Tracking algorithms win Eureka Prize

Prof Robert Clark, Australia’s chief defence scientist, presented the $10,000 (£5,700) prize to the research team from the university’s School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering during an awards ceremony in Sydney this week.

Profs Ba-Ngu Vo, working with Profs Ba-Tuong Vo and Antonio Cantoni, has developed a new family of algorithms for tracking multiple targets - algorithms that can handle multiple objects of interest while using less demanding computing power than traditional tracking methods.

’The innovative work of Prof Vo and his team could have many benefits in defence. This includes an improved identification capability at longer ranges, including in hazardous urban environments and for the protection of ships, aircraft and vehicles,’ Prof Clark said.

Civilian applications that could benefit include traffic management systems, the monitoring of crowd behaviour, sports analysis, remote sensing and biomedical research.