Our Projects
Projects
Our team works together and individually on projects that relate to our emerging technologies research programs, below is a snapshot of some of our most recent work.
Future grid homes
The Future Grid Homes project was funded by Energy Consumers Australia and involved qualitative research with energy sector professionals and Australian households who have experience of demand management and/or new energy technologies (e.g. solar PV, battery storage and electric vehicles). The aim of the project was to identify best practice engagement strategies, concepts and relationship models that will help the energy sector to deliver a reliable, affordable and sustainable future electricity system.
E-waste futures
As a response to the upcoming ban of all “e-waste” from landfill from 1 July 2019 by the Victorian Government, the Emerging Technologies Research Lab proposes a research project to collaborate with charities in developing their systems of processing “e-donations” in preparation for their transition towards the implementation of the ban.
Co-designing future smart urban mobility services
In partnership with: Halmstad University, Volvo Cars, City of Gothenburg, City of Helsingborg (Sweden). This project is part of the Drive Sweden Strategic Innovation Program funded by VINNOVA (the Swedish Innovation Agency), the Swedish Research Council Formas and the Swedish Energy Group. The project seeks to establish new ways of developing modern vehicles and smart cities for a sustainable social environment.
Design for wellbeing
The Design for Wellbeing Network is a international and interdisciplinary group of researchers who work across architecture, design, health technologies and social science. Focusing specifically on hospitals and other formal healthcare settings, the network aims to improve the understanding of how people experience these services and environments, and to work towards improvements in these experiences through rigorous qualitative and practice-based research.
Commemoration reframed
This international and interdisciplinary project investigated the experience of the commemoration of the end of the First World War centenary in 12 countries. It used a range of transdisciplinary techniques to investigate how people make sense of and perceive national commemorative events and what meanings are ascribed to them.
Digital energy futures: forecasting changing residential energy demand
Understanding changing digital lifestyle trends and forecasting their potential impacts on electricity demand.
Robots in Public Space
Investigating the impact of robots on public space’ is a research project that aims to improve how we understand the impact that robots have on the atmosphere of public space.
Intelligent Home Solutions for Independent Living
In a partnership with McLean Care and Deakin University, the ETLab are leading the ethnographic component of the Intelligent Home Solutions for Independent Living project. The project will trial ‘smart’ home technologies with elderly participants who are living at home, to greater understand how these technologies are used; how they could be better designed; and how they affect their everyday living experience.
Re-humanising Automated Decision Making
Funded in 2019 by the Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, the Re-humanising Automated Decision Making network brings together academic colleagues from around the globe to discuss - how do we re-humanise automated decision making (ADM) to the benefit of society and everyday lives?
Future Cities - City of Melbourne partnership
In 2020, the ETLab has partnered with the City of Melbourne to conduct a research project that brings local people’s perspectives to testing and communicating the use of smart technology in Melbourne.
Workers in transition through automation, digitalization and robotization of work (AUTOWORK)
The primary goal of AUTOWORK is to generate new knowledge and solutions to societal challenges arising from the automation, digitalization and robotization of work-life, in relation to inclusion and meaningfulness. The Australian and Norweigan research teams will map trajectories towards a meaningful future work-life, for workers using innovative ethnographic and future scenario methods that focus on workers’ practices and experiences.
Child protection and social distancing: social work during the COVID-19 pandemic
A crucial way child protection work is achieved is by social workers getting close to children, especially on home visits, and immersing themselves in the lives of parents and families. In a period of institutionalised social distancing, how is the pandemic impacting upon the ways practitioners are helping families and keeping children safe?