Laser-based anti-drone system maker AIM Defence has been awarded a $4.9 million contract by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for a directed energy weapon prototype that will be used in field-based trials. AIM Defence says its counter-drone systems are able to achieve “millimetre target accuracy at a distance of 1 kilometre” and are a tenth…
Underground mining contractor RUC Mining has launched a regenerative energy storage solution for mine shaft hoists or winders. Winders are heavy machines used to raise and lower minerals and materials in a mine shaft, with energy expended especially as the hoists raise materials and people to the surface. RUC Mining’s innovation is to capture and…
Governments and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency are backing trials of two energy-dense battery types not seen on electric vehicles to test the feasibility of battery micro-grids to supply those living in off-grid communities. With $2.85 million each from ARENA and the Western Australian government, regional energy provider Horizon Power will pilot two battery technologies…
By Vigya Sharma, The University of Queensland and Julia Loginova, The University of Queensland Shifting Australia’s electricity sector to low-carbon technologies and closing coal plants is vital to tackling climate change. But such transitions are easier said than done. People and economies are often deeply connected to the coal industry. Coal plants have often been…
3D mapping technology designed by CSIRO has reached the International Space Station, following a launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station last week, the nation’s scientific agency has announced. According to a statement from CSIRO on Monday, astronauts on the ISS will fit the device onto NASA’s Astrobee robotic platform. Dr Marc Elmouttie, a CSIRO…
The Westpac-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey of Industrial Trends shows a worsening in conditions for manufacturers in the year’s first quarter, and an outlook moving “deeper into pessimistic territory”. A summary reads that the quarter brought a “decline in new orders, a fall in output, a reduction in overtime and a material downsize…
Lincoln Minerals will begin a partnering process for its large-scale Green Iron Project on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, which is underpinned by a recently announced 1.2 billion tonne (Bt) magnetite resource. The company aims to identify a funding and project partner for advancing the Green Iron Project to operational status. Magnetite is a…
Fifty-six Queensland businesses will share in more than $5.5 million in funding to bring new and innovative products and services to the market under the state government’s Ignite Ideas and Ignite Spark funds. The Ignite Ideas Fund helps companies to take a viable product to market with grants of up to $200,000, while the Ignite…
The ELO2 Consortium’s pioneering lunar rover prototype, the result of Australian ingenuity in remote operations of mining equipment and aspirations in space, was unveilled in Adelaide today and could be on the way to the Moon courtesy of a NASA mission. The prototype, to be named Roo-ver, is one of two being developed by different…
Research progresses robots for construction waste recycling New research — using deep learning (DL) and artificial intelligence (AI) to recognise vast array of materials and particles in mixed waste — could revolutionise the way construction waste materials are processed and recycled, according Monash University. Led by Monash PhD candidate Diani Sirimewan, a study “paves the…
