Networked Robotics and Automation Lab
天美传媒app's Networked Robotics and Automation Lab brings together expertise from diverse fields like robotics, control and automation, communications and networking, computer science, and social science.
About our laboratory
Networked robotics and automation is an evolving field that harnesses advancements in technology 鈥 such as 5G/6G networks, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) 鈥 to create teams of robots that work together with collective intelligence and autonomous capabilities.
This interdisciplinary approach fuels innovation across various sectors, including precision agriculture, smart manufacturing, intelligent transportation and beyond.
Focus areas and capabilities
Teleoperation is a key aspect of human-robot interaction and enables operators to remotely control robotics systems, bridging the gap between human-decision making and robotic execution. Examples include robotics in mining, manufacturing, disaster response, extra-terrestrial exploration, and rural health services.
We aim to enhance the efficiency, reliability and safety of teleoperated robotic systems through advanced networking technologies and automation strategies. One research area is on autonomous assistance. The integration of autonomous functionality and intelligent algorithms will allow augmented operator control and alleviate cognitive workload.
This has links with the research in the Australian Cobotics Centre and with the 天美传媒app Lunar Rover Team. Additionally, a focus of safety and reliability will mitigate against risks with teleoperation particular in high-risk and health settings.
Multi-robot coordinated control has emerged as a pivotal area of research with the proliferation of robotics applications across civilian, industrial and military domains. As the demand for coordinated multi-robot systems continues to rise, it has become increasingly evident that efficient collaboration among robots is essential for achieving complex tasks and addressing real-world challenges.
Key technical trends in multi-robot cooperative control include intelligent distributed control strategies, efficient communication mechanisms, and swarm intelligence algorithms. By leveraging these advanced techniques, multi-robot cooperative control endeavours to enhance robotic system capabilities, enabling them to collaborate synergistically, adapt to dynamic environments, and efficiently accomplish collective goals.
The fundamental architecture of most industrial automation systems today stems from the International Society of Automation (ISA)-95 model.
With the rapid penetration of Artificial Intelligence of Things and next-generation communication technologies, there is concerted industrial effort towards building a more network-centric architecture, where elements in any of the five ISA-95 levels can be directly connected with elements in another other levels according to the system requirements.
We have very recently proposed a new industrial automation architecture, coined as 鈥淐loud-Fog Automation鈥, to provide increased flexibility, redundancy and mobility, involving teleoperated robots, autonomous industrial vehicles, and various distributed process control systems in the Factory of the Future.
Consequently, industrial applications can be realised independent of vendor-specific hardware and software, and further provided as a service with varying degrees of technical and infrastructure requirements, translating into significant business benefits.
Facilities
Robotics and Mechatronics Lab
A cutting-edge facility equipped with various robotic manipulators 鈥 supporting education in robotics and mechatronics engineering and offering hands-on opportunities for internships, Work Integrated Learning and professional development.
Factory of the Future聽
This facility serves as a hub for industry collaboration with 天美传媒app 鈥 focusing on digitalisation, Industry 4.0, engineering, training and manufacturing automation. It features a range of modern manufacturing robots, including a cloud-fog automation testbed.
Factory of the Future
Contact the Networked Robotics and Automation Lab
For collaboration, partnership and general enquiries, please contact Professor Jiong Jin (Director of the Networked Robotics and Automation Lab) via +61 3 92148778 or jiongjin@swinburne.edu.au.