Technology improves network management

An Australian research team has achieved a breakthrough in the control of complex networks, in applications ranging from defence radar networks to water supply management.

Known as data fusion, the new technology uses sophisticated mathematics to analyse the vast flow of data collected by a network of sensor device, check its accuracy, correct possible errors in the network and then present the information so that operators can make good decisions.

Team leader Professor Iven Mareels from the CRC for Sensor Signal and Information Processing (CSSIP) says the technology can equally be developed to: focus scarce resources on the most critical tasks in a bushfire situation; help nurses and doctors to prioritise and manage the most urgent tasks in a casualty or intensive care ward; improve battlefield awareness and control for military commanders an individual soldiers; or improve the management of a gas networks delivering energy to homes and industry.

"Until recently, if you were operating a network of sensors all reporting different things, you were at risk of drowning in data - and you often had no way of checking how reliable it was. This made if very difficult to take the right management decisions," Professor Mareels explains.

"We have developed a system that can not only compute a result from a network of different sensors - but also indicate its reliability. From this you can create a network that is 'self aware' and automatically repairs itself. This will then present recommendations or options for action to the operator."

Seven years of research with the Australian defence forces has led to a self-aware radar network which is smarter and able to get more out of its detection capabilities.

"Basically, we help the radar operator allocate the various technical resources to get the best result. Without this, present radar technology is underexploited because the sheer complexity of the choices faced by a human operator."

Besides helping to safeguard Australia, CSSIPs data fusion technology is now entering its third year of trials in running a major irrigation networks in northern Victoria. It keeps watch over 300 km of gates and channels to ensure farmers receive water when their crops need it and helps save some of the 30% of water that was previously being lost.

Traditional sensors reported only on flow rates and water levels, but real time measurements are now available on several aspects of water quality - things like salinity, turbidity and pollution - as well as farm demand. Again this presents the manager with a huge computational task to make the right decision. Data fusion technology balance out the information corrects errors and presents the options in a flash.

The Chief Executive of CSSIP, Professor Matthew Cuthbertson says the technology is delivering against the nation's major research priorities - safeguarding Australia, sustainability and transforming industry.