Background
Tactical Research develop advanced sensing solutions for application in surveillance and national security. They partnered with the University of Canberra Human-Centred Technology Research Centre (HCT) to further develop their congnition® platform.
cognition®, a miniaturised field analytics platform, was initially developed for military use, with Tactical Research identifying an opportunity to expand its application. They undertook a technical feasibility study for incorporating the cognition® technology into a drone based alpine search and rescue system.
Challenge
Tactical Research looked to the Australian Government's Entrepreneurs' Programme to assist with the feasibility study, and accessed an Innovation Connections Business Researcher Placement grant to support the collaboration with the University of Canberra to undertake the study.
Focussing on discovery and use case understanding to inform development considerations, additional application areas were identified in relation to emergency services and rescue situations, with a second Innovation Connections grant enabling extension of the initial research project.
Outcome
The research has helped Tactical Research to position itself with a well-defined understanding of problems/opportunities for emerging shifts in the use of UAVs for task-based emergency scenarios, including alpine rescue, marine rescue, urban fire rescue and bushfire monitoring/alert mechanisms.
Tactical Research worked with the University of Canberra to secure a Discovery Translation Fund grant to support first of type development, alongside a joint application for an ARC Linkage Project Grant. The grant is expected to further research human centred design aspects of UAV adoption in emergency response scenarios, factoring ethics and other considerations key to supporting pursuit of commercialisation opportunities.
Innovation Connections helped us to successfully undertake technical feasibility studies for expanding existing technology for new industrial applications.
—Scott Russell, Director, Tactical Research
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