NSW is turbocharging the development of its sovereign industrial capability in critical industries like defence, aerospace and manufacturing through a $15.2 million NSW Government investment in its Research Networks.

Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Alister Henskens said this yearโ€™s funding plus a 3- year extension for the NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN), the NSW Defence Innovation Network (DIN) and the NSW Space Research Network (SRN) provides more opportunities to turn ideas into real-world solutions, jobs and new industries.

โ€œWe are investing in our human capital to help our innovative researchers unlock their potential and turn their ideas into solutions that will grow the economy and secure a brighter future for the people of NSW,โ€ Mr Henskens said.

โ€œThe defence and aerospace industry, including the space industry, and smart sensing technologies will be critical to our nationโ€™s prosperity and NSW is best placed to lead the way when it comes to innovation and commercialisation of research in these areas.

โ€œOur Research Networks foster collaboration between government, academics and industry to find solutions to some of the most complex challenges we face.โ€

 

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Through the NSW Governmentโ€™s commitment, the DIN is providing $450,000 in funding to support three defence innovation projects in its Pilot Project grant scheme:

  • The University of Wollongong, Western Sydney University and NSW companies BlueZone Group and Vyom Tech will develop a prototype system to assess military diver health.
  • Western Sydney University, in partnership with The University of Sydney and Australian company AU Cloud, are examining how to fuse data sources and distribute data processing across a constellation of satellites.
  • The University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney will deliver a system for monitoring the structural health of autonomous air vehicles.

Defence and Aerospace NSW contributed $3.2 million of the total funding towards the DIN and SRN. Director Mike Gallagher said the funding would increase NSW defence capabilities across all domains.

โ€œDIN is a key enabler for our sector that ensures that NSW remains at the forefront of delivering the high-tech capability to the Australian Defence Force,โ€ Mr Gallagher said.