Data61 in 2020

What a year! Challenges galore, but through it all, CSIRO's Data61, the digital technologies and data sciences arm of Australia's national science agency, has proved one thing - digital innovation doesn't stop for anything; not bushfires, not a global pandemic, not anything.

At the end of my first calendar year as Director of Data61, I'd like to reflect on some of the highlights of what 2020 looked like for Data61.

• We launched our Early Adopters Program, which brings a novel "try before you buy" approach to commercial technology adoption. Customers are provided with a cutting-edge technology and IP with no up-front costs for 12 months. First off the rank was our Wildcat next-generation 3D SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping) software, which enables a vehicle to map, analyse and navigate its surrounding environment without any human intervention. Five partners have signed up to use Wildcat as part of the EAP program, with the first round of the program fully subscribed. Watch the coverage on 10 News.
• We commercialized our BLEAT technology. BLEAT is an Internet of Things low-cost solution for businesses that need to track people and objects through indoor infrastructures. Ynomia is the commercial licensee of the BLEAT technology, which is applying it in the construction industry to create a connected jobsite, giving worksite personnel the ability to locate materials, equipment, and people throughout a live construction site in real time.
• We received national recognition for the Spark wildfire simulation and prediction platform. Spark takes our current knowledge of fire behaviour and combines it with state-of-the-art simulation science to produce predictions, statistics and visualisations of bushfire spread.
• We made a substantial contribution to COVID-19 analytics and visualisation. From the biomolecular simulation and virtual reality of COVID-19, to the modelling of how COVID-19 might spread through transportation networks in Sydney under different mitigation options, to investigating the risks related to COVID during flight, we had it covered.
• The NSW Spatial Digital Twin did very well at the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) iAwards, where it won the Government and Public Sector Solution of the Year for NSW and was the Merit recipient (i.e. 2nd) in the category at the National iAwards.  
• As part of CSIRO's Digiscape Future Science Platform, we launched two products to market: Graincast (which uses national weather and soils information to forecast soil moisture and yield for grain crops) and the 1622 Water Quality app, which helps farmers manage fertiliser use and so reduce nitrogen runoff onto the Great Barrier Reef.
• CSIRO was named the leading institute in Australia in cybersecurity research by The Australian's report on Research

These are just a few of the countless highlights from 2020 at Data61. We've seen the importance of digital innovation grow exponentially due to the global pandemic, with some reports estimating that digital transformation across industries accelerated by ten years in just a few months.

The important work that Data61 does in digital R&D is more critical than ever as we emerge from the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. 2020 has been a testament to the outstanding work of all our research scientists, engineers and support staff who have worked tirelessly in challenging circumstances and have refused to give up on our core purpose of solving the greatest challenges using innovative digital science and technology.

If the results of 2020 are anything to go by, we are in for an exciting year in #digitalinnovation in 2021. I look forward to Data61 being part of that story.