VR firefighting startup raises $6.7 million to support expansion, plans to hire 25

FLAIM Systems, which makes virtual reality-based technology for training firefighters, has announced a $6.7 million Series A round, led by the Victorian government investment vehicle Breakthrough Victoria. FLAIM was established in 2019 to migrate technology from Deakin University in fields including virtual reality and haptics into a new company, and has since achieved sales to…

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$3.2 million in grants awarded to defence industry SMEs

The federal government has announced approximately $3.2 million in matched funding to six defence industry SMEs. The grants came through two programs, Defence Global Competitiveness and Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority.  According to industry minister Pat Conroy, the grants would help provide “the opportunity to deliver cutting-edge manufacturing and maintenance capabilities” to the Australian Defence Force…

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Research highlights need for hydrogen sector skills

Australia lacks the hydrogen skills and training capabilities it needs to achieve its newly-legislated carbon reduction targets, according to new research by Swinburne University of Technology’s Victorian Hydrogen Hub (VH2). Over the long term, delivering education and training through registered organisations can protect workers transitioning into the hydrogen economy from being locked out of the…

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We’ve been connecting brains to computers longer than you’d expect. These 3 companies are leading the way

By Sam John, The University of Melbourne Since it was founded in 2016, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface (BCI) company Neuralink has had its moments in biotech news. Whether it was the time Musk promised his “link” would let people communicate telepathically, or when the whole company was under investigation for potentially violating the Animal Welfare…

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