The Minister for Defence Industry, Christopher Pyne, has launched the nation’s first Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Defence.
Performing the ritual in Brisbane at an International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Mr Pyne said the CRC had been established under the Next Generation Technologies Fund.
He said the first Defence CRC was focused on trusted autonomous systems, allowing Australia’s industry and research sectors to collaborate with Defence on leading edge technologies to maintain the Australian Defence Force’s capability advantage.
“The Defence CRC has been established to research and deliver game-changing autonomous technologies to Defence, ensuring trusted and effective cooperation between humans and machines,” Mr Pyne said.
“It will initially carry out three research projects in the maritime, air and land domains led respectively by Thales Australia, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems.”
He said the CRC program was a tried and tested model with a proven track record in translating research into capability.
“Not only will Defence benefit with new capabilities, Australian industry will improve its expertise and competitiveness in autonomous technologies,” Mr Pyne said.
“I look forward to the CRC making a vital contribution to advances in autonomous systems for Defence capability.”
Chancellor of the University of South Australia, Jim McDowell is to Chair the CRC, whose founding members include Victoria’s RMIT University and Defence Science and Technology. It will have its headquarters in Brisbane.
