A new hi-tech facility at UniSA’s Mawson Lakes campus will support defence and space SMEs

Startups and small and medium-sized enterprises in the defence and space industries will be given access to the latest digital technologies at a new state-of-the-art collaboration facility at UniSA’s Mawson Lakes campus.

Artist impression of UniSA’s $2 million Industry 4.0 Testlab to be built at Mawson Lakes

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Startups and small and medium-sized enterprises in the defence and space industries will be given access to the latest digital technologies at a new $2 million collaboration facility at UniSA’s Mawson Lakes campus.

The university will invest $1 million in the new “Industry 4.0 Testlab”, with up to $1 million in additional funding provided by the Federal Government.

Industry 4.0 — also known as the fourth industrial revolution — represents the increasing impact of emerging technologies including robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology and Internet of Things.

UniSA Vice Chancellor David Lloyd said the Testlab would become operational by the middle of this year, forming part of national network of six similar facilities.

“Our Testlab will be one of the most advanced industry collaboration facilities in the country, providing South Australia with a gateway to the future of manufacturing,” he said.

“Given the State and Federal Governments’ objective of building an internationally competitive defence and space industry, and the significant investment in that area, the Testlab’s focus will be on supporting SMEs in those supply chains.

“More than 90 per cent of SA’s SMEs are family-owned and employ fewer than 20 staff, producing small-volume bespoke components, and for these businesses with niche market opportunities, digitisation of design, product innovation, and data acquisition throughout the production process can provide key advantages over their current practices.”

The Testlab will support rapid prototyping — a process used to build a physical model from a computer drawing — and will also offer a platform to create “digital twins” of a physical product in order to optimise product performance.

Professor Lloyd said the Testlab would become a key component of the university’s Industry Connections Hub at Mawson Lakes, which is located next to Technology Park and more than 80 defence, aerospace, electronics, engineering and IT organisations including Lockheed Martin, Saab and the Defence Teaming Centre.

“Last year we secured a $450 million Industry 4.0 grant from Siemens and established a co-chaired Industry 4.0 research professorship in collaboration with the Brittany region in France,” he said.

“The Mawson Lakes campus is undergoing a series of transformations, including the introduction this year of new curriculums and facilities to support space and Industry 4.0 programs, along with the planned establishment of the Industry Connections Hub, which will integrate our work with Siemens and the Testlab and numerous other industry collaborations.”