A general framework for the stability and robustness of dynamical systems. Stability and robustness are crucial properties of well-engineered dynamical systems. This project aims to unify several notions of stability and robustness and to expand these notions to the emerging area of hybrid systems, which includes next generation electricity distribution networks.
Integrated Piezoelectric Microsystems for Actuation and Sensing. Piezoelectric transducers provide the highest positioning accuracy of any known actuator and the highest dynamic force resolution of any known sensor. However, these capabilities are limited to macro scale applications since piezoelectric materials are not compatible with integrated circuit (IC) or Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems fabrication processes. This project aims to extend the use of piezoelectric materials to the meso- and ....Integrated Piezoelectric Microsystems for Actuation and Sensing. Piezoelectric transducers provide the highest positioning accuracy of any known actuator and the highest dynamic force resolution of any known sensor. However, these capabilities are limited to macro scale applications since piezoelectric materials are not compatible with integrated circuit (IC) or Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems fabrication processes. This project aims to extend the use of piezoelectric materials to the meso- and micro-scale by fabricating miniature piezoelectric positioning and sensor systems. These devices will include six-axis nano-positioners and ultra-high resolution accelerometers and gyroscopes. This technology will create a new market for devices that are lower cost than macro-scale systems but provide higher performance than silicon based microsystems.Read moreRead less
Advanced model-based control for ultra-fast and ultra-high-precision nanoscale positioning. Australia faces unique challenges due to its small population and distance from international markets. To maintain a high standard of living Australia needs to further develop its high-tech base particularly in emerging fields such as nanotechnology. This research program is aimed at placing Australia at the forefront of international research in nanoscale positioning systems by building a world-class tea ....Advanced model-based control for ultra-fast and ultra-high-precision nanoscale positioning. Australia faces unique challenges due to its small population and distance from international markets. To maintain a high standard of living Australia needs to further develop its high-tech base particularly in emerging fields such as nanotechnology. This research program is aimed at placing Australia at the forefront of international research in nanoscale positioning systems by building a world-class team of talented researchers and equipping them with world-class research infrastructure. The global market for nanotechnology is projected to be in the tens of billions of dollars by 2020. The proposed research will enhance Australia's competitive advantage through high-impact scientific and technological innovations in nanotechnology.Read moreRead less
Foundations of Vision Based Control of Robotic Vehicles. Automated and partially automated robotic vehicles are an emerging technology in society. The safety and performance of such systems depends crucially on their sensing and control algorithms. Vision sensing is one of the few sensor modalities that has the potential to adequately represent the complexity of a real world environment. By providing simple and effective vision based control algorithms this project develops Frontier Technologi ....Foundations of Vision Based Control of Robotic Vehicles. Automated and partially automated robotic vehicles are an emerging technology in society. The safety and performance of such systems depends crucially on their sensing and control algorithms. Vision sensing is one of the few sensor modalities that has the potential to adequately represent the complexity of a real world environment. By providing simple and effective vision based control algorithms this project develops Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries by enabling a wide range of robotic vehicle applications, including aerial, submersible, and wheeled vehicles.Read moreRead less
Nonstochastic information flows in networked dynamical systems. Feedback control is a crucial element of manufacturing, vehicular and energy systems, and is needed to guarantee hard performance bounds in safety- and mission-critical environments. When these control systems are implemented over communication networks, the amount of information flowing through them becomes a critical determinant of performance. However, the nonprobabilistic control objectives make standard information theory inapp ....Nonstochastic information flows in networked dynamical systems. Feedback control is a crucial element of manufacturing, vehicular and energy systems, and is needed to guarantee hard performance bounds in safety- and mission-critical environments. When these control systems are implemented over communication networks, the amount of information flowing through them becomes a critical determinant of performance. However, the nonprobabilistic control objectives make standard information theory inapplicable. This project aims to develop a novel, nonstochastic theory of information in order to analyse and design networked dynamical systems that obey worst-case performance limits. This will yield robust, probability-free algorithms for distributed control, filtering and causality inference.Read moreRead less
A geometric theory for modern optimisation problems in control and estimation. Linear-quadratic and spectral factorisation problems play a crucial role in system and control theory as well as many important application areas. The success of the project will represent a significant advancement of state-of-the-art in these broad areas.
Decentralisation and robustness for practical control of complex systems. This project aims to develop the theory and tools to address the control of complex interconnected systems. There is currently an enormous disconnect in decentralised control between the celebrated theoretical advances and the concepts that are used for implementation, or even for computation. The project expects to isolate the key reasons for this disconnect and develop ways to address the control of complex interconnecte ....Decentralisation and robustness for practical control of complex systems. This project aims to develop the theory and tools to address the control of complex interconnected systems. There is currently an enormous disconnect in decentralised control between the celebrated theoretical advances and the concepts that are used for implementation, or even for computation. The project expects to isolate the key reasons for this disconnect and develop ways to address the control of complex interconnected systems. The expected outcome is a tool which can observe information from only a small portion of a network but which may ultimately effect a large portion of the network. This includes smart building management, multi-vehicle systems and convoys, irrigation networks, large array telescopes, and the power distribution grid.Read moreRead less
Optimal Control of Multi-Object System. Better understanding of multi-object systems developed from this research, in particular, optimal control algorithms for multi-object systems have several significant socio-economic benefits. Application areas that benefits from our research include aerospace applications such as radar, sonar, guidance, navigation, and air traffic control and non-aerospace areas such as image processing, oceanography autonomous vehicles and robotics, remote sensing, and bi ....Optimal Control of Multi-Object System. Better understanding of multi-object systems developed from this research, in particular, optimal control algorithms for multi-object systems have several significant socio-economic benefits. Application areas that benefits from our research include aerospace applications such as radar, sonar, guidance, navigation, and air traffic control and non-aerospace areas such as image processing, oceanography autonomous vehicles and robotics, remote sensing, and biomedical research. The sensor network discipline also stand to benefit from the understanding of multi-object system and control framework. Read moreRead less
Modelling, Identification and Control of Complex Networks. Australia has been well known for its leading research in systems and control and many real-world applications in, for instance, telecommunications, defence, power grids and life sciences. This project will further promote Australia's leading position in the emerging new research field - complex networks by theoretical breakthrough in modelling, identification and control of complex networks, and cutting-edge platform technology that can ....Modelling, Identification and Control of Complex Networks. Australia has been well known for its leading research in systems and control and many real-world applications in, for instance, telecommunications, defence, power grids and life sciences. This project will further promote Australia's leading position in the emerging new research field - complex networks by theoretical breakthrough in modelling, identification and control of complex networks, and cutting-edge platform technology that can help Australian energy industry to reduce greenhouse emissions. It will also result in education of the next generation research leaders in this emerging field.Read moreRead less
Genomic and molecular characterisation of a novel Australian leishmania pathogen. Leishmaniasis is the second most serious protozoal disease after malaria. This project will help characterise the first Leishmania species identified in Australia providing molecular tools to monitor the pathogen and a detailed assessment of any potential risk to human health. Comparative analysis with more pathogenic species will help identify genes and mechanisms that determine the progression of human disease le ....Genomic and molecular characterisation of a novel Australian leishmania pathogen. Leishmaniasis is the second most serious protozoal disease after malaria. This project will help characterise the first Leishmania species identified in Australia providing molecular tools to monitor the pathogen and a detailed assessment of any potential risk to human health. Comparative analysis with more pathogenic species will help identify genes and mechanisms that determine the progression of human disease leading to the potential identification of new drug and vaccine targets. The methodologies and expertise developed will be used will be available to other research groups working on infectious diseases.Read moreRead less