Matthew Dunbabin
Senior Research Scientist
Contact
CSIRO ICT Centre
Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies (QCAT)
1 Technology Court
Pullenvale, QLD 4969
P.O. Box 883
Kenmore QLD 4069
Australia
Tel: + 61 7 3327 4754
Fax: + 61 7 3327 4455
Matthew.Dunbabin@csiro.au
Science Area
- Robotics
Biography
My primary interest is in the area of Field Robotics with particular emphasis on marine and mining robots. My formal training was in aerospace engineering and included aerodynamics, structural design, dynamic modelling and control systems. Following my undergraduate studies, I worked for a Melbourne based consultancy focusing on the numerical and experimental investigations of large road-train vehicles (up to 6 trailers) including operations, productivity and safety. During my PhD I focused on linear and nonlinear control system design through application to active vibration control of flexible structures.
I joined CSIRO in 2001 to work in the area of Mining Robotics. My primary research activities have been in the development and application of advanced robotic solutions to the control and performance enhancement of mining machines, specifically shovels and draglines. I was an original researcher on rope shovel automation working on fully autonomous digging and truck loading, and I have worked extensively with the dragline automation team on machine control achieving optimal path planning for improved swing performance, precision dumping and automated digging. I was also a primary researcher in the design and development of a high-performance stabilizer for airborne geophysics instruments.
Since 2003, I have been focusing on developing robotics for environmental management. I am one of only a few researchers in the world developing and deploying Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for operation in highly unstructured coral reef environments such as the Great Barrier Reef using vision as the primary sensor for navigation. My research has included novel AUV and component design, development of navigation and control strategies and field testing. I have also been heavily involved in the development of optical and acoustic underwater wireless sensor networks and the interaction of AUVs with these networks, as well cooperative robotics with various overseas researchers.
I am now currently a Team Leader focused on the development of novel robot and sensor network tools and methods for enabling Multiple Use Management of our coastal environment, as well as being a project leader for development of Smart Field Monitoring technologies for future off-shore oil and gas fields.
Recent Professional Experience
| 2009-Present | Team Leader, Sensor & Sensor Network Transformational Capability Platform |
| 2007-2009 | Stream Leader, Wealth from Oceans Flagship |
| 2003-Present | Project Leader, Autonomous Systems Laboratory, ICT Centre |
| 2001-Present | Senior Research Scientist, Autonomous Systems Laboratory, ICT Centre |
| 1998-2003 | Contract Lecturer and Tutor, School of Mechanical, Manufacturing and Medical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology |
| 1995-1998 | Project Engineer, Roaduser Research Pty Ltd |
Achievements & Awards
| 2006 | Australian Engineering Excellence Award, Engineers Australia (Starbug – Project Leader) |
| 2006 | Innovation award, Queensland Engineering Excellence Awards, Engineers Australia (Queensland Division) |
| 1998-2001 | Australian Postgraduate Award |
| 1998-2001 | Vice-chancellors Award |
| 1994 | Aerospace Technologies Australia Prize for Best Second Year Aerospace Student |
Science Citizenship
| 2007 | Co-chair: Australasian Conference on Robotics & Automation, Brisbane |
| 2006-Present | Treasurer: Australian Robotics & Automation Association |
| 2004-2006 | Secretary: Australian Robotics & Automation Association |
| 2001-Present | Member: Australian Robotics & Automation Association |
| 2003-Present | Program committee: Australasian Conference on Robotics and Automation |
| 2005 | Program committee: Robotics: Systems & Sciences Conference |
| Ongoing | Reviewer for various journals and conferences: IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA), Australasian Robotics & Automation Conference, International Conference on Field & Service Robotics (FSR), IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Journal of Mechatronics, Journal of Machine Theory, IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, Journal of Field Robotics. |
Top 10 Publications
| Publication details |
|---|
| Dunbabin, M. and Corke, P. "Autonomous excavation using a rope shovel", Journal of Field Robotics, vol 23 no. 6/7, pp. 379-394, 2006. |
| Dunbabin, M., Lang, B. and Wood, B. "Vision-based docking using an autonomous surface vehicle, Accepted International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA), May 2008. |
| Bengston, K. and Dunbabin, M. "Design & performance of networked ad-hoc acoustic communications systems using inexpensive commercial CDMA modems", Proc. IEEE OCEANS 2007, June 2007. |
| Dunbabin, M., Corke, P., Winstanley, G. and Roberts, J. "Off-world robotic excavation for large-scale habitat construction and resource extraction", In To Boldly Go Where No Human Robot Team has Gone Before: Papers from the 2006 Spring Symposium, ed. T. |
| Dunbabin, M., Corke, P., Vascilescu, I. and Rus, D. "Data muling over underwater wireless sensor networks using autonomous underwater vehicles", Proc. International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA), pp. 2091-2098, 2006. |
| Dunbabin, M., Roberts, J., Usher, K., Winstanley G. and Corke, P. "A hybrid AUV design for shallow water reef navigation", Proc. International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA), pp. 2117-2122, April 2005. |
| Dunbabin, M., Usher, K. and Corke, P. "Visual motion estimation for an autonomous underwater reef monitoring robot", Proc. International Conference on Field & Service Robotics (FSR) 2005, pp.57-68, Port Douglas Australia, 2005. |
| Dunbabin, M. Corke, P. and Buskey, G. "Low-cost vision-based AUV guidance system for reef navigation", Proc. International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA), pp. 7-12, April 2004. |
| Usher, K., Dunbabin, M., Corke, P., and Ridley, P. "Robust pose estimation for a car-like vehicle", Proc. International Conference on Robotics & Automation (ICRA), pp. 5129-5135, April 2004. |
| Dunbabin, M. and Tan, A.C.C. "Active control of structures subject to large temperature variations using piezoceramic actuators", JSME International Journal, Series C, vol 43, no. 3, pp.732-739, 2000. |