Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML)

On 8 March we celebrate International Women’s Day and reaffirm our commitment to gender equality in STEM.

At AIML, more than 50 women across our community are leading, innovating and shaping the future of AI. Diverse perspectives help build fairer, more inclusive technologies.

Happy IWD! 💜

Australian-made AI detects breast cancer risk previously missed A new Australian artificial intelligence tool could transform breast cancer screening by offering a more personalised and accurate way to identify risk.

An Australian-made AI tool predicting breast cancer risk from routine mammograms has been featured by ABC News. BRAIx, developed together with AIML researchers, analyses patterns in mammograms to estimate a woman’s likelihood of developing breast cancer within four years.

Read: bit.ly/4racrJj

Congratulations to every AIML member whose papers were accepted to the IEEE/CVF Winter Conference on Applications of Computer Vision 2026 (WACV) to be held in Tucson, Arizona on 6–10 March 2026.

For a full list of accepted WACV 2026 papers, please visit: wacv.thecvf.com/Conferences/...

AIML Systems Administrator Hui Wang presenting certificates to the winning teams of the 2026 Summer Grand Discovery Challenge. Top performers: Grant Douglas (Team You Only Grow Once), Arya Raj Khadka (Team Arej), Abraham Paul Jaison, Ashis Jose Kalathil, Rijoy John (Team The Answer is 42), Alexander Ryo Chen, Arpan Mukhopadhyay, Marlon Kha (Team 67Boost).

On 27 Feb, AIML hosted the 2026 Summer Grand Discovery Challenge awards, recognising top HDR and undergraduate teams from 30 participants. Teams applied machine learning to estimate lettuce biomass from images. Congratulations to all for their innovation, rigour, and technical excellence.

Robotics for Good Youth Challenge Australia – National Final 2026 Student robotics teams compete to qualify one Junior and one Senior team to represent Australia at the UN Robotics for Good Final in Geneva.

Join us in Adelaide on 28 March 2026 at Glenunga International High School for the Robotics for Good Youth Challenge – Australia National Final. Students will compete with autonomous robots tackling agriculture and food security challenges.

Register: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/robotics-f...

From blueprint to breakthrough: improving efficiency in architectural drawing interpretation As the construction industry looks for smarter, more sustainable ways to build, Australian–New Zealand company XFrame is changing how buildings are designed, made and reused. Their goal is simple: cut...

Architectural drawings can span hundreds of pages across multiple files and formats, burying key details. In 2025, AU-NZ company XFrame partnered with AIML to explore whether machine learning could interpret and organise this information more efficiently.

Read here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-b...

YouTube video by Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) Developing AI for scientific discovery | Researcher spotlight – Dr Xinyu (Henry) Li

Can #AI help discover new medicines or design cleaner energy materials? In this Researcher Spotlight, Dr Xinyu Li (Henry), postdoctoral researcher in the Responsible AI Research (RAIR) Centre at AIML, shares how he is developing AI for scientific discovery.

🎞️ Watch here: youtu.be/-1GIBeRBW9w?...

Authors: (Top row, L-R) Lana Tikhomirov, Professor Carolyn Semmler, Dr Georgia Kenyon, Humphrey Thompson. (Bottom row, L-R) Professor Lyle Palmer, Dr Nikhil Cherian Kurian, Abdu Mohamud, Associate Professor Melissa McCradden.

Congratulations to AIML PhD student Lana Tikhomirov and co-authors on a new paper published in Nature Health on “silent trials” for medical AI. The study highlights the need for stronger evaluation processes before real-world clinical AI integration.

Read more: www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Hanwen Tom Zhang, Director of Robotics Application Solutions at Booster Robotics (right), demonstrating Booster K1's agility in kicking a soccer ball.

AIML Associate Professor Qi Wu and Executive Officer for Events, Culture, and Engagement Hilary Brookes with Booster K1.

AIML is pleased to welcome a new addition to our family of robots: Booster K1. Booster K1 will be deployed across research, student projects, and outreach activities, allowing AIML to explore the potential of embodied AI systems in the real world. We look forward to seeing Booster K1 in action!

CSIRO's Data61 Research Director and AI System Evaluation for Safety Theme Lead at the Responsible AI Research (RAIR) Centre, Dr Qinghua Lu

Congratulations to CSIRO's Data61 Research Director and AI System Evaluation for Safety Theme Lead at the RAIR Centre, Dr Qinghua Lu, who was named to the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. She is the only Aussie on the panel.

For the full list, visit www.un.org/independent-...

AIML Deputy Director Associate Professor Melissa McCradden.

AIML PhD student Humphrey Thompson.

Congrats to AIML A/Prof Melissa McCradden and PhD student Humphrey Thompson on their recent publication in Nature Health, titled “COMPASS-GH is a consensus roadmap for defining standards for safe, accurate and equitable AI in general health queries.”

Read more: www.nature.com/articles/s44...

YouTube video by Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) AI for detecting disease from a single breath | Researcher spotlight – Madeleine Cochrane

Could a simple breath test help detect disease earlier and more safely? In this Researcher Spotlight, Madeleine Cochrane, PhD student at AIML and IPAS at Adelaide University, shares her work on developing a breathalyser designed to detect disease.

Watch the interview here: youtu.be/JNfjLzXmTrs

Dr Arpit Garg and Professor Dino Sejdinovic in front of the MLSS 2026 banner.

Professor Anton van den Hengel (left) delivering his presentation to the MLSS 2026 cohort.

We’re pleased to see AIML researchers represented at the 2026 Machine Learning Summer School in Melbourne. Dr Arpit Garg, Prof Dino Sejdinovic and Prof Anton van den Hengel presented their latest work to 50 of Australia’s top PhD students and early-career researchers in machine learning.

Congratulations to AIML Lecturer Dr Lia Song on receiving the Australasian AI Award: Emerging Research Contribution, awarded by the ACS (Australian Computer Society) at the Australasian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence 2025 (AJCAI 2025) in Canberra. Well done Lia!

Illustrative schematic of how the technology works (image courtesy of Sparc Technologies)

AIML has collaborated with Sparc Technologies to develop an AI driven software to modernise protective coatings performance assessment.

Sparc and AIML’s AI approach will offer:

✔️ More accuracy
✔️ More consistency
✔️ More productivity
✔️ Better data

For more ➡️ clients3.weblink.com.au/pdf/SPN/0305...

Can AI help wheat survive the heat? As global temperatures rise, the challenge of producing enough food to meet future demand is becoming increasingly urgent. Wheat, one of the world’s most important staple crops, is particularly vulner...

Can AI help wheat survive the heat? 🌾 As climate change threatens crop yields, AIML’s Aaron Peter Poruthoor is working with ANU and AAGI-AU to build AI that rapidly identifies heat-tolerant wheat varieties, helping safeguard a global staple crop and future food security.

Read: lnkd.in/e22-aH7Y

We are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the second round of paper submissions to the inaugural Kingston AI Symposium. This round invites AI researchers based in Australia who were not students in 2025.

Submit your paper by 8 Feb: form.jotform.com/253438272000...

The South Australian team for the UN Robotics for Good Youth Challenge, together with AIML PhD student Zerui Li (leftmost), AIML Executive Officer Hilary Brookes (second from left), Assistant Minister Michael Brown MP (top row, fourth from left), Leading Coding Co-founder Celine Huang (top row, middle), AIML PhD student Xiangyu Shi (second from right), and AIML Associate Professor Feras Dayoub (rightmost) in the AIML atrium.

(L-R) Zerui Li and Xiangyu Shi demonstrating the use of a robotic arm to a student.

Between 19–23 January, AIML hosted South Australia’s top-performing cohort of students from the Robotics for Good program as they trained to compete for the UN Robotics for Good Youth Challenge. The competition challenges youth to design and program autonomous robots to address real-world problems.

There are only a few days remaining for HDR students and recent graduates to submit their paper for consideration at the inaugural Kingston AI Symposium. The symposium will be held on Thursday, 19 March 2026, at Adelaide Oval in South Australia.

Apply by 31 January: form.jotform.com/253438272000...

Women to watch: The leaders shaping Australia’s AI landscape From research labs to startups, policy rooms to community networks, women are building the future of AI in Australia.

Congratulations to AIML Deputy Director, A/Prof Melissa McCradden, who has been named a Woman to Watch in Australia's AI landscape by Women's Agenda.

For the complete list of Women to Watch in AI, please visit ➡️ womensagenda.com.au/tech/women-t...

What I’ve Learned About AI Research Without Being an AI Researcher By Dr Miguel Balbin

AIML is home to world class AI researchers, but how does proximity to this knowledge affect the non-AI researchers in our midst?

In this AIML Medium piece, AIML's Digital Content Officer, Dr Miguel Balbin, describes how working at AIML has increased his AI understanding. medium.com/@aiml_58187/...

Dr Vu Minh Hieu Phan posed next to the Google logo at Google's Sydney headquarters.

Congratulations to former AIML postdoctoral researcher Dr Vu Minh Hieu Phan on joining Google as a Research Scientist in Sydney, working with the Bay Area team. Building on his AIML work in vision language models (VLMs) for medical imaging, he will continue advancing VLMs at Google. Congrats Hieu!

AIML and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank) invite applications for The National Industry PhD Program Scholarships: CommBank Centre for Foundational AI Research; four, fully funded PhDs that advance transformers for financial services

For more info ➡️ www.adelaide.edu.au/aiml/opportu...

Please join AIML Deputy Director Associate Professor Melissa McCradden, 10 January (ACDT) / 9 January (HST), for a talk titled “AI’s ‘canary in the coal mine’: how silent evaluations are critical to ethical translation.”

Register: aiphi.shepherdresearchlab.org/event/affini...

AIML Deputy Director, Associate Professor Melissa McCradden

Congratulations to AIML Deputy Director, Assoc Professor Melissa McCradden and her co-authors for their paper published in Nature, 'Connecting algorithmic fairness and fair outcomes in a sociotechnical simulation case study of AI-assisted healthcare.'

To read, visit ➡️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...

As part of the transition to Adelaide University (AU), this page now represents the Australian Institute for Machine Learning (AIML) at AU. Thank you to everyone who has supported us at the University of Adelaide. We’re proud to continue sharing our work in this new chapter.

AIML Director Professor Simon Lucey.

AIML Senior Researcher Dr Hemanth Saratchandran.

Congratulations to AIML’s Prof Simon Lucey and Dr Hemanth Saratchandran on securing funding for four PhD projects with CommBank Australia through the National Industry PhD Program. The projects apply AI to improve financial services in Australia.

Learn more: adelaideuni.edu.au/research/aus...

(L-R): AIML master's student Wenze Wang, Sanofi Medical Manager Jana Chromicka, Sanofi Global Head of Data and AI Strategy Dr Keni Lee, AIML Associate Professor Johan Verjans, Sanofi Medical Lead Dr Amal Mathew, AIML Senior Lecturer Dr Zhibin Liao, Sanofi Franchise Head Jonathan Starck, and Centre for Augmented Reasoning (CAR) Program Manager Dr Nisha Schwarz.

AIML is pleased to announce a new partnership with multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company Sanofi Australia to develop machine learning models aimed at identifying pre-symptomatic Type 1 Diabetes (T1D), helping to inform earlier clinical decision-making and preventative care strategies.

SA brewer taps favourite past times: machine learning and making booze - News | InDaily, Inside South Australia The founder of Barossa Valley Brewing has embarked on a new venture, working with some of the state's top minds in AI to remix seltzers.

How can machine learning shape flavours people actually want to drink? 🍹

A recent InDaily article highlights SYNC, a sugar-free seltzer from Deep Liquid’s Denham D’Silva. SYNC traces its origins to D’Silva’s long-standing collaboration with AIML.

Read more: www.indailysa.com.au/news/busines...

AIML Chief Scientist Professor Anton van den Hengel.

AI has dominated headlines, but is it delivering on its promise? AIML's Prof Anton van den Hengel warns against assuming rapid leaps to AGI.

“The reality is that you get diminishing marginal returns from applying the same strategy repeatedly,” he says.

Read more: www.afr.com/technology/w...