Rise Project Consulting helping innovate wastewater management in the NT and beyond

From a humble suburban shopfront, a Territory business has developed new technology that is poised to revolutionise the global wastewater management industry.

From a humble suburban shopfront at Rapid Creek, a Territory business has developed new technology that is poised to revolutionise the global wastewater management industry.

Rise Project Consulting has won more than $180,000 in NT government funding to help commercialise its Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV), a remote-operated floating drone used to measure and map wastewater ponds – with implications for public health, urban development, business and sustainability.

Designed and tested in the Territory for the local environment, the USV could replace existing, less fit-for-purpose technology used in similar conditions across the world.

Current survey methods can include craft propellers becoming entangled in debris or staff taking measurements by prodding the bottom of wastewater ponds.

In comparison the USV floats on wastewater, rather than in wastewater, and is fitted with sonars, GPS and data logging capabilities to enable high resolution 3D mapping.

Stephen Goat, Managing Director for Rise Project Consulting. Picture: Fia Walsh.

“We realised that the products on the market are failing up here in the Territory, mainly because of the water systems, and also the climate, heat, humidity and everything we’re working with,” Rise managing director Stephen Goat said.

“We’re basically developing the prototypes to go into the waterways up here that can then be used across all of northern Australia, and then into the same climate into the Asian market as well.”

The $360,436 project is backed by a $180,218 co-investment from the NT government’s Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem Fund, which is administered by the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC).

The investment is also set to create 30 local jobs at Rise and help the business expand.

Working in collaboration with Charles Darwin University’s northern Australia Centre for Autonomous Systems, Rise will use Territory skills and equipment to design and test the solution in Darwin before moving to manufacturing and commercialisation.

Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre Northern Territory Director Charmaine Phillips. Picture: Fia Walsh.

AMGC’s Northern Territory director Charmaine Phillips said: “Rise is another example of the highly capable yet small manufacturers that can be found across the NT.”

“By tapping into the AME Fund and the connections it has across the Territory ecosystem, the company can pursue commercialising a world-leading product here in the Top End, all while generating prosperity and opportunities for Territorians,” she said.

Advanced Manufacturing Minister Robyn Cahill said investing in local businesses such as Rise would help build the Territory’s capabilities in advanced manufacturing and support emerging industries to grow.

“One of the advantages of being a small jurisdiction is that you can put a small investment into a project that has ramifications that flow across the Territory, across the country and then beyond our borders.

“So investing and partnering together, which is something that is often very challenging in larger jurisdictions, people become very competitive.”

Originally published as Rise Project Consulting helping innovate wastewater management in the NT and beyond