Intelligent Systems Research Lab
School of Engineering and Information Technology
Our Vision is to provide methodologies and tools to extend the capability of human decision makers and operators in the domain of infrastructure, security and defence, through increased autonomy of data collection, analysis and actuation. We develop semi-autonomous systems, described abstractly as those with the ability to perceive, reason and act, with either reduced or no human intervention, as illustrated in Figure 1.
Intelligent Systems interact with complex environments and must to overcome challenges such as dynamic and stochastic processes, large state spaces, imprecise information and latency.
The five research streams of the Intelligent Systems Research (ISR) Lab are:
o Robotics and Sensor Systems
Research in semi-autonomous mobile robotics, sensor systems, ad hoc networks, parallel kinematic robotics and signal processing, with applications to tactile reconnaissance, data collection, monitoring and surveillance and mobile tele-manipulation.
o Process Modelling and Analysis
Research in discrete event simulation, simulation-based optimisation, OR, stochastic / autonomous / distributed control, agent-based computing and visualisation, with applications to DEDS modelling, process optimisation, quality control and scheduling.
o Human Machine Interface
Research in haptics, telepresence, augmented reality, virtual reality, ergonomics, human motion modelling, multimedia and entertainment, with applications to remote operations, hazardous goods manipulation and task training (eg. medical, manufacturing).
o Bioinformatics
Research in data mining and knowledge discovery, machine learning, database integration and information visualization, with applications to drug development, biometric security and bio-sensors.
o E-Security and Reliability
Research in advanced database techniques, security protocols and authentication, with applications to applications and systems security, information security management and forensics, document authentication and security testing / assessment / risk analysis.
Each stream draws on aspects of the three core areas of ISR’s fundamental research:
o Modelling, optimisation and decision making for discrete event dynamic systems
o Data and signal processing (including encoding, decoding and data mining)
o Fault tolerant, stochastic, autonomous and distributed control
The team’s expertise is much broader than typical Intelligent System groups found in either Engineering or IT school. This enables real world solutions to be delivered, encompassing data collection, decision making, output action or visualisation and problem space investigation.
The strong synergies between the five research themes allow problems in a broad range of application domains, including manufacturing, power systems, transportation, defence and medicine, to be tackled.
