Leading Team: Kane Middleton

Professional sport is increasingly focussed on using technology to generate data which can be used to analyse, inform and improve coaching and performance, and mitigate the risk of injury in athletes. In baseball, there is a focus on pitching technique and pitcher movement, with coaches focussing on data points such as arm angle, shoulder rotation, arm speed, ball speed and ball rotation. But in order to base coaching, injury and performance interventions on data generated by technology, there needs to be absolute confidence that the data being generated is accurate, and that the investment in infrastructure and technologies is warranted. Since 2019, Kane Middleton has worked with the Boston Red Sox to evaluate and validate a range of motion capture technologies and wearable sensors, with testing at Fenway Park, La Trobe and at the Red Sox Player Development Complex in Fort Myers, Florida. Through Middleton’s research, the Red Sox are able to identify differences between technologies, as well as those data points which can be used to inform assessment and interventions with the most confidence. The Red Sox player development staff can then use these variables to develop training programs with the coaches. A current PhD project is looking at pitcher movement variability between pitches to identify where changes occur in the body, and what impact this has on performance and potential injury. Middleton has also served on Red Sox interview panels to recruit new sports scientists, and was employed by the Red Sox as a biomechanics consultant in 2022.

Read more about the research behind the impact

Leading Team: Wei Xiang

Launched in May 2023, CSIRO’s AquaWatch program monitors and forecasts water quality to give early warnings of harmful events such as toxic runoff and algal blooms. Data obtained from an extensive array of satellites and in-situ monitoring devices will be analysed for real-time water quality predictions using novel Artificial Intelligence algorithms developed by Prof. Wei Xiang’s team in the Cisco-LTU Centre for AI and Internet of Things, which is an Australian first specialising in the intersection of AI and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.

Chemical signatures in the water indicate the presence of contaminants. This AI-empowered early warning system informs actions that can be taken to protect the water supply, aquaculture industry, and surrounding ecosystems. Six monitoring sites chosen for the unique challenges they represent have so far been established in Australia, including container ports, recreational lakes, and the Great Barrier Reef. Five more sites are located internationally. By 2030, the intention is for AquaWatch to provide accessible, real-time water quality forecasts across Australia and locations worldwide.

Read coverage from 'Space Australia'

Leading Team: Kane Middleton, Jon Wheat, Danielle Vickery-Howe, Alex Roberts, Jemma Coleman, David Carey, Jack Bale, Luke Wilkins

Using live firing to train military personnel is costly and resource intensive, requiring a range, range time and ammunition, factors which can limit the amount of time available to soldiers to engage in this form of training. With a view to reducing costs and increasing opportunities to improve recruit marksmanship, the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) engaged La Trobe researcher Kane Middleton to evaluate and validate the use of the off the shelf MantisX sensor system. The sensor can be fitted onto a rifle and tracks barrel movement, trigger pull and weapon stability, then delivers a score and feedback for each shot to the shooter. A trial of the system started in April 2024 at Enoggera barracks in Brisbane, with baseline dry- and live-fire testing of three groups of soldiers – non-combat corps, combat corps and infantry. Following a training program using only dry firing and feedback from the MantisX system, shooters will be retested to see if their live firing has improved. Middleton’s trial is also looking at ‘perception-action coupling’, how soldiers take in and act on information during close quarter combat scenarios, to see if there is a certain way that expert shooters look and move which can then be identified and used to inform training practices to improve performance.

Read coverage of the trial

Leading Team: Alexander Stumpf, Adam Console

Vertical farms are an increasingly urgent solution needed for both space travel and optimisation of terrestrial resources. Gaia Project Australia have partnered with La Trobe University researchers to prototype a novel vertical farm system, the Intelligent Crop Cultivation Module (ICCM), which progresses plants from one level of the farm to another as they grow. This adaptive system follows plants’ natural growth cycles to increase the efficiency of the farm by up to 40%. In 2023, it was one of 11 international teams to win Phase 2 of NASA’s Space Food Challenge.

Read more about the project

Leading Team: Wei Xiang

The biggest challenge in the development of advanced digital technologies is the lack of real-life testbeds. Cisco have partnered with several universities globally, including La Trobe, to create “living labs” where innovative solutions can be piloted, tested and scaled. The digital technologies essential for living labs include Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, digital twins, machine learning, and high-speed networks able to handle large quantities of data. Outcomes include smart buildings able to regulate energy use and optimise efficiency.

As a proof-of-concept project, La Trobe used air quality and occupancy analytics derived from “Cisco Spaces” to facilitate a safe post-pandemic return to work. In 2023, La Trobe then collaborated with Cisco on a report detailing the requirements and possibilities of a living lab, conducive to establishing more living labs that will utilise a new generation of advanced network infrastructure.

Read the Smart Campus Living Lab report

Leading Team: Shuo Ding, Erik van Vulpen

The development of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), which enable communication between vehicles (V2V), infrastructure (V2I) and other road users (V2X) has the potential to significantly improve road safety and reduce issues such as congestion. However, in order to successfully achieve this, vehicle manufacturers in Australia need clear direction on the technologies and protocols that should be followed to ensure a consistent approach. Whilst there have been a number of trials of the two key short-range technologies currently competing in the market - DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Communication) and C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything) – a national approach for rollout in Australia has not been decided. With funding from iMove Australia, the Centre for Technology Infusion (CTI) at La Trobe is collaborating with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (DITRDCA) to develop a comparative assessment of C-ITS Technologies and international market standards and adoption which can be used by the Australian government as a baseline report to inform future decisions on national C-ITS deployment. The report has been delivered to the federal government, with the DITRDCA recognising La Trobe’s work in unpacking technical issues in the ‘presentation and discussion with States and Territories…which stands us in good stead for next steps on C-ITS’.

Read more about the research behind the impact

Leading Team: Damminda Alahakoon

SearchSpace GEO is a global register which introduces thousands of mining exploration sites to potential investors. Its focus is metals (mainly gold and copper, but also lithium, cobalt and zinc). To provide subscribers with additional data, La Trobe’s Centre for Data Analytics and Cognition (CDAC) have developed SearchSpace AI, which utilises natural language processing to analyse the relationships pertaining to each exploration site, for example existing investment trends. SearchSpace AI is now operational and successfully attracting investors to thousands of registered ventures. Its next phase, already commissioned by SearchSpace, will include data on carbon impact and carbon credits, enabling investors to factor sustainability as well as profitability into their decision-making.

Read more about the Centre for Data Analytics and Cognition

Leading Team: Brian Abbey and David Hoxley

Freely Accessible Remote Laboratories (FARLabs), which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2023, was founded by La Trobe University researchers Professor Brian Abbey and Dr David Hoxley. The goal of the government sponsored initiative is to provide a virtual laboratory network which allows school students to access the state-of-the-art facilities and world-class research of Australia’s Universities. In particular, FARLabs aims to engage schools and pupils from rural and regional communities, and those in low-socioeconomic status (SES) areas, where there are often increased barriers to hands on scientific and mathematical experimentation, including a lack of resources, equipment and expertise. FARLabs offers free, live, remote laboratory access to scientific equipment at La Trobe to enable students to complete scientific experiments based around the themes of Nuclear (students can measure radioactivity with Geiger counters), Structure (x-ray and 3D imaging), and Environment (water, weather and wind), and it remains the only program in Australia with an online interactive lab component. The FARLabs content is co-designed with teachers to ensure that it is curriculum aligned, and has achieved international reach with over 700 schools signed up across 20 different countries and numerous positive testimonials from teachers and pupils. With funding (2022 - 2023) from the Telematics Trust and the GHD foundation, the program has expanded to include the development of a space science e-virtual laboratory. Not only does this component allow regional and remote students in Australia to complete interactive lab experimentation through the FARLabs site, but – as a result of collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) – it also allows them to interact with partner schools in Japan to collaboratively engage with the science, and to practice and develop their Japanese language skills.

10 years of inspiring students into science