Development of globally optimal solutions to simultaneous localisation and mapping for robot navigation. Building robots that can operate on their own is one of the potentially transformational technologies of this century. This project will develop algorithms that are well understood and robust to allow the deployment of robots in environments populated with people and in search and rescue operations where global positioning system is not available.
Reconceiving Machine Learning. The proposed research will develop a new way to consider problems to which machine learning can be applied. Machine learning is crucial enabler of the digital economy. The research will provide better opportunities for Australian industry to gain a competitive advantage with machine learning technology. The framework developed will enable better opportunities for collaborative research and will build and strengthen international linkages.
A more intelligent knowledge-based system apprentice. Our previous techniques already had an impact on Australian industry, with five Australian companies marketing such technology, and for three of these it is a central technology. We expect an early uptake of the enhancements we propose by these companies, greatly increasing their international competitiveness against other rule technologies. Three of these companies are very recent, so we would expect other company uptake of the new enhance ....A more intelligent knowledge-based system apprentice. Our previous techniques already had an impact on Australian industry, with five Australian companies marketing such technology, and for three of these it is a central technology. We expect an early uptake of the enhancements we propose by these companies, greatly increasing their international competitiveness against other rule technologies. Three of these companies are very recent, so we would expect other company uptake of the new enhanced technology. In turn Australian companies using the technology will improve their competitiveness in an increasingly knowledge-based economy by being able to more rapidly and easily deploy knowledge-based systems. Our previous techniques have already had a significant impact in medical practice.Read moreRead less
Reasoning about Rational Agents from a Programming Languages Perspective. Rational agents are complex system components inspired by models of rationality, in which beliefs, desires and intentions are represented explicitly. Intelligent agents are fast becoming mainstream and have wide-ranging industrial application. However, a serious obstacle to the deployment of rational agents is a lack of understanding of how to design and reason about agents to provide performance and correctness guarantees ....Reasoning about Rational Agents from a Programming Languages Perspective. Rational agents are complex system components inspired by models of rationality, in which beliefs, desires and intentions are represented explicitly. Intelligent agents are fast becoming mainstream and have wide-ranging industrial application. However, a serious obstacle to the deployment of rational agents is a lack of understanding of how to design and reason about agents to provide performance and correctness guarantees. This project will investigate extensions to intelligent agent architectures and develop tools for reasoning about complex systems built using those architectures. This will not only enable reliable prediction of performance, but contribute to a general methodology for intelligent agent design.
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Dynamics of Causal Knowledge. We operate in complex dynamic environments including highly sensitive and safety-critical situations such as medical emergencies, disaster management and air-traffic control systems. Our knowledge of what causes what plays a pivotal role in making correct decisions in such situations. To ensure robustness and sound behaviour of the underlying causal knowledge systems, their designs and implementations must be formally well grounded. This is an important but difficul ....Dynamics of Causal Knowledge. We operate in complex dynamic environments including highly sensitive and safety-critical situations such as medical emergencies, disaster management and air-traffic control systems. Our knowledge of what causes what plays a pivotal role in making correct decisions in such situations. To ensure robustness and sound behaviour of the underlying causal knowledge systems, their designs and implementations must be formally well grounded. This is an important but difficult challenge. This project aims to systematically develop a logic-based framework to adequately capture and reason about evolving causal knowledge. This research is expected to form the basis for smart decision making, and be evaluated on practical applications.Read moreRead less
Agent-Oriented Concept Management. This project will develop innovative agent-oriented approaches to managing information. An understanding of the concepts used by a system will enhance its ability to share information. Knowledge and concept management are key components of an information economy, and it is widely accepted that the success of the next generation of information systems will be their agent-oriented capability and their ability to interact with each other. In response, internation ....Agent-Oriented Concept Management. This project will develop innovative agent-oriented approaches to managing information. An understanding of the concepts used by a system will enhance its ability to share information. Knowledge and concept management are key components of an information economy, and it is widely accepted that the success of the next generation of information systems will be their agent-oriented capability and their ability to interact with each other. In response, international funding agencies have targeted agent-oriented technologies as essential ingredients for prosperity in the 21st century. This project will help to ensure that Australia shares in that prosperity.Read moreRead less
Searching for near-exact protein models. This project aims to develop novel and efficient heuristic-based algorithms leading to near accurate protein tertiary structure models. Knowledge about protein structures is fundamental to our understanding of living systems. The progress on experimental determination of these structures has been extremely limited and remains an open challenge in molecular biology. Computational prediction of protein structures from sequences is emerging as a promising ap ....Searching for near-exact protein models. This project aims to develop novel and efficient heuristic-based algorithms leading to near accurate protein tertiary structure models. Knowledge about protein structures is fundamental to our understanding of living systems. The progress on experimental determination of these structures has been extremely limited and remains an open challenge in molecular biology. Computational prediction of protein structures from sequences is emerging as a promising approach, but its accuracy is far from satisfactory. The software systems developed in this project will be used in structural identification of target proteins in drug design. This will make drug design process more efficient, saving time and cost, potentially saving lives.Read moreRead less
Intelligent Information Assimilation. Making intelligent and informative choice usually involves assimilating information from multiple sources. The underlying emphasis and priorities of different sources vary. That makes the task of assimilating such information very difficult. Recent research on belief merging provides a formal framework designed to facilitate this task. In this project we will (1) examine existing and novel belief merging strategies, (2) study their impact on allied disciplin ....Intelligent Information Assimilation. Making intelligent and informative choice usually involves assimilating information from multiple sources. The underlying emphasis and priorities of different sources vary. That makes the task of assimilating such information very difficult. Recent research on belief merging provides a formal framework designed to facilitate this task. In this project we will (1) examine existing and novel belief merging strategies, (2) study their impact on allied disciplines, (3) extend the framework for suitable applications and (4) design, implement and test fielded applications of this framework. The outcome of this research will provide the basis for many industrial applications such as agent negotiation.Read moreRead less
"It's all about me" - Anthropomorphised Trading in Believable Electronic Markets. There is a need for trustful business environments that will open up the e-markets to a greater population of traders. This project looks at the development of believable e-markets that address this need. Proposed 3D electronic institution technology is expected to facilitate the establishment of robust business structures as the believability of the business activities and interactions in such e-markets will ensur ...."It's all about me" - Anthropomorphised Trading in Believable Electronic Markets. There is a need for trustful business environments that will open up the e-markets to a greater population of traders. This project looks at the development of believable e-markets that address this need. Proposed 3D electronic institution technology is expected to facilitate the establishment of robust business structures as the believability of the business activities and interactions in such e-markets will ensure the principles of trust and reputation in the electronic markets of tomorrow.Read moreRead less
The Curious Negotiator -- committing only to that which is maximally non-committal. Despite the hype surrounding electronic business-to-business commerce, little business is conducted completely automatically as yet due to the complexity of the issues being negotiated and by the high value of the deals involved. Sophisticated and reliable negotiation technology is required to address this shortcoming. This project looks beyond electronic business to informed negotiation in a broad sense. It w ....The Curious Negotiator -- committing only to that which is maximally non-committal. Despite the hype surrounding electronic business-to-business commerce, little business is conducted completely automatically as yet due to the complexity of the issues being negotiated and by the high value of the deals involved. Sophisticated and reliable negotiation technology is required to address this shortcoming. This project looks beyond electronic business to informed negotiation in a broad sense. It will create reliable automatic negotiators for which information is a strategic weapon. It will build systems to extract reliable market information. The whole project is embedded in electronic institutions that foreshadow the electronic markets of tomorrow.Read moreRead less