Yarra City Council has piloted the use of a new permeable pavement product at Rutland Street, Clifton Hill. According to a profile at Sustainability Victoria’s website, the council was seeking to address limited space for traditional water sensitive urban design and the need for solutions that improve urban tree health and reduce the urban heat island effect. The new pavement contains recycled soft tyres bonded together by polyurethane binder to create a product that is flexible and strong at the same time. It is expected to reduce stormwater runoff to local drains and waterways, withstanding one in one hundred year storm events, and cool the surrounding environment and providing better irrigation to street trees. The project was supported by SV’s Sustainable Infrastructure Fund.
NSW Nationals pledge funding for wine industry if re-elected
The NSW Nationals have said they will commit a further $3.8 million over four years in partnership with the state’s wine industry. Deputy premier Paul Toole said they would sign a new Memorandum of Understanding with the NSW Wine Industry Association “focused on creating and maintaining a sustainable workforce, providing grape growers with access to more research and development opportunities, and boosting wine tourism in the regions” for NSW’s $14 billion wine industry. President of the NSW Wine Industry Association Mark Bourne. welcoming the commitment, said, “It is critical that as an industry we focus on growing our international profile, export more premium wine, undertake extensive research and development, and support the next generation of growers and producers to enter the industry.”
DroneShield wins drone tracking sensor order
Drone detection and countermeasure company DroneShield has received an initial order for its drone tracking sensors (pictured) for an Unmanned Traffic Management project in Europe. The order of approximately $600,000 is for RfOne long range drone tracking systems and associated software, which comes as a SaaS model with quarterly updates. UTM is a fast growing multi-billion dollar market, consisting of an air traffic management ecosystem for unmanned drones. It incorporates both registered/cooperating drones and unknown/nefarious drones. Still in a relative nascent but fast-growing phase, and currently limited to defined air corridors, it aims to deconflict airspace as significant numbers of drones take to the skies each year.
EZZ Life Science agreement boosts gene technologies
Australian genomic life science company EZZ Life Science has entered into a tripartite agreement with leading multinational pharmaceutical companies GMP Pharmaceuticals (GMP) and Natural Innovations Group (NIG) . The strategic partnership aims to NIG and GMP’s existing scientific research capabilities utilising gene technology and big data. The partners will work together to leverage their respective capabilities and expertise to develop new gene technology solutions for the dietary supplement industry. This will involve the integration of advanced genetic testing and analysis with the development of customised dietary supplements that cater to the specific needs and genetic makeup of each individual customer. Chair of EZZ Life Science, Glenn Cross, said the approach would result in more effective and customised products, improved quality control and better customer experiences.
ADROITA awarded NSW Jobs Plus support
Defence sector engineering and professional services consultancy ADROITA will receive New South Wales Government Jobs Plus support to assist them to expand their service offering in the state. ADROITA will use the Jobs Plus support to develop a New South Wales-based digital engineering capability with a globally competitive service offering that will include model-based systems engineering, digital sovereign test and evaluation, modelling and simulation, digital twin development, and other advanced data analytics such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and decision support. The company anticipates that the grant will create more than 30 new skilled jobs over the next two years and improve the productivity of the NSW economy by leading the transition to digital engineering — an emerging body of disciplines that underscores several of the global megatrends identified in the NSW Government’s NSW 2040 Economic Blueprint — while also making an economic contribution through innovation, research and development, and by creating a career pathway for engineers and technologists.
Picture: DroneShield
