Shortlist released for Indo Pacific 2023 awards

AMDA Foundation, the organiser of the Indo Pacific 2023 Expo in November, has announced a shortlist for the event’s Innovation Awards, including Hypersonix Launch Systems, Advanced Navigation and Steber International.

In a statement on Tuesday, AMDA named the finalists in three categories: the Indo Pacific 2023 National Innovation Award, the Indo Pacific 2023 SME Innovation Award ($50,000 prize money), and the Indo Pacific 2023 Young Innovator Award ($50,000 prize money.) 

“Among them are a company manufacturing 3D-printed hypersonic aircraft, designed for rapid re-use, a Young Innovator who co-founded a company building a hydrofoil boat with a patented electric propulsion system, and a company that’s built a 6 Degree of Freedom robotic arm that can perform complex and dangerous tasks under water,” said AMDA in the release.

According to the event’s website, the Innovation Program is “designed to encourage and reward defence innovation by Australian companies, research institutions and individuals.”

The Innovation Program at the expo includes the Innovation Awards and an Innovation Pitchfest. 

The shortlist of 21 companies in the Innovation Awards is reproduced below

• Advanced Navigation – Hydrus fully autonomous submersible drone, designed for one-person launch and recovery, for undersea surveying, detection, localisation, classification and inspection.
• AMOG – innovative, flexible monitoring solution that provides independent diagnostics, validation and oversight on the performance of critical wharf infrastructure.
• Basil VR Greatrex  – hydraulic filter capable of removing particles down to 1 micron in size, and therefore also water, from hydraulic fluid.
• Chris Tucker Marine Design – Emergency Response Drydock that keeps boats clear of the water while enabling extremely rapid launch in an emergency.
• Franmarine Underwater Services – MarineStream underwater cleaning, inspection and maintenance hardware based on an end-to-end block chain-based ERP platform.
• Fuze Group – in-field composite material repair and construction technology for Defence Maritime applications.
• Hullbot – autonomous, robotic hull cleaning system employing computer vision and AI/machine learning.
• Hypersonix Launch Systems – 3D printed DART AE reusable hypersonic aircraft powered by a hydrogen scramjet capable of repeated flights at Mach 7 +.
• Lubrication Engineering – Viper Wire Rope Lubricator, an automated system designed to eject moisture from the wire rope and compress lubricant deep into its core.
• Manderson Engineering Innovations – Breach and Attack Tool (BAT) and accompanying Deck Box, a simple, safe and effective indirect suppression capability to fight compartment fires at sea.
• Onetide – two innovations: the Mission Deck, a rapid, no-weld deck fastening system for ships’ cargo; and RapidReel and Mobile Power Stand hose and power cable deployment and retrieval system.
• Osibot  – very low-impact solar-powered uncrewed undersea vessel for reef monitoring and marine biology education.
• Platypus Australia – Nautilus hardware box and Nemo software stack to provide mission level autonomy and cooperative autonomy to small Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs).
• Reach Robotics – 6 Degree of Freedom underwater robotic arm capable of extremely complex and dangerous tasks.
• Steber International – hybrid propulsion system for surface craft reducing operational expenditure and emissions.
• The Whiskey Project Group – The high-payload Whiskey Bravo Multi-Mission Watercraft featuring a carbon composite shock-mitigating hull, and Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) systems.
• University of New South Wales – hybrid UAV to conduct underwater sonar scanning deploying from, and recovering to, a P-8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

Young Innovator Award shortlist reproduced below

Picture: Hypersonic aircraft (credit Hypersonix Launch Systems)

Further reading

Excellence in maritime manufacturing – award-winning project develops enhanced shipbuilding steel

Hypersonix awarded first major contract

Meet the Whiskey Project Alpha85

Underwater robotics maker grasps new opportunities

Steber International delivers science and technology vessel