Sustainability in infrastructure asset management

The expectation to integrate sustainability aspects (social, environmental, and economic success) into the design, delivery, and operation of infrastructure assets is growing rapidly and globally. There are now several tools and frameworks available to benchmark and measure sustainable performance of infrastructure projects and assets. This paper briefly describes the infrastructure sustainability (IS) rating tool developed by the Australian Green Infrastructure Council (AGIC) that was launched in February 2012. This tool evaluates sustainability initiatives and potential environmental, social, and economic impacts of infrastructure projects and assets. The rating tool provides the following benefits to industry: a common national language for sustainability; a vehicle for consistent application and evaluation of sustainability in tendering processes; assists in scoping whole-of-life sustainability risks, enabling smarter solutions that reduce risks and costs; fosters resource efficiency and waste reduction, reducing costs; fosters innovation and continuous improvement in sustainability outcomes; and builds an organization’s credentials and reputation in its approach to sustainability. The infrastructure types covered by this tool include transport, energy, water, and communication. The key themes of sustainability evaluation will be briefly presented in this paper, and they include management and governance; use of resources; emissions, pollution, and waste; ecology; people and place; and innovation.

Fuzzy-DL perception for multi-robot systems

For future planetary robot missions, multi-robot-systems can be considered as a suitable platform to perform space mission faster and more reliable. In heterogeneous robot teams, each robot can have different abilities and sensor equipment. In this paper we describe a lunar demonstration scenario where a team of mobile robots explores an unknown area and identifies a set of objects belonging to a lunar infrastructure. Our robot team consists of two exploring scout robots and a mobile manipulator. The mission goal is to locate the objects within a certain area, to identify the objects, and to transport the objects to a base station. The robots have a different sensor setup and different capabilities. In order to classify parts of the lunar infrastructure, the robots have to share the knowledge about the objects. Based on the different sensing capabilities, several information modalities have to be shared and combined by the robots. In this work we propose an approach using spatial features and a fuzzy logic based reasoning for distributed object classification.

A technique for analysing GOOSE packets when testing relays in an IEC 61850-8-1 environment

While the implementation of the IEC 61850 standard has significantly enhanced the performance of communications in electrical substations, it has also increased the complexity of the system. Subsequently, these added elaborations have introduced new challenges in relation to the skills and tools required for the design, test and maintenance of 61850-compatible substations. This paper describes a practical experience of testing a protection relay using a non-conventional test equipment; in addition, it proposes a third party software technique to reveal the contents of the packets transferred on the substation network. Using this approach, the standard objects can be linked and interpreted to what the end-users normally see in the IED and test equipment proprietary software programs.

The good, the bad, and the efficient: Productivity, efficiency, and technical change in the airline industry, 2004–11

This study models the joint production of desirable and undesirable output production (that is, CO2 emissions) of airlines. The Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index is employed to measure productivity growth when undesirable output production is incorporated into the production model. The results show that pollution abatement activities of airlines lowers productivity growth, which suggests that the traditional approach of measuring productivity growth, which ignores CO2 emissions, overstates ‘true’ productivity growth. The reliability of the results is also tested and verified using confidence intervals based on bootstrapping.

Fractional models in space for diffusive processes in heterogeneous media with applications in cell motility and electrical signal propagation

This work addresses fundamental issues in the mathematical modelling of the diffusive motion of particles in biological and physiological settings. New mathematical results are proved and implemented in computer models for the colonisation of the embryonic gut by neural cells and the propagation of electrical waves in the heart, offering new insights into the relationships between structure and function. In particular, the thesis focuses on the use of non-local differential operators of non-integer order to capture the main features of diffusion processes occurring in complex spatial structures characterised by high levels of heterogeneity.

Submission to Communications Alliance Industry Code: Copyright Notice Scheme

In making this submission, we suggest that Australia learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions, and avoid some of the mistakes that have been made. In particular, this involves: * Ensuring that adequate information is available to evaluate the success of the scheme * Ensuring that notices sent to consumers provide full and accurate information that helps them understand their rights and options * Limiting the potential abuse of the system, and particularly attempts to intimidate consumers into paying unfair penalties through ‘speculative invoicing’ * Avoiding the potential for actual or perceived bias in the scheme’s oversight body

A coordinated voltage control approach for coordination of OLTC, voltage regulator, and DG to regulate voltage in a distribution feeder

Integration of small-scale electricity generators, known as distributed generation (DG), into the distribution networks has become increasingly popular at the present. This tendency together with the falling price of the synchronous-type generator has potential to give DG a better chance at participating in the voltage regulation process together with other devices already available in the system. The voltage control issue turns out to be a very challenging problem for the distribution engineers since existing control coordination schemes would need to be reconsidered to take into account the DG operation. In this paper, we propose a control coordination technique, which is able to utilize the ability of DG as a voltage regulator and, at the same time, minimize interaction with other active devices, such as an on-load tap changing transformer and a voltage regulator. The technique has been developed based on the concept of control zone, line drop compensation, dead band, as well as the choice of controllers' parameters. Simulations carried out on an Australian system show that the technique is suitable and flexible for any system with multiple regulating devices including DG.

From ImageNet to mining: Adapting visual object detection with minimal supervision

This paper presents visual detection and classification of light vehicles and personnel on a mine site.We capitalise on the rapid advances of ConvNet based object recognition but highlight that a naive black box approach results in a significant number of false positives. In particular, the lack of domain specific training data and the unique landscape in a mine site causes a high rate of errors. We exploit the abundance of background-only images to train a k-means classifier to complement the ConvNet. Furthermore, localisation of objects of interest and a reduction in computation is enabled through region proposals. Our system is tested on over 10km of real mine site data and we were able to detect both light vehicles and personnel. We show that the introduction of our background model can reduce the false positive rate by an order of magnitude.

How the energy sector could get it wrong with cloud computing

Cloud computing has significantly impacted a broad range of industries, but these technologies and services have been absorbed throughout the marketplace unevenly. Some industries have moved aggressively towards cloud computing, while others have moved much more slowly. For the most part, the energy sector has approached cloud computing in a measured and cautious way, with progress often in the form of private cloud solutions rather than public ones, or hybridized information technology systems that combine cloud and existing non-cloud architectures. By moving towards cloud computing in a very slow and tentative way, however, the energy industry may prevent itself from reaping the full benefit that a more complete migration to the public cloud has brought about in several other industries. This short communication is accordingly intended to offer a high-level overview of cloud computing, and to put forward the argument that the energy sector should make a more complete migration to the public cloud in order to unlock the major system-wide efficiencies that cloud computing can provide. Also, assets within the energy sector should be designed with as much modularity and flexibility as possible so that they are not locked out of cloud-friendly options in the future.

Fuzzy-logic based frequency controller for wind farms augmented with energy storage systems

Displacement of conventional synchronous generators by non-inertial units such as wind or solar generators will result in reduced-system inertia affecting under-frequency response. Frequency control is important to avoid equipment damage, load shedding, and possible blackouts. Wind generators along with energy storage systems can be used to improve the frequency response of low-inertia power system. This paper proposes a fuzzy-logic based frequency controller (FFC) for wind farms augmented with energy storage systems (wind-storage system) to improve the primary frequency response in future low-inertia hybrid power system. The proposed controller provides bidirectional real power injection using system frequency deviations and rate of change of frequency (RoCoF). Moreover, FFC ensures optimal use of energy from wind farms and storage units by eliminating the inflexible de-loading of wind energy and minimizing the required storage capacity. The efficacy of the proposed FFC is verified on the low-inertia hybrid power system.

Information Security and Privacy : Proceedings of the 9th Australasian Conference, ACISP 2004, Sydney, Australia, July 13-15, 2004.

Preface The 9th Australasian Conference on Information Security and Privacy (ACISP 2004) was held in Sydney, 13–15 July, 2004. The conference was sponsored by the Centre for Advanced Computing – Algorithms and Cryptography (ACAC), Information and Networked Security Systems Research (INSS), Macquarie University and the Australian Computer Society. The aims of the conference are to bring together researchers and practitioners working in areas of information security and privacy from universities, industry and government sectors. The conference program covered a range of aspects including cryptography, cryptanalysis, systems and network security. The program committee accepted 41 papers from 195 submissions. The reviewing process took six weeks and each paper was carefully evaluated by at least three members of the program committee. We appreciate the hard work of the members of the program committee and external referees who gave many hours of their valuable time. Of the accepted papers, there were nine from Korea, six from Australia, five each from Japan and the USA, three each from China and Singapore, two each from Canada and Switzerland, and one each from Belgium, France, Germany, Taiwan, The Netherlands and the UK. All the authors, whether or not their papers were accepted, made valued contributions to the conference. In addition to the contributed papers, Dr Arjen Lenstra gave an invited talk, entitled Likely and Unlikely Progress in Factoring. This year the program committee introduced the Best Student Paper Award. The winner of the prize for the Best Student Paper was Yan-Cheng Chang from Harvard University for his paper Single Database Private Information Retrieval with Logarithmic Communication. We would like to thank all the people involved in organizing this conference. In particular we would like to thank members of the organizing committee for their time and efforts, Andrina Brennan, Vijayakrishnan Pasupathinathan, Hartono Kurnio, Cecily Lenton, and members from ACAC and INSS.

Employability skills: Perspectives from a knowledge-intensive industry

Purpose: While the global education debate remains focused on graduate skills and employability, the absence of a shared language between student, academic and industry stakeholder groups means that defining industry skills requirements is both essential and difficult. The aim of this study was to assess graduate skills requirements in a knowledge intensive industry from a demand perspective as distinct from a curriculum (supply) viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach: Skills items were derived from a breadth of disciplines across academic, policy and industry literature. CEOs and senior managers in the innovation and commercialisation industry were surveyed regarding perceptions of skills in graduates and skills in demand by the firm. Two rounds of exploratory factor analyses were undertaken to examine employers’ perceptions of the skills gap. Findings: First order analysis resolved 10 broad constructs that represent cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal skills domains as applied in this industry. Knowledge, leadership and interprofessional collaboration feature as prominent skills. Second order analysis revealed employers’ perceptions of graduate skills specifically centre on organisational fit and organisational success. An over-arching theme relates to performance of the individual in organisations. Research limitations/implications: Our findings suggest that the discourse on employability and the design of curriculum need to shift from instilling lists of skills towards enabling graduates to perform in a diversity of workplace contexts and expectations centred on organisational purpose. Originality/value: In contrast to the heterogeneous nature of industry surveys, we targeted a homogenous sector that is representative of knowledge intensive industries. This study contributes to the broader stakeholder dialogue of the value and application of graduate skills in this and other industry sectors.

A LIN inspired optical bus for signal isolation in multilevel or modular power electronic converters

Proposed in this paper is a low-cost, half-duplex optical communication bus for control signal isolation in modular or multilevel power electronic converters. The concept is inspired by the Local Interconnect Network (LIN) serial network protocol as used in the automotive industry. The proposed communications bus utilises readily available optical transceivers and is suitable for use with low-cost microcontrollers for distributed control of multilevel converters. As a signal isolation concept, the proposed optical bus enables very high cell count modular multilevel cascaded converters (MMCCs) for high-bandwidth, high-voltage and high-power applications. Prototype hardware is developed and the optical bus concept is validated experimentally in a 33-level MMCC converter operating at 120 Vrms and 60 Hz.

An Intelligent Driver Warning System

This chapter is focussed on the research and development of an intelligent driver warning system (IDWS) as a means to improve road safety and driving comfort. Two independent IDWS case studies are presented. The first study examines the methodology and implementation for attentive visual tracking and trajectory estimation for dynamic scene segmentation problems. In the second case study, the concept of driver modelling is evaluated which can be used to provide useful feedback to drivers. In both case studies, the quality of IDWS is largely determined by the modelling capability for estimating multiple vehicle trajectories and modelling driving behaviour. A class of modelling techniques based on neural-fuzzy systems, which exhibits provable learning and modelling capability, is proposed. For complex modelling problems where the curse of dimensionality becomes an issue, a network construction algorithm based on Adaptive Spline Modelling of Observation Data (ASMOD) is also proposed.