R&D

Improving sustainability and using digital technologies to boost productivity are among the focus areas of a new five-year research program launched by CSIRO and Boeing. 

The federal government’s Trailblazer program has officially opened, allowing Australian businesses and researchers to access up to $50 million to help build a small rover, to head to the Moon with NASA in the coming years.

The Victorian government has announced the largest dedicated mRNA research grant program ever seen in Australia, the $21 million mRNA Victoria Activation Program (mAP), to help grow research, development and manufacturing capabilities around the vaccine. 

The $25 million Sydney Manufacturing Hub, located in the Engineering precinct of the University of Sydney’s Darlington campus, has been launched to drive innovation and foster industrial output in the heart of Tech Central. 

Schaeffler, a global automotive and industrial supplier, was awarded the Innovation in Hardware Award for its GraviKart robotic push trolly solution for the manufacturing industry at the International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR) 2021.

Synthetic biology company, Ginkgo Bioworks, will establish an office in Melbourne to bolster Victoria’s focus in mRNA research and manufacturing. 

The importance of collaboration between researchers and industry in delivering capability to the Australian Defence Force was on show at the Adelaide Convention Centre last week. 

The Latin saying “Citius, Altius, Fortius” or “Faster, Higher, Stronger” would be familiar to those at the pinnacle of world sport, the Olympics. Chosen to encapsulate the traits of peak human performance, these three words are just as relevant to athletes as they are manufacturers – both of whom continually seek a competitive advantage. 

Ingenuity 2021 will be held on 26 October between 9:30am and 3:30pm at the Adelaide Convention Centre, exhibiting the University of Adelaide’s students’ final-year projects. 

The future of many of Australia’s industry sectors depends on innovation derived from the successful development and commercialisation of technology. A significant opportunity exists for industry to accelerate this through collaboration with our world class universities and other scientific research organisations. 

Monash University researchers have developed a fast, cheap tape-paper sensor test to detect bilirubin in jaundiced newborns, which could be commercialised for point-of-care diagnosis of neonatal jaundice.  The joint development by Monash University’s Faculty of Engineering, the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering and Monash Health, aims to provide results in under 10 minutes at a cost of around 60 cents each.  The small volume of samples … Continue reading Tape-paper sensor test by Monash could detect jaundice in infants →

The federal government is driving the automotive sector forward by extending the automotive research and development tariff concession until 2025, keeping high-end research activities in Australia and supporting thousands of high-wage jobs. Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Christian Porter, said vehicle research and development is vital to the nation’s prosperity with Australia being a … Continue reading Renewed support for Australian automotive R&D →

The Queensland state government will partner with a Sunshine Coast aerospace company to deliver a large-scale, state-of-the-art aircraft manufacturing and modification facility at Caloundra. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said HeliMods would accelerate the $10.3 million expansion of its current facility by almost five years thanks to support from the state government’s Jobs and Regional Growth Fund. … Continue reading New aerospace facility to boost jobs on the Sunshine Coast →

Novel solutions for biofilm infections are the focus of a collaborative research agreement between the University of Sydney, Whiteley Corporation and the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (IMCRC) which started in 2018. UNSW Sydney joined the project in 2020, significantly increasing the academic manpower available to the project. Over four years, more than $5 million … Continue reading Manufacturing research partnership to tackle harmful biofilms →

A research team lead by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has received $4.9 million from the Australian Research Council (ARC) for a new training centre for collaborative robots in manufacturing. The joint project between QUT, The University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Swinburne University of Technology, and the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Hub (ARM Hub), … Continue reading Funding announced for new ARC Training Centre at QUT for collaborative robots →

Last week, it was announced that a five-year, $5 million initiative to develop and sustain Electronic Warfare (EW) related skills in the defence sector is being established at Flinders University, enhancing South Australia as a Centre of Expertise in EW. The partnership between Defence and Flinders University will result in the establishment of a chair … Continue reading $5m national Electronic Warfare centre →

The search to find ways for autonomous devices to sense their surroundings has produced some novel projects, however a recent project from the University of Queensland has returned to the animal kingdom for a solution. Just as animals sense their surroundings with whiskers, Dr Pauline Pounds developed hairs that extend from a drone or robot … Continue reading New sensing technology for autonomous devices →

Lockheed Martin Australia has invited industry and academic organisations to submit quotes for research and development (R&D) into advanced technologies as part of the Attack Class Submarine program. With almost $1 billion in funding distributed after the first round of grants, the next round will focus on projects including, reliable communications on an unstable platform, … Continue reading Call for proposals for Attack Class Submarine technologies →

Strategic Elements, an Australian company developing printable nanotechnology, has received additional financial support from the federal government to supports its ongoing joint research and development program with the CSIRO. The Nanocube Memory Ink is an advanced nanotechnology material that can be printed or coated onto non-silicon transparent or flexible surfaces, such as glass or plastic, … Continue reading Strategic Elements receives funding for liquid printable memory project →

The Australian National University (ANU) has launched InSpace, a new institute for the co-ordination of space technology research and testing. InSpace is to bring together technology, science and law research to expand the potential of the Australian space industry. It will also help drive co-investment between industry and government partners in space projects to support … Continue reading ANU establishes new collaborative space industry institute →