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The Queensland Defence Science Alliance has selected four proposals to share in the funding, which the group hopes will propel concepts from the proof-of-concept phase to prototype and demonstration.
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To be considered for the grants, projects had to address one of two priority areas highlighted in last year’s Defence Strategic Review that aligned with Queensland interests, Northern Australian capabilities or innovative asymmetric technologies, the group explained.
The four successful projects were selected from 47 submissions, which received $250,000 in funding from the Queensland Defence Science Alliance (QDSA). Additional funds were granted from universities and industry partners.
The four successful programs were:
• The University of Queensland will lead the delivery of a project focusing on precision sensors in GPS-denied environments, in collaboration with Griffith University, Advanced Navigation, and Orica Australia. Under the project, the team will design, build, and test silicon chip integrated optomechanical magnetometers for use in GPS-denied environments.
• Griffith University will lead the delivery of a project focusing on high energy power and control, in collaboration with UQ and super critical technologies. They are expected to develop micropower grid capabilities that produce high power outputs which are portable.
• Griffith University will lead the delivery of a project focused on the delivery of diamond-like coatings for harsh environmental applications, in collaboration with Laserdyne Technologies. The coatings are expected to provide hard-wearing characteristics in harsh environments.
• Griffith University will also lead a project on multi-agent collaboration using federated learning, in collaboration with UG, the University of Sunshine Coast and Queensland University of Technology, DSTG and Cyborg Industries. The team will focus on the application of advanced collaborative AI to provide agile command and control of multiple uncrewed ground vehicles.
The Queensland government supported the project through the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation and the Department of State Development and Infrastructure. Funding was also received via the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG).
Dr David Kershaw, chief science strategic planning and engagement at DSTG explained that the grants were important to deliver defence capabilities.
“These collaborative research grants play an important role in curating a rich and diverse range of opportunities for future sovereign Defence capability,” Kershaw said.
“DSTG is pleased to support QDSA in bringing together new collaborations between university research and industry; to undertake research and development on emerging technologies of potential benefit to the Defence Force.”
