The Australian government has awarded Sydney-based unmanned systems developer Ocius a $1.7 million contract to explore the viability of an intelligent command and control network of persistent unmanned surface vessels.
Awarded as part of the Australian Defence Innovation Hub initiative, the contract will see Ocius work on the technology which has the potential to improve maritime patrol, mine clearance, environmental monitoring, and search and rescue operations.
In an announcement on November 22, Australian defense industry minister Steven Ciobo said five Australian businesses received a total of over $12 million to further develop their innovative technologies to support the Australian Defence Force.
Established in 2016, the Defence Innovation Hub accepts proposals on innovations at all stages, from early stage concept exploration and technology demonstration through to advanced prototypes for integration, test and evaluation.
“The latest tranche of investments, funded through the Defence Innovation Hub, demonstrates the government’s commitment to invest in Australian industry, universities and research organisations to deliver leading-edge capability for defense,” defense industry minister Steven Ciobo said.
As part of this investment, Sentient Vision Systems, a small Australian computer vision technology company, has been awarded a $5.5 million contract to explore the development of a land Visual Detection and Ranging (VIDAR) system that utilities electro-optics with a new infra-red capability for low light and night time functionality.
Thomas Global has received $3.2 million contract to explore development of a next generation, high definition, color, digital biocular image control unit for use in armored vehicles.