Projets novateurs réalisés

Designing and testing an in-vehicle tutoring system to improve drivers’ understanding of driving automation

A wide range of automated driving features now exist in modern vehicles, providing collision avoidance, lane keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, parking assist, etc. There are considerable concerns that drivers do not have an appropriate understanding of the system functionality, and are therefore either not using the features, or using them in an inappropriate (and potentially unsafe) way. The research project is being conducted at the University of Nottingham in collaboration with a car company and will investigate the potential for an in-vehicle tutoring system that would explain automated driving features before, during, and after use of the vehicle, with the goal of promoting safer use of automated driving technology.

CAN-BIND12: Effects of Probiotics on Symptoms of Depression (EPSD)

This study will look at changes in the heart rate variability and electroencephalogram (EEG) signals in individuals receiving gut supplementation for depression. This is to see if the vagus nerve (a major nerve connecting your brain and gut) is affected by this therapeutic, and how that results in changes in your brain. This work will provide insight into the mechanism of action for these supplements and contribute to a great understanding of major depressive disorder and possible avenues for advancement in the realm of gut microbiome targeting MDD treatments. This will be beneficial for the partner organization as they will gain a better understanding of how their therapeutic works, and possible ideas for how they can improve its efficacy in the future.

Towards quantum?encoded optical communications over existing fiber networks

Two fundamental pillars of communications/communications networks are trust and truth; in particular, we must ensure that the message (or data) that a sender wishes to transmit does indeed reach the intended receiver without being altered or eavesdropped by an unwanted party. This project focuses on demonstrating one concept of the quantum internet. The quantum internet is not based on quantum communications per se, but rather considers exploiting quantum principles for encoding and decoding data transmitted over existing fiber networks as a means for obtaining secure transmission. Quantum encoding is thus used as a means of implementing optical steganography for hiding the transmitted data. If successful, the proof?of?principle demonstrations will provide a pathway for developing a quantum internet, which will provide secure data transmission in the telecommunication infrastructures that form the backbone of smart cities, industries, and economies.

Design of a highly integrated ultrasonic piezoelectric controller

While touch screens have become the de facto user interface for cell phones, they do not provide any mechanical feedback to the user, unlike standard keyboards and computer mouse where we can feel the buttons springing back against our fingers. This, however, could be replicated through haptic technology, which can mimic various sensations through smooth surfaces (touch screen or phone case). For example, a haptic device can simulate the sensation of pressing a button. On the other hand, haptic devices must be very compact and low power to be meaningful towards real-world applications such as in a smart phone. Boreas Technologies (Bromont, Canada) is a Canadian startup company that has developed very small and dense controllers for haptic devices with basic behaviours, such as mimicking a button. Their solution uses a low frequency controller (300 Hz) that is four times smaller than the closest competition, and requires ten times less power to run, making it especially compatible with the consumer market.

Separating Syntax and Semantics for Semantic Parsing

Study of language disorders, theoretical linguistics, and neuroscience suggests language competence involves two interacting systems, typically dubbed syntax and semantics. However few state-of-the-art deep-learning approaches for natural language processing explicitly model two different systems of representation. While achieving impressive performance on linguistic tasks, they commonly fail to generalize systematically. For example, unlike humans, learning a new verb like jump in isolation is insufficient for models to combine it with known words (like jump twice or jump and run). We continue the line of investigation recently started by Russin et al, whereby deep learning models are encouraged to learn separate representations for syntactic and semantic aspects of the input. Our goal is to achieve better systematic generalization on the task of semantic parsing, which requires transforming natural language utterances into executable programs. Building better models of semantic parsing is of high practical importance as they enable many important applications, such as e.g. natural language interfaces to databases.

Integrating state-of-the-art sustainable design with heritage conservation through an online information system

Although ambitious climate change laws are encouraging the sustainable retrofits required to meet carbon emissions reductions targets, a lack of understanding of the synergies between sustainability and preservation often results in interventions which adversely impact heritage values or are less effective than they could have been. Interns will work with MTBA Associates, Inc. to gather, analyze, distill information on industry best practices in sustainable rehabilitation and disseminate this via the “Online Sustainable Conservation Assistance Resource” (OSCAR) -an innovative information system to improve the sustainable performance and resilience of heritage buildings in a way which is appropriate for its heritage values, construction and climate. Interns will conduct applied research with MTBA to test the effectiveness of OSCAR on real-world architecture and engineering projects while contributing to the work of the firms. Topics of investigation include repair and sustainability upgrades to concrete building components.

Maintaining cell wall integrity in Gram-Negative Bacteria

Pathogenic bacteria have the potential to devastate humanity, and without antibiotics (which are failing), we face a humanitarian crisis. The bacterial cell wall is a principle target of antibiotics, and its understanding is essential to preventing an antibiotic crisis. Our hypothesis is that the process of cell wall peptidoglycan and outer membrane biogenesis must be linked and is important for antibiotic resistance. Warwick scientists have established a collaboration with Professor Lori Burrows at McMaster University in Canada who has the specialist genetic tools and facilities to enable us to explore this hypothesis in P. aeuginosa, one of the most important Gram-Negative pathogens.
This will establish at a molecular level how these processes are linked and what proteins may be involved. Knowledge gained in this collaboration could be of fundamental biological importance as well as the basis upon which future antimicrobial strategies that target the two processes in parallel.

Bootstrapping Yield Curves

Financial market’s stability depends on the accurate pricing of financial products traded in the
market. This makes accurate pricing of products a top priority for the banks and financial
instruments. Inaccurate prices can lead to instability in the market and formation of bubbles.
This leads into market crashes such as the 2008 crash where the housing prices bubble
caused the market crash. This project’s aim is to develop a tool for the bank to price financial
products. This tool will provide the information required for pricing a product. This tool uses
the available products in the market to obtain the structure and information required for
pricing a product. Moreover, this tool will allow the bank to study the discrepancies in the
prices of products available in the market.

Advanced photogrammetric data capture and data analysis for improved rehabilitation planning and infrastructure spending

This project will evaluate methods of capturing images in underground hydroelectric facilities for the purpose of generating 3D models to be used for inspection. These facilitates are very dark, wet, and large with complicated geometries. Capturing images in these environments suitable for 3D modelling is challenging and, in some cases, not possible with current technology. Methods of analysing the 3D models, as well as automating the analyses, will also be investigated. Current methods of analysis are labour intensive and lack concise metrics to describe condition. The results of this research will help infrastructure owners optimize infrastructure spending and provide the partner organization with new knowledge and tools that will give it a competitive advantage in the industry. This project will also provide the building blocks for future research

Community dynamics in restored salt marshes

Salt marshes are important coastal ecosystems that provide many services. Due to their high soil fertility, they have a long history of being converted to farmland. There is now growing interest in restoring salt marshes to protect against coastal erosion, mitigate sea level rise, and provide increased habitat for birds, fish, etc. Ducks Unlimited Canada and partners initiated a large salt marsh restoration project in 2009-2010 in Aulac, NB, Canada, and are planning new restoration initiatives, with goals of reverting farmland and freshwater impoundments to salt marsh, and assessing effectiveness of restoration methods. The intern will quantify patterns and rates of restoration of biological communities, at a critical point in the restoration process when the foundational plant species has spread throughout the restoration sites, other halophytic plants are starting to colonize the sites, and the old protective dike has eroded, leaving the young marshes to face stronger erosional forces. This process needs to be fully understood for our region where winter disturbance is substantial, because dike removal and associated shoreline management are becoming more common in Maritime Canada, largely due to the high costs associated with dike maintenance. The project’s information will help determine best management

Investigating the effect of the Virtual Meditative Walk on brain in chronic pain conditions: A longitudinal fMRI study – Year two

The Virtual Meditative Walk (VMW) (1) is a well-developed therapeutic protocol that can be used alone or in combination with the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction techniques in an Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) environment. It has been shown to be effective in reducing pain levels in patients with chronic pain (CP); however, little is known about how IVRs such as VMW may affect pain processing networks in the brain. During this post-doctorate position, a longitudinal neuroimaging clinical trial will be designed and implemented to explore alterations in the brain after a course of the VMW in CP patients.

Methods. Patients with CP will be recruited and randomly assigned to one of the VMW or MBSR based WMV groups. Initially, pain levels and resting-state and task-based functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data will be acquired. Participants will then receive twelve 20-minute therapeutic sessions, three per week; post-scans and pain levels will thereafter be acquired. Following a three-month post-study period, patients’ pain levels will be acquired again.

Benefits the partner. These findings may provide a neuroscientific explanation for analgesic effects of IVR therapy and support the Easa Therapeutics to provide better services to patients and develop more specialized VR protocols for chronic pain conditions.

Investigating the effect of the Virtual Meditative Walk on brain in chronic pain conditions: A longitudinal fMRI study

The Virtual Meditative Walk (VMW) (1) is a well-developed therapeutic protocol that can be used alone or in combination with the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction techniques in an Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) environment. It has been shown to be effective in reducing pain levels in patients with chronic pain (CP); however, little is known about how IVRs such as VMW may affect pain processing networks in the brain. During this post-doctorate position, a longitudinal neuroimaging clinical trial will be designed and implemented to explore alterations in the brain after a course of the VMW in CP patients.

Methods. Patients with CP will be recruited and randomly assigned to one of the VMW or MBSR based WMV groups. Initially, pain levels and resting-state and task-based functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data will be acquired. Participants will then receive twelve 20-minute therapeutic sessions, three per week; post-scans and pain levels will thereafter be acquired. Following a three-month post-study period, patients’ pain levels will be acquired again.

Benefits the partner. These findings may provide a neuroscientific explanation for analgesic effects of IVR therapy and support the Easa Therapeutics to provide better services to patients and develop more specialized VR protocols for chronic pain conditions.