Neuronal and behavioural correlates of sensory adaptation. Sensory systems adapt to the statistics of their environment, and the consequences of this adaptation are evident in neuronal activity and in animal’s behaviour. This project will employ a novel paradigm to characterise how adaptation changes the response properties of individual sensory neurons to improve efficiency of information transmission.
Comprehending and modelling the workings of the animal brain. Truly understanding how the brain operates is a grand challenge of 21st century neuroscience. Progress toward this goal can be made through studying small-brained animals, like the honey bee. This project aims to use microscopy and pharmacology to analyse the neural mechanisms by which bees learn and classify complex things. This will enable the construction of a computational model of decision making in the bee brain. Analysing this ....Comprehending and modelling the workings of the animal brain. Truly understanding how the brain operates is a grand challenge of 21st century neuroscience. Progress toward this goal can be made through studying small-brained animals, like the honey bee. This project aims to use microscopy and pharmacology to analyse the neural mechanisms by which bees learn and classify complex things. This will enable the construction of a computational model of decision making in the bee brain. Analysing this model will test what is understood about the operation of the animal brain, and what simulates it. This project aims to reveal how neural circuits make complex decisions; establish key principles and foundational studies for comprehending larger more complex brains, and yield new approaches to machine learning.Read moreRead less
Emergent cues underlying the perception of shape, colour, and material . This goal of this project is to identify the information the visual system uses to extract the three-dimensional structure and material composition of objects. This project aims to generate an advanced understanding of the information that supports these perceptual abilities and to advance our understanding how this information is learned from exposure to natural scenes. The findings of this work are expected to benefit ou ....Emergent cues underlying the perception of shape, colour, and material . This goal of this project is to identify the information the visual system uses to extract the three-dimensional structure and material composition of objects. This project aims to generate an advanced understanding of the information that supports these perceptual abilities and to advance our understanding how this information is learned from exposure to natural scenes. The findings of this work are expected to benefit our understanding of the human visual system, and to provide insights into the information needed to advance the development of deep neural networks (machine learning) that exploit the same information used by humans to guide our behavior and recognize objects and materials.Read moreRead less
Robust Intelligence: Rational Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty. This project seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice with an innovative framework for rational decision-making under risk and uncertainty. Intelligent agents exercise profound and growing impact in business and society. However, significant problems arise in intelligent agent deployment as their theoretical underpinnings do not ensure rational decision-making in complex real-world settings. The project aims to ....Robust Intelligence: Rational Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty. This project seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice with an innovative framework for rational decision-making under risk and uncertainty. Intelligent agents exercise profound and growing impact in business and society. However, significant problems arise in intelligent agent deployment as their theoretical underpinnings do not ensure rational decision-making in complex real-world settings. The project aims to open the door to transformational technologies that may drive new entrepreneurial opportunities in agent-based global services.Read moreRead less
Neuro-ecology: information processing under natural conditions. Not enough is known about how sensory information is processed through the brain under natural environmental conditions. This project will shed light on how information processing changes with context and will help explain why even those animals with the smallest brains are much more versatile and robust than our most advanced robots.
Conceptualising and measuring digital emotion regulation. This project aims to develop the theory and supporting research tools to investigate how, where, and why people engage in digital emotion regulation. Individuals often use digital technologies to shape their emotions, yet social norms often cast such technology use as disrespectful or distracting. The discrepancy between the practice and perception of digital emotion regulation may be due to the lack of a systematic understanding of this ....Conceptualising and measuring digital emotion regulation. This project aims to develop the theory and supporting research tools to investigate how, where, and why people engage in digital emotion regulation. Individuals often use digital technologies to shape their emotions, yet social norms often cast such technology use as disrespectful or distracting. The discrepancy between the practice and perception of digital emotion regulation may be due to the lack of a systematic understanding of this behaviour. The project will inform the debate about technology use and its impact on work, education and interpersonal relationships. Additionally, the created knowledge will inform policy-makers, designers, and end-users about how technology use is perceived, as well as effective use of technology in everyday settings.Read moreRead less
Wearable displays for high-tempo work in mission-critical worlds. This project aims to investigate how effectively head-worn display technology can support mobile work in complex high-tempo environments where workers must complete tasks quickly, handle competing demands, and manage interruptions. The project will draw on field investigations to specify functions and formats for head-worn displays, and will conduct laboratory and simulation studies to test the relative advantages of head-worn dis ....Wearable displays for high-tempo work in mission-critical worlds. This project aims to investigate how effectively head-worn display technology can support mobile work in complex high-tempo environments where workers must complete tasks quickly, handle competing demands, and manage interruptions. The project will draw on field investigations to specify functions and formats for head-worn displays, and will conduct laboratory and simulation studies to test the relative advantages of head-worn displays versus tablet computers. Work environments benefitting from the project should include emergency response, triage, defence, and field service industries.Read moreRead less
Perceiving and misperceiving the causes of optical structure. This project aims to understand the conditions that cause humans to misperceive the shape and surface properties of real-world materials. Most natural materials are translucent to varying degrees, but little is known about how light is transported through them or how such materials are perceived or misperceived. This project will determine the conditions and causes responsible for the misperception of material properties and shape, an ....Perceiving and misperceiving the causes of optical structure. This project aims to understand the conditions that cause humans to misperceive the shape and surface properties of real-world materials. Most natural materials are translucent to varying degrees, but little is known about how light is transported through them or how such materials are perceived or misperceived. This project will determine the conditions and causes responsible for the misperception of material properties and shape, and will offer practical information about what can be done to minimise such misperceptions. The outcomes of the project are expected to lead to new techniques for depicting and manipulating real-world translucent materials in computer graphics, virtual reality, and gaming industries.Read moreRead less
Attention and hazard perception while driving: how experts see the scene. All drivers have 'drifted-off' or failed to see something that was clearly in view, yet trained expert drivers appear to rarely experience this. This project aims to understand in both 'normal' drivers and expert drivers, attentional mechanisms that control distraction and the perception of hazards, which is critical to road safety and young driver training.
Neural origins of conscious perception in no-report paradigms. This project aims to test two highly influential theories of consciousness. The project will be the first to test critical experimental conditions, where neural activities are recorded in humans and novel measures of causality are computed, which allows us to distinguish the two theories. The intended outcomes will provide significant benefits by bringing us closer to solve the mind-body problem. These outcomes can contribute to the ....Neural origins of conscious perception in no-report paradigms. This project aims to test two highly influential theories of consciousness. The project will be the first to test critical experimental conditions, where neural activities are recorded in humans and novel measures of causality are computed, which allows us to distinguish the two theories. The intended outcomes will provide significant benefits by bringing us closer to solve the mind-body problem. These outcomes can contribute to the development of engineering and clinical devices that utilise objective measures of consciousness.Read moreRead less