Earlier this year, the Defence Innovation Hub (DIH) awarded Anywise a contract to further develop its health and usage monitoring system for military bridging. Following its successful demonstration of technology in 2021, Anywise has further secured funding to develop system prototypes across additional bridge fleets including the Medium Girder Bridge, the Improved Ribbon Bridge, and the Dry Support Bridges.
The Fleet Agnostic Bridge Health Usage Monitoring System (FABHUMS) aims to reduce risks, improve operational confidence, and lower cost of ownership of the military's bridging systems.
FABHUMS was developed and demonstrated a through a 'lean capability development model', allowing Defence to 'realise capability benefits incrementally and at a rapid rate'.
"Applying the model to military bridging has provided the capability manager a meaningful roadmap for incremental capability improvements, improved fleet management, and critical safety insights and improvements," CEO Steve Kouloumendas said.
Demonstrated in December 2021 for the ADF, the FABHUMS system has reportedly generated renewed interest from international bridge users. Anywise has initial export approvals in place and is exploring a range of applications of FABHUMS that deliver similar outcomes for military and civilian bridge manufacturers, maintainers, and users in Europe and the US.
Participating at a NATO bridging demonstration in Dec 2022, Anywise demonstrated an early prototype; and through 2023, development efforts have focused on improving the system and sub-system maturity to a point where it can be deployed safely in harsh environments.
Anywise says the FABHUMS system is "attracting interest and attention from Defence and commercial parties from around the world."