Fork safely: improving safety of ordinary forklifts by automating task-specific operations. Forklift trucks are used for goods handling extensively in all sectors of industry. However, statistics show high figures of forklift accidents, with an average of 250 serious injuries per year in Victoria alone. This project will seek to address the operational safety of forklifts by automating the execution of typical forklift tasks.
Task-centric Synthesis for Wearable Assistive Robots. Wearable Assistive Robots, designed to be worn on the human body, show tremendous potentials to provide what the wearer lacks in performing physically challenging tasks, such as seen in manufacturing, agricultural and healthcare industries. However, fundamental challenges still prevent the realisation of such benefits in the practical settings outside the laboratory. This project addresses these challenges by establishing (1) a systematic des ....Task-centric Synthesis for Wearable Assistive Robots. Wearable Assistive Robots, designed to be worn on the human body, show tremendous potentials to provide what the wearer lacks in performing physically challenging tasks, such as seen in manufacturing, agricultural and healthcare industries. However, fundamental challenges still prevent the realisation of such benefits in the practical settings outside the laboratory. This project addresses these challenges by establishing (1) a systematic design approach for wearable robots to achieve the intended task while optimising other relevant considerations, such as human factors and the practical bulk of the robot; and (2) a novel control and interaction strategy to accommodate the variations in realistic living and working environments.Read moreRead less
Interactive companion robot with nanowire-based electronic skin. Interactive companion robot with nanowire-based electronic skin. This project aims to design an interactive companion robot with electronic skin which can communicate with people by touch and enhance their psychological development. Interactive companion robots can improve the social life quality of people with communication disorders and help elderly people. Although touch is extremely important in human communication, most compan ....Interactive companion robot with nanowire-based electronic skin. Interactive companion robot with nanowire-based electronic skin. This project aims to design an interactive companion robot with electronic skin which can communicate with people by touch and enhance their psychological development. Interactive companion robots can improve the social life quality of people with communication disorders and help elderly people. Although touch is extremely important in human communication, most companion robots lack haptic sensing, which degenerates the human-robot interaction. The anticipated outcome is a touchable robot with developmental benefits for autistic children and psychological benefits for elderly people.Read moreRead less
Effective software vulnerability detection for web services. This project aims to design and implement new and better methods to find vulnerabilities in software services delivered over the web or through the cloud, as well as methods for proving the absence of certain types of vulnerability. So-called injection attacks are pervasive and generally considered the most important security threat on today's Internet. The programming languages used for software services tend to use strings as a unive ....Effective software vulnerability detection for web services. This project aims to design and implement new and better methods to find vulnerabilities in software services delivered over the web or through the cloud, as well as methods for proving the absence of certain types of vulnerability. So-called injection attacks are pervasive and generally considered the most important security threat on today's Internet. The programming languages used for software services tend to use strings as a universal data structure, which unfortunately makes it hard to separate trusted code from untrusted user-provided data. This project intends to develop novel program analysis tools and string constraint solvers, and employ these tools to support sophisticated automated reasoning about string manipulating software.Read moreRead less
Practical model-based control for low emission and low cost diesel engines. Practical model-based control for low emission and low cost diesel engines. This project aims to develop and implement robust multivariable model predictive control algorithms for low emission and low cost diesel engines that reduce calibration effort. Legislative and increasing consumer requirements demand better control approaches than have been deployed in production vehicles to date, and motivate the use of model bas ....Practical model-based control for low emission and low cost diesel engines. Practical model-based control for low emission and low cost diesel engines. This project aims to develop and implement robust multivariable model predictive control algorithms for low emission and low cost diesel engines that reduce calibration effort. Legislative and increasing consumer requirements demand better control approaches than have been deployed in production vehicles to date, and motivate the use of model based techniques to meet performance and emissions specifications. However, current model-based controllers amplify the calibration effort and increase development costs as the tuning parameters are not related to time domain specifications. The anticipated outcome is new model based control architectures that improve diesel engine operation and reduce its calibration effort and cost.Read moreRead less
Reducing the risks associated with developing large-scale, critical software-integrated systems. Industry, government and defence increasingly rely on large-scale, critical software-integrated systems. The scale and complexity of these systems means current methods of analysing, designing and assuring their dependability are struggling to provide the constructive support and assurance that is demanded. Consequently, there are significant risks of cost and schedule overruns and of system problems ....Reducing the risks associated with developing large-scale, critical software-integrated systems. Industry, government and defence increasingly rely on large-scale, critical software-integrated systems. The scale and complexity of these systems means current methods of analysing, designing and assuring their dependability are struggling to provide the constructive support and assurance that is demanded. Consequently, there are significant risks of cost and schedule overruns and of system problems and failures. This project builds on results from our current collaboration - a new method for modelling, analysis and defect detection for the requirements of large-scale systems. We will develop and scale-up to industry strength, simpler, more powerful, strategies for analysing, designing and providing the high level of assurance required.Read moreRead less
Supervised autonomy for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) using limited bandwidth communication channels. The project aims to improve the feedback link between an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and an operator by developing novel acoustic communication schemes that exploit developments in machine learning, network, and communication theory and represents a step towards truly autonomous and intelligent surveying using AUV systems.
Intelligent Robotics for Pharmaceutical Formulation Development. This project aims to transform the labour and time-intensive process of drug formulation development by optimising the process workflow, through collaboration between biochemists and the proposed intelligent and scalable robotic system. This project expects to enable the robot to leverage the expert knowledge of the biochemists while automating rote tasks. The expected outcome of this project is an intelligent robot that can collab ....Intelligent Robotics for Pharmaceutical Formulation Development. This project aims to transform the labour and time-intensive process of drug formulation development by optimising the process workflow, through collaboration between biochemists and the proposed intelligent and scalable robotic system. This project expects to enable the robot to leverage the expert knowledge of the biochemists while automating rote tasks. The expected outcome of this project is an intelligent robot that can collaborate with human coworkers to accelerate drug formulation. This should provide significant benefits by lowering drug costs and the development time of new drugs. Read moreRead less
Combustion Modelling and Control for Biomass Fuelled Boilers . This Project aims to improve the operation of bio-fuelled boilers in the sugar industry by using novel approaches to modelling and control of the combustion process. In the sugar industry, sugarcane residue is used as biofuel for boilers. The steam from the boilers is used to crystallise sugar and generate electricity, which is used to power machinery and is also exported to the grid. However, due to poor fuel consistency and poor c ....Combustion Modelling and Control for Biomass Fuelled Boilers . This Project aims to improve the operation of bio-fuelled boilers in the sugar industry by using novel approaches to modelling and control of the combustion process. In the sugar industry, sugarcane residue is used as biofuel for boilers. The steam from the boilers is used to crystallise sugar and generate electricity, which is used to power machinery and is also exported to the grid. However, due to poor fuel consistency and poor combustion conditions, critical problems arise that hinder production. Expected outcomes include: improved sugar production, safer operation of boilers, reduced downtime, and better electricity co-generation.
This will provide significant benefits to sugar manufacturing and biofuel energy generation in AustraliaRead moreRead less
Control strategies for Bagasse-fuelled boiler units. This project aims to improve sugar production and electricity cogeneration capabilities in the sugar industry by utilising novel control ideas for boiler units. In the sugar industry, sugarcane residue is used as biofuel for boiler units. Boilers use steam to crystallise sugar and generate electricity. However, variable steam demand and poor fuel consistency severely hinder production. The project aims to improve safe operation of boilers, red ....Control strategies for Bagasse-fuelled boiler units. This project aims to improve sugar production and electricity cogeneration capabilities in the sugar industry by utilising novel control ideas for boiler units. In the sugar industry, sugarcane residue is used as biofuel for boiler units. Boilers use steam to crystallise sugar and generate electricity. However, variable steam demand and poor fuel consistency severely hinder production. The project aims to improve safe operation of boilers, reduce downtime, and maximise electricity generated to the grid. This will provide significant benefits to sugar manufacturing and, more broadly, biofuel energy generation in Australia.Read moreRead less