Voice replacement device maker among eight Accelerating Commercialisation grant winners

Eight applicants have been awarded federal Accelerating Commercialisation grants totalling $3.9 million dollars, including companies developing a robotic production method for precast concrete panels, a voice replacement device for those who have had a larynx removed, and a multi-biometric authentication service.

The round of funding announced on Wednesday would help to “commercialise innovative ideas that have the potential to change our lives for the better,” said industry minister Christian Porter.

Porter highlighted Laronix’s medical invention for larynx amputees, a “specialised voice cloning and artificial voice box medical technology which can restore speech.” The company was awarded $551,100. 

Laronix was founded in 2018. Its product, Bionic Voice, is a wearable voice prosthesis developed by Dr. Farzaneh Ahmadi (pictured) while she was a post-doctoral researcher at Western Sydney University.

According to its website, Bionic Voice has completed pre-clinical trials and Laronix is “now partnering with Stanford University to perform the clinical trials of the solution” prior to manufacturing.

The round brings total funding awarded under the program to over $270 million, going to 551 recipients, since its beginning in 2014.

Besides Laronix, the other August round recipients were:

• Curtin University (WA) with a grant of $209,485 to commercialise its innovative packaging technology for use in the oil and gas, pharmaceutical and chemical processing industries.
• Curvecrete (VIC) with a grant of $325,158 to commercialise its robotic mould that can produce bespoke curved concrete panels for use in the building and construction industry.
• Data Farming Pty Ltd (QLD) with a grant of $322,753 to commercialise and scale its soil mapping system for use across multiple agricultural industries including rice, cotton, grains, and horticulture, and environmental compliance.
• Locii Pty Ltd (NSW) with a grant of $992,203 to commercialise its world-leading multi-biometric authentication service to provide the highest possible level of confidence for high risk authentication scenarios.
• Metrolo Pty Ltd (WA) with a grant of $998,783 to commercialise its planning and optimisation tool for the distributed energy market.
• Odio Tech Pty Ltd (NSW) with a grant of $163,690 to commercialise its Tinnibot technology, an innovative digital therapeutic solution for tinnitus sufferers.
• SmartOysters Pty Ltd (NSW) with a grant of $398,350 to commercialise its mobile map-based farm operations application for small-medium scale aquaculture farmers.

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