The Potential of Cross-Sector Collaboration for Innovation
Cross-sector collaboration through solving aligned challenges has the potential to reshape industries and build future capabilities. An expert panel from the mining technology, planetary observation, medtech and defence industries discussed opportunities at the recent Quantum Technology Exchange event (QuantumTX).
Professor. Alan Bye, Mining Innovation Expert and former VP of Technology for BHP, highlighted the importance of Australia’s leadership in technologies developed through the mining, energy and agriculture sectors. He built on this with examples of how automation and remote operations systems from the mining sector can be directly applied to the challenges of operating remotely in the harsh environments of space.
"Our industries are relatively small in Australia and that we need to work together to build common capabilities. He further commented that the technology, systems and knowledge from multiple sectors should be focused on building cross sector capability clusters rather than traditional industry clusters." Professor Alan Bye
Dr Kate Brooks shared views from her varied career as a leading Astrophysist and an Innovation Sector leader across sectors. Focusing on the cross-applications for medical innovation as the State GM of MTP Connect, she said “Space exploration can claim partial credit for a wide variety of medical innovations. Many medical breakthroughs attributed to space exploration are the result of space agency partnerships with other researchers and space scientists translating their knowledge to other areas of research and innovation.
When congress established NASA in 1958, it required NASA scientists to share information about their discoveries and help business develop commercial uses for them. This collaborative approach set by NASA continues to enable medtech innovation today.
The Lions Eye Institute in Nedlands carries out world-class research on the prevention of blindness. They are working with NASA to develop a technique to measure intracranial pressure. This is a real issue for astronauts in space, experiencing the effects of microgravity. Intracranial pressure is thought to cause vison impairment. Right now, the only way to measure the pressure is through lumbar puncture. Researchers at the Lions Eye Institute are looking at non-invasive ways to detect this through measurable changes in the eye.
I see many more opportunities for this time of medtech space collaboration here in WA, which also extend to the resources sector. Some examples of opportunities include: regular health checks, and personal health monitoring, wearable technology, remote testing for disease, surgical robotics and telehealth.
Professor Gretchen Benedix, Astrogeologist at the Curtin University Space Research and Technology Centre, provided a keynote presentation on 'Crater Counting on Mars' which as an example of how solving challenges for space research has direct applications on earth.
Crater counting using machine learning, is the precursor to intelligent remote sensing. With significant improvements in the depth and quality of spatial resolution of planetary surface datasets, acquired by orbiting spacecraft, we can now see the surfaces of other planets at sub-m scales. This level of resolution has required the available advances in machine learning to produce objectives, using faster and more accurate object detection methods.
Crater counting in general terms is an object detection task with the outcome being a relative timeline of the geological history of a planetary surface. These types of algorithms and machine learning processes can be adapted to numerous challenges on earth. Examples include aerial image analysis for counting cars, plant growth for deforestation, people counting for crowd analysis, remote observations underwater, as well as providing baseline rules for pre-processing remotely acquired data on the fly for real time information.
Gary Hale reflected on his leadership experience in the defence sector in relating to the impact of mega trends in data sciences, cyber-security and AI. He also commented on the rapid acceleration of discussions between industries since the formation of the Australian Space Agency. Gary is the Director of Strategic Research Initiatives (Digital & Space) at Curtin University.
"Opportunities are emerging from cross-cutting technologies across a range of sectors by linking researchers, government and industry in a virtuous cycle of innovation and knowledge creation. If you don’t understand each other and the problems trying to be solved, you just talk past one another and the potential is gone.”
Panel Facilitator Renae Sayers from Curtin University SSTC concluded the panel stating "To speak with the leaders in these technology sectors and learn each other's language accelerates the potential to collaborate across common problems. Galvanized by the opportunities of the space sector we see the sparks of innovation, it was tremendous to see the room connect with this for the first Quantum Technology Exchange."
"The Quantum Technology Exchange opens up new pathways to translate space engineering technologies that enable new medical devices and digital health algorithms.” Dr Kate Brooks, State Manager of MTP Connect
The Quantum Technology Exchange event was Founded by Peter Rossdeutscher and is led by Atomic Sky and Curtin University Space Science and Technology Centre