D.Start Ignite Autumn 2022 Cohort
The following teams have been selected for the D.Start Ignite Autumn 2022 program.
Advent Atum
Lead Organisation: SME, Advent Atum, NSW
The work which is completed by defence personnel is potentially high-risk, especially when there is political conflicts around the world and Australian soldiers go to provide support to our allies around the world. Well what we are doing at Advent Atum, is we are developing an electric, fully autonomous Uncrewed Ground Vehicle (UGV) which can be optionally manned based on custom requirements. In fact, our UGV works directly with HORAS (High Order Reinforced Autonomous System), so that our UGVs can complete logistics, combat and ISR missions and go out into high-risk environments.round
ANU Nanopore Team
Lead Organisation: Australian National University, ACT
This project aims to develop real-time portable sensors to detect and identify molecules with extremely low concentrations in liquids and gases. The sensors are based on our innovative technology to fabricate membranes with molecular sized pores with desired size, shape, and functionalisation. The sensors have potential impact on measurement of biomarkers for personalised healthcare, disease monitoring in rural settings, and detection of chemical and biological threats in defence settings. The project seeks to take the technology from proof of concept to development of prototype sensors for specific target molecules. This includes development of data-processing and analysis software using machine learning.
AtOne
Lead Organisation: SME, AtOne, NSW
AtOne targets stress and builds long-term capacity using virtual reality technology, meditation and training mind fitness. AtOne uses a multi-sensory approach to take people into a virtual world of relaxation with smell, sound,sight and guided meditations, taking users into a deep state of relaxation, faster. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are used to individualise the experience with mind fitness reporting. Mind fitness is measured and tracked in 5 areas of recovery, focus, emotions, engagement and clarity.
BankVault Cybersecurity
Lead Organisation: SME, BankVault Cybersecurity, WA
BankVault's product, MasterKey, is an intelligent new approach to creating Passwordless Authentication for websites that is invisible and frictionless for users. The seamless experience achieves MFA in one step and is 10-100x faster to deploy than other solutions. It requires (i) No client software or user setup, (ii) No change management, and (iii) No backend system changes.
Code 46
Lead Organisation: SME, Code 46, ACT
Current personnel tracking onboard RAN Ships is cumbersome and long outdated. These systems utilise physical head counting, peg board allocations, verbal role calls, ships Public Address (PA) and manual pursuits with radios. Chayson Tech aim to develop an individually personalised wearable device using sovereign Automatic Identification and Data Capturing (AIDC) technologies as part of the solution. In doing so we won’t only be able to resolve the personnel tracking issues but look to further improve the ability to register, track and simplify administrative tasks like; post in and post outs, drug and alcohol testing, briefing attendances and the like.
Enhancing Visuomotor Skill
Lead Organisation: Federation University Australia, VIC
Virtual reality (VR) is crucial to simulate military and sport scenarios to improve visual-perceptual motor skills such as decision-making in an accessible and safe manner. Current design of VR simulators focuses upon how realistic the display is relative to the real-world setting. VR design needs to better target the mechanism underpinning skill acquisition to maximise performance improvement and skill transfer to field-based settings.
ESC
Lead Organisation: SME, ESC, ACT
Delivering domain agnostic acquisition and high performance computing hardware taking advantage of the inherent benefits of FPGA architectures paired with GPU based machine learning algorithms to shorten the time from system input to value outcome be it a scientific, defence, regulatory or commercial application.
HackHunter
Lead Organisation: SME, HackHunter, VIC
Enhanced and integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and cyber security capabilities are required to accurately understand the environment to improve decision-making and protect employees, data, systems and operations.
Without a real-time, accurate picture of WiFi communications at the protocol level, actual activity in the area is unknown and threats cannot be identified and located with precision.
HackHunter detects and analyses all WiFi communications in an environment, including identifying individuals’ WiFi activities, and locates WiFi sources with precision, to within centimetres.
Hex20 AltData
Lead Organisation: SME, Hex20 AltData, SA
Data is the fuel for all AI engines. We at Hex20-AltData intend to solve the inadequacy of real-world data with Synthetic Data.
Our Synthetic Data can empower companies without the hassles of any privacy or legal issues. Value proposition statement - replacing real-world data with a much cheaper, scalable alternative. Unlike other data providers, we can generate Synthetic Data where real-world data is not available.
Our primary areas of Synthetic Data segments are: - Defence & Space, Bioscience & Healthcare, Fintech, Robotics, Manufacturing, and later expanding to other areas.
Hyper Q Aerospace
Lead Organisation: SME, Hyper Q Aerospace, NSW
Hyper Q Aerospace has designed a next generation, evolutionary, high performance, uncrewed hybrid electric rotorcraft that may become the fastest helicopter in the world.
By rotor disk size, this aircraft will fly faster, lift more and fly longer than any comparable VTOL aircraft.
Our modular design will enable a simple transition to solely renewable energy power sources as the technology becomes available.
We need to fund a number of academic several studies then complete the engineering design.
Our goal is to design, construct and fly a proof-of-concept hybrid electric rotorcraft.
With suitable funding we will be airborne inside three years.
Hyprfire
Lead Organisation: SME, Hyprfire, WA
Cyber crime is rising exponentially, with the global cost of cyber crime rising from $3 Trillion in 2015 to an estimated $6 Trillion in 2021. One of the reasons for this rise is the lack of network visibility tools that can find intruders when they breach your network. Existing NDR solutions are ineffective, slow and expensive.
Hyprfire's Firebug software provides organisations with an affordable, flexible and effective early warning system on internal computer networks and alerts to vulnerabilities and intrusions before a cyberattack is launched.
Ichor Autonomy
Lead Organisation: SME, Ichor Autonomy, QLD
The application will improve the decision tempo in the close fight by enabling those in that fight the ability to leverage highly autonomous, robotic agents to explore and find contacts with only supervisory human oversight. It will enable the improved situational awareness at lower levels of command and lead to better decisions and faster delivery of effects in difficult and complex situations.
Industrial Automation & Security
Lead Organisation: SME, Industrial Automation & Security, NT
Modify the Honeywell Aerospace AGT1500 gas turbine and other reciprocating piston diesel engines used by Defence to use Liquefied Natural Gas as fuel, thus securing a homogenous liquid fuel source in times of constrained supply chain circumstance, such as prolonged armed conflict. Additional dividends can be extraxted by utilising the waste cold energy created during the liquid / vapour phase change of the fuel to provide crew cooling and thermal infra-red signature reduction of engine exhaust systems, mitigating threat from top-attack munitions.
Inspection Radar
Lead Organisation: University of Technology Sydney, NSW
The project aims to develop a polarimetric ultra-wideband (P-UWB) non-destructive testing (NDT) system to rapidly inspect defects and cracks in military aircrafts. Compared with current X-ray screening technology, the proposed system utilizes non-ionizing microwave radiation and only requires a small number of measurements, which is practically safe and significantly reduces the data acquisition time. The technology relies on the wideband signal scattered from the “volume under test” (VUT). Locations of defects can be identified through signal processing and machine learning. The proposed technology can serve as a complementary rapid inspection solution for military aircraft, vehicles and other equipment.
LCAT Team
Lead Organisation: University of Wollongong, NSW
The research team aims to propose a smart, protocol-aware jamming system, which is based on the in-band full-duplex communication architecture. Smart disruption algorithms will be devised for common communication protocols, including Orthogonal Frequency Division Modulation (OFDM), Frequency-Hoping Spread Spectrum (FHSS), and WiFi. With suitable adaptations, these algorithms are also applicable to near-peer communication protocols. This proposed jamming system can overhear the information transmitted from the enemy and transmit the interference signal at the same time to disrupt a targeted receiver.
Quantum Link Verification
Lead Organisation: The University of Queensland, QLD
Cyber criminals and threat actors will have access to encryption-breaking quantum computers in the coming decade. Protecting information in transit needs to be assured now, because information may be harvested now and decrypted later. Post-quantum encryption proposals require replacing the entire security infrastructure with a new system that is too slow, range limited or resource intensive to be practical. Quantum Link Verification adds a quantum-protected layer to existing security deployments with quantum-verified physical layer integrity even on legacy communication channels without adding overhead or reducing data rates. Nothing is more secure than knowing that no one else saw your message.
Ready Team One
Lead Organisation: SME, Ready Team One, WA
Army and ADF training requires repeat exposure to a variety of complex combat scenarios. Resource constraints makes live training logistically difficult and limiting for army trainers and trainees.
Ready Team One's virtual reality platform that empowers trainers to rapidly customise different scenarios and allows highly scalable and repeatable training options. It enables unlimited numbers of lifelike virtual locations and environmental variations together with a virtually unlimited array of non-player characters within the same physical space. A large number of trainees are able to practise customised training serials in groups situations completely immersed in a portable and low cost free-roam VR simulation.
Redacted
Lead Organisation: SME, Redacted, VIC
This project is sensitive and cannot be mentioned in the public domain.
SABRN
Lead Organisation: SME, SABRN, SA
Future conflicts against enemy with greater capability will make extraction of our combat casualties from austere environments significantly more difficult. SABRN, a medical technology R&D company, is developing a self-contained "Patient Retrieval Pod" for the purpose of casualty extraction from hostile environments. The Pod can be transported by unmanned remote-controlled or autonomous vehicles (ground, aerial and marine). Medical equipment contained within the Pod would enable a medic or doctor to perform life-saving interventions on the injured patients during the extraction process. The Pod would significantly reduce the risk to the rescue teams as air superiority may be compromised.
Solinnov
Lead Organisation: SME, Solinnov, SA
The Arrowtooth concept has the potential to change the way the ADF addresses compact radio-controlled weaponised threats such as IED’s, drone warfare and mechanised autonomous platforms at a tactical unit level. Arrowtooth aims to deliver a soldier-portable capability that can be aimed and ‘triggered’ (like a rifle) at an incoming weaponised object to deliver an RF jamming beam which limits the offending object’s control and/or operation or communications. The innovation is further enhanced by its ability to upload signal characteristics gathered in the field to establish new jamming techniques thereby increasing the effectiveness and longevity of the system.
Valkyrie AeroSpace
Lead Organisation: SME, Valkyrie AeroSpace, QLD
Our solution is an armed drone, that is carried in a backpack by combat troops. It has a VTOL capability, and wings for longer horizontal flight linger times. It is controlled by one person within the combat unit, who would coordinate with the commander on the ground and/or a Joint Tactical Air Controller.
The drone has proprietary Ai for the protection of the drone in flight, but all commands are controlled by the pilot
Waste to Building Materials
Lead Organisation: James Cook University, QLD
Different types of waste disposed in landfills remain in the soil for several hundred years. Often waste removal and disposal is a tedious process, and create environmental hazards.Our waste to building, a deployable microwave assisted pyrolysis system, helps to convert non-metallic waste into biochar, which can be used as partial cement replacement in concrete and other constructions. This not only helps reduce the waste going into land fill but generate value out of the waste.
WaterHynergy
Lead Organisation: SME, WaterHynergy, NSW
A modular design for rapid deployment of water and electricity generation that can be easily air dropped for disaster relief, field hospitals, and remote operations. Our solution requires less cargo space, is more reliable, and is easier to maintain than current technologies for generating electricity and providing clean water. The extra reliability when producing electricity is even more important with demand for electrical equipment and robotics increasing constantly. With the potential to generate hydrogen on-site our technology enables remote operations to be more self-sustainable producing their own clean water and electricity.
