Technology Connecting Across Industries with Fugro SpAARC, QuantumTX and AROSE

With the evolution of technology many of the challenges that industries face are converging. Technology providers from the energy, mining, defence sectors, agriculture and space are delivering solutions that equally support challenges in other industries. 

Last week 25 attendees from two dozen tech businesses attended the Quantum Technology Exchange visit to the Fugro Remote Operations facility in Western Australia. Based in the Telstra Satellite Hub, the facility also provides a test bed for some of the innovation that will be evident in the Fugro Australian Space Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Control Complex (SpAARC).  

SpAARC has also been supported by the Australian Space Agency and WA state government to provides a foundation that can support the emerging space ecosystem and create more high-tech jobs in robotics and automation to benefit other industries such as mining, agriculture, emergency services and maritime surveillance. 

 “Growing the collaborative ecosystem around leading initiatives such as SpAARC as an essential component to strengthening Western Australia’s position as a leading State to grow a tech business, and Australia’s position as a global hub for technology development, application and export. This site visit to Fugro Remote Operations Center is a great example of how large organisations can engage to strengthen their full solution capability and support the ecosystem around them,” said Peter Rossdeutscher, Independent Board Director.

Fugro is an industry-leading operator in the remote operations & robotics control space with extensive experience operating in harsh marine environments and have been selected by the Australian Space Agency (ASA) to design, build & operate the Australian Space Automation, Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Control Complex (SpAARC) in WA, also supported by additional funding from the WA state government.

“Fugro’s ability to operate robotics systems over vast distances on the back of low bandwidth satellites using unique data transfer technology and edge compute capability is one example of necessity forcing unique adaptation of new technologies,” Fugro SpAARC Director Sam Forbes said.

“With technology as the enabler, the integration of sophisticated systems must be overlaid with appropriate operational architecture and process to provide complete situational awareness allowing complex outcomes in remote and harsh environments at minimum risk. The team at Fugro are well equipped to handle hostile and harsh environments, both on land and subsea. Autonomous and remote operation technologies allow sophisticated integration of systems and increased efficiencies in production, while fundamentally changing operational processes.”

The SMEs attended discussed how their capabilities could be tested and applied into sectors with the support of SpAARC and aligned organisations such as AROSE, METS Ignited and NERA. Other speakers on the day included Luke Aitken (Fugro Next), Mark Fanning and Dean Last (Telstra) and Dr Benjamin Kaebe (Fugro SpAARC)

Paul Mullins, Fugro Director of Remote Operations APAC provided some further information on the positive impact of the transformation; 'With our remote operation centre here in Gnangara, Fugro has enabled to work from a centralised location for jobs which required to be offshore. This increases the safety, work diversity and work-life balance for our operators, as well as reducing environmental impact by using smaller assets at site. With our USV (unmanned surface vessel) and integrated robotics systems we have the potential to execute the entire from a central location here in Perth” 

And Benjamin Kaebe said 'The site visit with Perth's tech SMEs from the Quantum Technology Exchange has impressed me a lot. I appreciate everyone took the time so we can share our enthusiasm about our remote operations and SpAARC.

The site visit ending in business networking for the QuantumTX businesses to gain connections, share and explore ideas, pathways and contracts. More about the businesses can be found at www.QuantumTX.com.au or www.AtomicSky.com.au