Defence signs on to university-led artificial intelligence research

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The Australian Department of Defence has committed a combined $1.746 million in funding two artificial intelligence research projects with the University of South Australia and Deakin University.

The Australian Department of Defence has committed a combined $1.746 million in funding two artificial intelligence research projects with the University of South Australia and Deakin University.

The funding will be made available from the Next Generation Technologies Fund (NGTF) by a phase two call-out from the Defence Artificial Intelligence Research Network (DAIRNet).

Defence has signed contracts on 6 March for two research projects, which will use artificial intelligence to process noisy and dynamic data into information and help inform military decision making.

 
 

The University of South Australia research project will develop a statistical machine learning algorithm to detect early signs of infection in a person using data from devices like smart watches. It is expected to have practical applications for early detection of chemical or biological threats and maximise the intervention effectiveness.

The Deakin University project will apply machine learning to develop models that can process multi-source, multi-modal, irregularly timed, noisy, and dynamic data, through their Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute.

Chief Defence Scientist Professor Tanya Monro said the aim of the two-year projects was to rapidly develop prototypes that deliver defence capabilities.

“Robotics, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence are a group of technologies that are a Defence Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority,” she said.

“The DAIRNet Phase II call-out sought innovative proposals for prototypes that will help warfighters achieve superior decision making, and ultimately enhance defence capability.”

The NGTF is a cornerstone of Department of Defence’s integrated innovation system with $1.2 billion in funding through to 2030 to invest in new capabilities for Defence.

Robert Dougherty

Robert is a senior journalist who has previously worked for Seven West Media in Western Australia, as well as Fairfax Media and Australian Community Media in New South Wales. He has produced national headlines, photography and videography of emergency services, business, community, defence and government news across Australia. Robert graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Public Relations and Journalism at Curtin University, attended student exchange program with Fudan University and holds Tier 1 General Advice certification for Kaplan Professional. Reach out via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via LinkedIn.

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