University of Technology, Sydney researchers working in the fields of optical telecommunications and robotics are key collaborators in two of eight new research Centres of Excellence announced recently by the Federal Government.

The Centres of Excellence have been selected by the Australian Research Council (ARC) to share in nearly $90 million over the next five years to undertake leading-edge research.

The two centres in which UTS is partner, both headed by the University of Sydney, are: The ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems, with a UTS team led by Professor Gamini Dissanayake of the Faculty of Engineering, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Ultrahigh-bandwith Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS), with a UTS team led by Professor Lindsay Botten of the Faculty of Science.

The optical systems centre will be working on the development of photonic chip technology, which will be a vital component in the next generation of optical telecommunications - making possible the handling of vast amounts of information at the speed of light.

"The transmission of data by light through fibre optic cables is well established, but the ever increasing demands for boosted capacity require an optical device to replace existing switching network technology, which is the potential bottleneck in the system," Professor Botten said.

"We're aiming to put the functionality of two-metre high racks of electronic devices onto a photonic chip less than a tenth of a millimetre wide - an outcome widely considered as the field's 'holy grail'."

Professor Botten is leader of the photonic crystal program and with the UTS team will be undertaking mathematical and high performance computational modelling for device design. The other CUDOS partners, besides the University of Sydney, are the Australian National University, Macquarie University and Swinburne University of Technology.

The autonomous systems centre brings together the existing ARC Key Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney, the Department of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales, and the Mechatronics and Intelligent Systems Group at UTS.

Working together, the teams will undertake innovative fundamental research and persuasive experimental demonstrations of complete autonomous systems, one focused on the built environment and the other a non-urban outdoor environment.

Professor Dissanayake said the UTS and University of NSW teams will concentrate on a target "indoor" application of developing autonomous systems to assist in aged care - producing devices such as robotic wheelchairs, walkers and carers.

"The fundamental aim is to advance research in the field, but we want to keep it grounded in reality and showcase the potential benefits to the community," Professor Dissanayake said.

"In five years we aim to produce outcomes that will promote the potential of autonomous systems in mining, industry, agriculture, defence and social applications and generate external funding to establish a vibrant new autonomous system industry in Australia."

UTS Pro Vice Chancellor (Research & Development), Professor Lesley Johnson, congratulated the UTS participants in the Centres of Excellence, saying their success was a tribute not only to their outstanding research skills but also to their work in building effective partnerships with other researchers.

"UTS is one of only eleven universities to be involved in successful bids, and one of only two post-1987 universities taking part," Professor Johnson said.

"The process of seeing through the bids was facilitated by the invaluable professional support of staff of the UTS Research and Development Office, led by Director Stephan Wellink."