General News

Scholarship program at QUT to train next gen roboticists

Australia’s national science agency CSIRO will fund a $1.2 million scholarship program at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to train the next generation of aspiring Australian roboticists.

The Alberto Elfes Memorial Scholarship Fund will use prize money from CSIRO’s historic podium finish at the 2021 DARPA SubT challenge to sponsor eight scholarships for domestic or international high-performing students belonging to groups underrepresented in the robotics industry. “In 2021, a group of robotics experts from Queensland took on the world’s best in a competition dubbed ‘the robot Olympics’ and came second in a photo finish,” Professor Elanor Huntington, CSIRO Executive Director of Digital, National Facilities and Collections said.

Technical Program Manager Rosie Atwell, Mechanical Engineer Lauren Hanson, and Robotics Design team postdoctoral fellow Dr. Hansi Weeratunge

“Using that prize money to educate a diverse cohort of robotics experts who might be a 2031 DARPA Challenge team will help Australia seize the $22.17 trillion global AI opportunity.

Robotics Autonomy Software Engineer Fletcher Talbot, Technical Program Manager Rosie Attwell, Mechanical Engineer Lauren Hanson, Software Engineer Tom Molnar, Autonomous Legged Robotics Phd student Benjamin Tam

“We know that diversity is the engine room of innovation, and we hope to inspire and support a dynamic new generation of robotics talent,” she said. The scholarship is a testament to the late Professor Alberto Elfes, a revered leader of CSIRO’s robotics program and driving force behind the team’s participation in the DARPA SubT Challenge. Diversity in the Australian robotics industry is one of the key obstacles to its growth according to Robotics Australia Group’s A Robotics Roadmap for Australia 2022 report released late last year. The government’s 2021 STEM Equity Monitor reported men accounted for 87 percent of 2020’s national STEM-qualified occupations. CSIRO and QUT will jointly oversee applicant selection, course design, education, and mentorship. Applications will open in September 2022 and close in 2027. The fund will offer a full three-and-a-half-year scholarship and top-up students undertaking robotics-related postgraduate PhD study.

Office of National Rail Industry Coordination to address challenges of rail manufacturing

The Australian Government has announced the Office of National Rail Industry Coordination (ONRIC).

The office will lead a national and coordinated approach to address challenges facing the rail manufacturing sector. The office will deliver the Australian Government’s $14.2 million National Rail Manufacturing Plan. The plan is part of the government’s A Future Made in Australia commitment. It will create skilled manufacturing jobs by building more trains in Australia. The office will work closely with state and territory governments, manufacturers, industry peak bodies, unions and research organisations to implement the plan. It will: • establish a Rail Industry Innovation

Council to boost local research and development, skills and capabilities • appoint a rail supplier advocate to help

small and medium-sized enterprises access export and government supply opportunities • develop a National Rail Procurement and Manufacturing Strategy to support industry productivity and facilitate opportunities for Australian manufacturers.

CSIRO’s tool for connecting the research sector and business

A new tool to help Australian businesses connect with the research sector has been launched.

The Collaboration Readiness Levels (CRL) tool helps small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) determine the best way for them to engage and collaborate with publicly funded research organisations “Our research found when SMEs collaborate with universities or research organisations in Australia, they have higher levels of innovation, are better able to deal with uncertainty and are more profitable,” CSIRO SME Connect Deputy Director, George Feast said. “This novel tool is backed by research which was developed using outcomes from interviews with SMEs and related data analysis in collaboration with partners at the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology and RMIT University. “The tool has been created in response to recommendations in the Enablers and Barriers to Industry R&D Collaboration report, where 800 SMEs said a device like this was needed to help them successfully navigate research and development opportunities.” CSIRO’s tool helps businesses understand their readiness level to engage with R&D and links each level with suggested steps to progress activities beneficial to the company. The five levels of readiness are: 1. Considering 2. Networking 3. Cooperating 4. Engaging 5. Partnering. “The Collaboration Readiness Levels are also complementary to NASA’s Technology Readiness Levels and can support a holistic view to approaching new collaborative research and development projects,” Associate Dean (Research) Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, University of Queensland Professor Martie-Louise Verreynne said.

Grants’ program means free training for digital jobs

A new grants’ program will help Victorian manufactures develop the digital capabilities they need to maintain their competitive advantage by providing free training to employees.

Applications are open for the $4.5 million Digital Jobs for Manufacturing program, which will help local manufacturers adapt to an increasingly digital world by providing hundreds of workers with sought after skills. Grants of up to $5,000 per employee are available to eligible manufacturing businesses to enrol nominated employees in free 12week training courses with Victoria’s top universities, TAFEs and training providers. The courses run for 12 weeks online and are part-time which means employees can continue working while they study, allowing them to learn a new digital skill and apply it to their role. Courses are available in 13 different fields including artificial intelligence, data analytics, cyber security and software development, with specialist courses in robotic process automation, computer-aided design or manufacturing and additive manufacturing to be added later.

Robots and Uni of WA girls at AFR Higher Education Awards

The winners of all eight categories in the AFR Higher Education Awards 2022, which recognise and celebrate the outstanding efforts of Australian universities during the past year, were announced.

QUT was the outright winner, and it was a research team led by Associate Professor Dr Jared Donovan and Associate Professor Glenda Caldwell. The project was an $8 million design robotics project with funding from the Innovative Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (ICRC), Urban Art Projects and RMIT University. The team created a ground-breaking model translating design and robotics research into an advanced manufacturing process. The AFR categories were community engagement; emerging leadership; employability; industry engagement; opportunity and inclusion; research commercialisation; and teaching and learning excellence. One of the finalists was from the University of Western Australia Girls in Engineering program, an outreach program to inspire female students to take advantage of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) study.

General Briefs

ANCA AIMS

ANCA, a Melbourne advanced manufacturer has launched AIMS (ANCA Integrated Manufacturing System) to automate repetitive tasks. It will improve efficiency and reduce costs by using smart automation to streamline production linking processes to each other and factory IT systems. It uses robots to transfer material between processes.

ManuFutures expands

ManuFutures is a unique advanced manufacturing innovation hub, located at Deakin’s Future Economy Precinct, that helps businesses to accelerate success.

ManuFutures established in 2018, is helping create more than $1 billion in company value, hosting more than 500 student placements and creating more than 120 direct new jobs. A $20 million contribution from the Victorian Government will allow the facility to double in size with expansion due for completion by 2023. The expansion will deliver a new, fully equipped and staffed Product Engineering Development Laboratory, six adjustable sized expansion bays and associated offices.

$10m for Factory of the Future

The Albanese Labor Government is giving a boost to advanced manufacturing by supporting the expansion of the Factory of the Future in Adelaide. Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, announced that funding of $10.1 million will help Flinders University grow the facility, located at the Tonsley Innovation District. Mr Husic said the Factory of the Future would work with more than 200 small-to-medium enterprises to build their technological capabilities and help them gain a foothold in critical supply chains. It is estimated that more than 100 students a year from Flinders University will benefit from the Factory of the Future.

Tasmanian manufacturers gain $600,000 in grants

The Tasmanian Government has awarded seven Tasmanian enterprises grants totalling $619,000 to assist in expanding their manufacturing capabilities to support interstate and international market growth opportunities. It is anticipated this funding will encourage some $1.72 million in total investment and generate more than 80 new manufacturing jobs within Tasmania. Round four of the AMAGP is expected to open in early 2023.