The Natural Hazards Technology Program (the Program) is a $1.89 million competitive grants program to accelerate technology innovation and adoption in NSW. The Program will allow better preparation for and respond to natural hazards by trialling field-ready technology with end-user NSW Government agencies. It builds on the success of the Bushfire Response R&D Mission and Bushfire Technology Pilots Program and expands the remit to provide tangible assistance in overcoming challenges from natural hazards.
The Program is designed to:
- find technology solutions to challenges faced by NSW Government agencies in the management of natural hazards
- support innovative NSW businesses to field-test their technologies with NSW Government agencies to:
- refine and improve their product for market
- build relationships to increase opportunities for future collaborations
- build and improve NSW Government agency awareness of innovation possibilities in natural hazards management and operations through exposure to new technology.
The Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer (OCSE) administers the Program.
The Program will run from January 2024 to June 2025, which includes the 12-month pilot.
Natural Hazards Technology Program Recipients
NSW businesses applied for up $250,000 per grant application to propose their solution for one or more of the Program challenges to pilot their solution with the NSW Government agency to help solve the challenge.
Table 1: Program recipients
Challenge | Pilot Agency/ies | Successful Applicant | Project | Funding Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
3. Heavy plant construction models | FCNSW (lead) & RFS (observers) | Kablamo Pty Ltd | Firestory: Fire Spread Predictions for Heavy Plant Selection in Bushfire Response | $250,000 |
4. Understanding evacuation behaviours | RA (lead) & RFS (observers) | Compass IOT Pty Ltd | Connected Vehicle Data for Real-Time and Retrospective Evacuation Decision Making Using real-time data to better understand vehicle movements during emergencies to model how drivers are likely to behave in the next flood, fire, or emergency to streamline evacuations and keep people safe. | $250,000 |
7. Command-and-control interface | RFS (lead) & FCNSW (observers) | Kablamo Pty Ltd | Athena Uplift: Command and Control Interface Delivering an automated user interface that seamlessly ingests and analyses data from various systems, enabling time-critical operational decisions. | $200,000 |
8. Intelligence creation | FRNSW (lead) & RFS, SES, & DCCEEW (observers) | Kablamo Pty Ltd | Firestory for All Hazards Intelligence at FRNSW Providing timely intelligence and forecasting to facilitate efficient and safe operations, ultimately safeguarding lives and property | $250,000 |
14. Hazardous tree identification | RFS (lead) & FCNSW (observer) | Ninox Robotics Pty Ltd | Drone based recognition and assessment of hazardous trees following a fire operation | $83,795 |
15. Rapid asset condition & damage assessment | RA (lead); FCNSW, DCCEEW, RA & NPWS (observers) | Unleash live Pty Ltd | Delivering rapid insights and intelligence to response agencies during natural hazards using drone photography, LiDAR, and machine learning to analyse large data sets. | $248,760 |
18. Measuring water flow & bathymetry in rivers | Water NSW (lead) & DCCEEW (observers) | Surfbee Pty Ltd | Innovative water quality sensing and data collection using uncrewed boats providing valuable insights into water conditions in NSW. | $90,000 |
19. Water quality monitoring & predictive capabilities | Water NSW (lead) & DCCEEW (observer) | CyanoLakes Australia | A Blue Green Algae Forecasting and Alert System for NSW State-wide blue-green algal bloom forecasting and early-warning system using innovative satellite remote sensing technology and machine learning. | $228,550 |
21. Multilingual emergency warnings | DCS (lead); RFS & SES (observers) | QBL Media Pty Ltd | EmergencyCALD: AI-powered multilingual emergency warning system AI-powered multilingual emergency warning system to better reach culturally and linguistically diverse communities. | $156,400 |
'Big Ideas' Challenge | NPWS (lead); FCNSW & RA (observers) | Sphere Communications Pty Ltd | Enabling portable and remote drone operations beyond visual line of sight to better prevent and manage natural disasters. | $132,495 |
Challenge statements
NSW Government agencies posed 25 challenges to address current gaps in responding to, managing and recovering from natural hazards. There was also a 'big ideas' stream to help identify future technology capabilities.
More information and a description of the challenges are in Natural Hazards Technology Program Challenge Statements
Natural Hazards Ecosystem Contacts Directory
Companies supported by the Bushfire Response R&D Mission
The NSW Government established the Bushfire Response R&D Mission to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative technologies to better prepare for future bushfires. There are no further rounds of the Bushfire Response R&D Mission Programs, with the NSW Government expanding the remit to consider natural hazards more broadly.
Information on the innovative companies supported by the Bushfire Response R&D Mission, are listed in the Bushfire Response R&D Mission booklet available at this link:
Videos
Further Information
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