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.
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
Automated helicopter hover and recovery system for operations at sea. The small size and simplicity of the integrated system outlined in this project will significantly improve the effectiveness of maritime surveillance for homeland security whilst enabling substantially lower operational costs. The proposal aims to develop control and sensing techniques, enabling small rotary wing unmanned air-vehicles (UAVs) weighing less than 100 kgs to operate from small-size vessels. This will be achieved ....Automated helicopter hover and recovery system for operations at sea. The small size and simplicity of the integrated system outlined in this project will significantly improve the effectiveness of maritime surveillance for homeland security whilst enabling substantially lower operational costs. The proposal aims to develop control and sensing techniques, enabling small rotary wing unmanned air-vehicles (UAVs) weighing less than 100 kgs to operate from small-size vessels. This will be achieved by resolving the current lack of integration between ship motion and the unmanned vehicle guidance systems. The proposed research will make substantial contributions in areas of ship motion prediction and sensing and hover control of tethered and non-tethered small helicopters.
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Vision Based Guidance, Navigation and Control of a Tail-Sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The development of a high precision visual guidance system for vertical takeoff and landing UAVs will significantly enhance their operational effectiveness by allowing them to land accurately on the back of small vessels or in confined clearings. Together with the extra navigation-system redundancy vis-a-vis GPS system failure and the ability to self-identify reasonable emergency landing sites, the proposed v ....Vision Based Guidance, Navigation and Control of a Tail-Sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The development of a high precision visual guidance system for vertical takeoff and landing UAVs will significantly enhance their operational effectiveness by allowing them to land accurately on the back of small vessels or in confined clearings. Together with the extra navigation-system redundancy vis-a-vis GPS system failure and the ability to self-identify reasonable emergency landing sites, the proposed vision-based system represents a significant capability improvement over what is currently available. It will thus enhance the ability of defence and civil-defence units to patrol Australian borders effectively and to react to threats. It will also have significant export potential to allied nations.Read moreRead less
Understanding and predicting submarine hydrofoil noise. Australia needs to develop a more sophisticated underwater flow-induced noise research and development capability if it is to achieve its ambitious naval plans set out under the Defence White Paper. This project will develop an experimentally validated model to predict submarine noise for the purposes of submarine design, operation and procurement.