$600,000 funding for innovative defence projects

A research project that will utilise satellite technology to aid in disaster response is one of four initiatives to receive funding in the latest round of grants from South Australia’s Defence Innovation Partnership’s Collaborative Research Fund (CRF).

The research introduce a new technique for satellite-based connectivity for emergency services and Defence personnel in hazardous environments when ground-based communications network infrastructure is unavailable.

The Adelaide space start-up Safety from Space system is based on small, low-power radio beacons that can be used stand-alone, integrated as a wearable device, or into vehicle systems.

The user activates the beacon in the event of an incident, establishing a connection with an operations centre to determine the nature of the incident.

Also involved in the project are Flinders University, University of South Australia, SmartSat CRC and the Defence Science and Technology Group.

Announcing the grants SA Deputy Premier Susan Close (pictured) said that over the past five years, the CRF had unlocked more than $12 million of collaborative defence and space R&D activity across 29 projects in South Australia.

“Bringing together researchers, industry and Defence to collaborate on projects that provide real life technological solutions not only for Defence, but also across broader industries including space, is a key deliverable of the research fund.”

The full list of projects to receive funding are:

• $150,000 for dual use satellite messaging beacon system for Defence and Emergency Services Personnel, led by Safety from Space with Partners Flinders University, University of South Australia, SmartSat CRC and Defence Science and Technology Group
• $150,000 for sensing semiconductor devices with terahertz waves, led by the University of Adelaide with partners Flinders University, Keysight Technologies Australia Pty Ltd and Defence Science and Technology Group
• $148,658 for rapid environmental monitoring using autonomous systems, led by the University of Adelaide with partners Flinders University Acacia Systems Pty Ltd, and Defence Science and Technology Group
• And $149,404 for validation of a test and evaluation model for planning and architecture optimisation, led by University of South Australia with partners The University of Adelaide, Nova Systems and Defence Science and Technology Group.

Picture: Susan Close