iscover
A South Australian research project on hollow-core optical fibre tech has received additional funding from the federal government to support the work.
The research, which is a collaborative effort between Adelaide University’s Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing, Northrop Grumman Australia and Norseld, is working towards technical solutions to enhance navigation in contested, isolated and complicated environments.
This most recent round of funding has seen nearly $500,000 being invested into the project through Australia’s Economic Accelerator Ignite program, a competitive grant awarded to early stage research commercialisation of projects.
The project, named Hollow-core optical fibres for next-generation optical gyroscopes, utilises these optical fibres to guide light through a small air channel, making the signal “immune” to any interference or damage.
Consequently, sensors in navigation technology are able to operate with ultra precision, making them an effective fibre tech for warfare environments where global positioning system may be unavailable or jammed.
“By guiding light through air, we bypass those constraints,” said Adelaide University researcher Dr Erik Schartner.
The additional funding is set to decrease the risks involved with testing and overall enhancement of the technology being used.
It is also hoped that the funding will guide the process of this innovation from research to manufacturing, highlighting the role of industry in research.
“And by partnering with Northrop Grumman and South Australian company Norseld, we’re working to build sovereign capability in this emerging field,” Schartner said.
The project has been awarded funding by a Defence Trailblazer grant.
