Student topics

This PhD aims to investigate methods for enabling robots to intelligently move their perception systems to improve their view of a target object. Typically, robots capture images of their environment and then decide how to act: grasping an item, move to a location etc... However, sometimes it is necessary for a robot to gather more information in order to make a better decision. How can a robot decide on where to move its sensors (i.e. camera) such that it learns …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics

Robot manipulator arms are increasingly used for logistics applications.  These typically require robots to run at the limits of their performance: motor torque and motor velocity.  Added challenges include significant payloads (if we are schlepping heavy parcels) with apriori unknown mass, the possibility of boxes detaching from the gripper under high acceleration, and fixed obstacles in the workspace.  How can we determine the limits to performance, quickly identify the payload mass, then plan the fastest path to get from A to B.

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics

Much like driving cars on our roads, there are rules around driving maritime systems (boats) on waterways regarding where you can drive and how to avoid and behave in potential collision situations.In this project, you'll explore and develop state-of-the-art perception and decision support solutions to allow robotic surface vessels (robot boats) to safely travel complex waterways in and around other human-driven vessels. This will involve diving deep into vision and laser-based sensor processing and fusion algorithms, as well as robust …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics

Underwater robotic systems have been in use for several decades. In recent years, various groups have been adding manipulators and other payloads to increase their utility. The next frontier is to have human divers and robotic system collaborate safely and productively in the same space to jointly complete complex tasks. In this project, you'll explore gesture-based interaction to allow a diver and underwater robotic system to collaborate to complete various tasks. This will involve exploring vision processing and fusion algorithms, …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics

The Australian Census collects data every ten years to reflect who we are as a nation. But the data collected by the Census only tells part of our story.Indigenous people lived in Australia for thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers, accumulating a wealth of knowledge about Australia's land, climate, flora and fauna. Researchers have only begun tapping this knowledge as the basis for modern scientific research.This project will combine machine learning and text-analytics tools to develop a …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Mathematical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Data Science

Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are one of the fatal diseases of the lungs that have severe impacts on public health, especially for Indigenous people. The currently available antibiotics administered orally for the treatment of LRTIs need high doses with frequent administration and cause dose-related adverse effects. To overcome this problem, we will investigate the development of ciprofloxacin (CIP) loaded poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) nanoparticles (NPs) with traces of zinc for potential pulmonary delivery from dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations. As zinc …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Clinical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Immunology and Infection Control

For a government to operate efficiently, the trust of its constituents, as well as the global community, is considered to be of substantial importance. A lack of trust could impair the government’s ability to effectively manage and fund its operations from collecting taxes and external investment. However, further research is required to understand the underlying trust mechanisms and their influence on governments’ performance. To address this research gap, the project will examine how trust in government is determined, evaluate how …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Accountancy

Research centre(s)

Centre for Future Enterprise

Cape Bionics has its foundations in the aerospace industry in the design of compression suits worn by astronauts on the international space station. The research which underpinned the design of these space suits has now been applied to sport as a means of improving performance and recovery in elite athletes.For compression garments to be effective they must fit perfectly and apply specific pressure regimes. Cape Bionics use technology from the medical and aerospace industry to provide custom fit compression garments …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Biomedical Sciences

International trade is heavily reliant on maritime transportation which constitutes 80% of total volume. Ports have a significant impact on the efficiency of maritime transportation, with significant delays to vessels observed in accessing or departing ports. These delays can be a result of constraints on wharf capacity, channel capacity, access to tugs and pilots, or a combination of these factors. This project will focus on the development of novel operations research techniques to optimise the efficiency of scheduling vessel movements …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Mathematical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Data Science

In today’s highly dynamic markets, companies seek to increase customer trust to gain a competitive advantage based on aspects such as customer engagement, retention, advocacy, and pricing. However, while a large body of trust research exists, little is known regarding the operative return on trust.The project explores these trust economics to quantify the impact of trust gains to guide organisations and utilise their resources more effectively. In this context, trust-related key performance indicators have to be identified to explore their …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Accountancy

Research centre(s)

Centre for Future Enterprise

Measuring visual acuity is in preschool children is challenging. In particular, young children will be prone to making mistakes in identifying symbols on eye charts, even when they can see what those symbols are, so called “false negative responses”.This project uses an established vision assessment protocol, EVA testing, and assesses the extent of false negative responses in this task. The protocol assesses the effects of an intervention, pointing to the target on a card, which may decrease false negative responses. …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Clinical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Vision and Eye Research

Complex manufacturing environments characterised by high value and high product mix manufacturing processes pose challenges to Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC). Allowing people to see what robots are ‘thinking’ will allow workers to efficiently collaborate with co-located robotic partners. A tighter integration of work routines requires improved approaches to support awareness in human-robotic co-working spaces. There is a need for solutions that also let people see what the robot is intending to do so that they can also efficiently adjust their actions …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice

School

School of Design

Research centre(s)

Design Lab