A Tasmanian company has received assistance from the Australian Government to bring to market an innovative wheelchair that can be converted from indoor to outdoor use without the occupant needing to get out of the chair.
Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr announced today that Robert Rickard is one of 20 companies which will use its $70,400 Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET) grant to bring new products to market.
The successful companies have been offered COMET funding totalling over $1.4 million.
“We need to ensure our inventions benefit the national economy and help to generate skilled jobs in our manufacturing sector,” Senator Carr said.
The grant recipients, who each receive up to $70,400 in COMET funds, include funding for the following two new Australian innovations: a hydro pump that can lift water from deep bores using only water as the driving force, and a system that enables farmers to monitor stock remotely.
Bontech’s hydro pump lifts water from deep bores using only water as the ‘driving force’ to lift the water from the bore. The new hydro pump will have many commercial applications, including in agriculture and mining.
Precision’s Remote Livestock Management System allows farmers to remotely monitor and manage cattle, thereby reducing costs of production. Solar-powered equipment and sensors enable pastoralists to monitor cattle from their homesteads located many kilometres away.
These grants were funded from existing Budget allocations already provided for in the forward estimates.
The COMET program is now closed to new applications and has been superseded by the Government’s new initiative to help creative innovators, Commercialisation Australia.