UWA – Innovation towards industry 4.0

The Governor was invited to tour the University of Western Australia (UWA) and meet with faculty leaders driving innovation and industry, helping WA to define its place within the fourth industrial revolution. Pru Steinerts – Industry Engagement Manager showed the Governor around campus, sampling the great work and advancements UWA are championing.

Control Room Use Simulation Environment (CRUSE)

A submarine control room is effectively the brain of the submarine. CRUSE has been developed by DST-G and installed at UWA to support our ongoing collaboration that explores the human performance element of the submarine control room.

The idea behind the research is to allow human scientists to test out fundamental aspects of psychology and team dynamics that impact team performance in the context of emerging technology change (such as information sharing, automation and AI).

CRUSE enables us to simulate key aspects of the way that technology is emerging. We anticipate that there will be quite long lead time between the studies we are doing in CRUSE and changes that Navy may make. However we think that investing in this fundamental work is important.

If technology change emerges homogeneously across our region it will be the human element that will provide a defensive edge.

Industry 4.0 Lab

ERDi provides the validation platform for you to test I4.0 commercial readiness for open process control systems using international standards.

We specialise in I4.0 interoperability standards from standards definition, research and development, testing of interoperable components and architectures, education and compliance testing. We enable you to:

• Validate your technology readiness for an I4.0 environment
• Develop and improve your technology and architecture
• Overcome technical problems
• Lower technology risks
• Increase technology adoption

The Testlab provides services to multiple organisations of any scale.

e-zone student hub

The Faculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences has built a new home to transform the way EMS educates students, undertakes research and engages with the community.

EZONE UWA provides an unparalleled student experience, building an innovative and collaborative culture based on a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) capability like no other in the country.

The Ezone houses three specialist laboratories predominately used for teaching in the Faculty of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. The Materials Testing Laboratory, The Hydraulics Laboratory and the Thermodynamics Laboratory.

–   The Materials Testing Laboratory will support students learning about testing the structural and mechanical properties of existing materials and newly developed materials.

–   The Hydraulics Laboratory supports learning on a number of different experiments in relation to fluid dynamics, environmental engineering and hydraulic systems.

–   The Thermodynamics Laboratory will support students learning about how different systems transfer energy.

MEMS Lab

The UWA team has developed a new class of sensors operating in the IR part of the spectrum rather than the visible. This provides unique multi-spectral sensing capabilities with reduced size, weight and power requirements.

These robust sensors have applications in field portable and airborne-mounted defence applications for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and for standoff detection of threats. This group also develops low power MEMS based sensors, leveraging electrical, optical or electro-optic sensing mechanisms.

UWA researchers have also been investigating porous silicon technologies for more than 10 years and current investigations are considering the technology for long-wave thermal imaging applications.

Quantum Science and Technology

A priority area in the Physics Department of UWA is Quantum Science and Technology, with application to developing translational outcomes and testing fundamental physics.

We have world-leading researchers exploring new possibilities to harness nature at a much deeper level than ever before, while educating and inspiring the next generation graduates to be part of the quantum future.

1) Rotation Lab, contains a precision rotation table to search for frame dependent speed of light violations. We have used this to perform the best test of Einstein Special Relativity

2) Engineered Quantum Systems Lab. Two dilution fridges, the coldest place in WA able to cool to a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero, leaving only quantum phenomena to investigate.

3) Dark Matter Lab, the ORGAN axion detector, capable of turning dark matter into electricity if we find it. Uses one of the most powerful dilution fridges available.

4) Low noise lab, developing the world’s lowest noise oscillators, important for many fundamental physics and quantum engineering experiments and translation research such as oscillators for 5G and precise radar.

5) Student Quantum Labs, focuses on providing hands-on education for quantum technologies.

With the rapid development in quantum information technology, there is an increasing need to prepare students with an intuitive understanding of fundamental quantum theory, which can often be obscured by its inherent mathematical formalism. The Undergraduate Quantum Lab focuses on providing hands-on education for the next generation quantum technologies.

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