The Queensland Defence Science Alliance (QDSA) announced the winners of the 2023 QDSA Collaborative Research Grants that will see $1.8 million investment into Queensland science and innovation projects to help meet the future needs of Australian Defence.
The call for collaborative research projects yielded 47 submissions from across Queensland, with 10 competitive proposals selected for detailed consideration. Four projects between Queensland Universities and Defence industry partners have been successful with each one awarded up to $250,000. This funding will support the project for up to 18 months and aims to propel ideas from Proof-of-Concept to Prototypes and demonstration.
Project submissions were required to address at least one of two key priority areas from the Federal Government’s Defence Strategic Review (DSR) that align with Queensland strengths – namely, Northern Australia Capabilities or Innovative Asymmetric Technologies.
The Queensland Government investment through the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) and Department of State Development and Infrastructure (DSDI), together with investment from the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), provide the main funding to assist QDSA connect industry and research partners and invest in ground breaking research and innovation that will grow Defence capabilities in Queensland.
Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Innovation, Leanne Linard, said Queensland was a key state when it came to defence capability in Australia. “These Queensland projects represent a tangible pathway for research to become new technology that will support Queensland jobs and our Defence Force into the future. The Queensland Government is unwavering in our commitment to grow local science and technology research capabilities to drive innovation and support evolving Defence needs,” Linard said.
DSTG Chief Science Strategic Planning & Engagement, Dr David Kershaw highlighted the importance of diversity to accelerate Australia’s Defence capability. “These Collaborative Research Grants play an important role in curating a rich and diverse range of opportunities for future sovereign Defence capability. 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,” he said.
The four successful applications to be funded are:
- Precision sensors in GPS denied navigation – Lead by University of Queensland (UQ), (collaborating with Griffith University, Advanced Navigation, and Orica Australia). The team will design, build and test silicon-chip-integrated quantum optomechanical magnetometers for use in GPS denied environments. In a world which is highly reliant on GPS application for significant Defence and civil needs, this project has potential to provide alternate navigation pathways should GPS be unavailable.
- High energy power and control – Lead by Griffith University (collaborating with UQ and Supercritical Technologies). The team will develop micropower grid capabilities that produce high power outputs which are compact and portable in nature with direct application to mobile and fixed Defence installations. This project has potential to unlock greater deployable power density for field hospitals, deployed headquarters, and remote communications facilities.
- Diamond like coatings for harsh environmental applications – Griffith University, (collaborating with Laserdyne Technologies) Designing new methods for fabrication of diamond like coatings for field ready thermal imaging applications. Diamond like coatings provide hard wearing characteristics in harsh environments such as salt spray, use with underwater drones, high impact, or erosion prone environments. Diamond like coatings are anticipated to prolong lifespan, reduce maintenance, and reduce replacement costs for Defence. This project is an example of improving the manufacturing process for Defence applications with prospects for future export to other AUKUS partners.
- Multi-agent collaboration using federated learning – Griffith University, (collaborating with UQ, University of Sunshine Coast and Queensland University of Technology (QUT), DSTG and Cyborg Industries). Focussed on the application of advance collaborative AI to provide agile command and control of multiple uncrewed ground vehicles. The project is anticipated to deliver a working prototype that can be used to demonstrate this approach. This project has direct application to Defence’s ability to command and control multiple autonomous devices for enhanced decision making, coordination and adaptability.
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