicle for educating young physicists and engineers in Australia. The new class of low-cost environmental sensors to be created here will provide benefit to Australia, enabling environmental and agricultural managers to more effectively monitor and manage natural resources such as water and nutrients and will lead to a more productive and sustainable economy.Read moreRead less
Multi-scale strategy to manage chloramine decay and nitrification in water distribution systems. The generation of knowledge and technologies in preventing chloramine decay would greatly benefit the Australian water industry. The success of the project would provide the highest possible quality of water, both economically and reliably, giving public assurances of microbiological compliance and safe drinking water.
Development of modal control systems for adaptive optics. This project will develop a simple, robust and low-cost modal servo system for dynamic control and correction of the propagation and focussing properties of light beams. This new system will incorporate a novel optical sensor, which will be developed in this project, and a new optical corrector being developed at the University of Durham. Currently available astronomical adaptive-optics systems have produced excellent results but are expe ....Development of modal control systems for adaptive optics. This project will develop a simple, robust and low-cost modal servo system for dynamic control and correction of the propagation and focussing properties of light beams. This new system will incorporate a novel optical sensor, which will be developed in this project, and a new optical corrector being developed at the University of Durham. Currently available astronomical adaptive-optics systems have produced excellent results but are expensive and complicated. A low-cost alternative will dramatically increase the use of adaptive optics in industrial, environmental and medical applications. The compensation of distortions in low-cost optical atmospheric sensors will be demonstrated.Read moreRead less