Innovative individuals and companies in the Land domain have until July 9 to enter the 2018 Land Forces Industry Innovation Awards, which will be presented at Land Forces 2018.
Awards will be presented in the following categories:
- Land Forces 2018 National Innovation Award
- Land Forces 2018 SME Innovation Grant ($15,000)
- Land Forces 2018 Young Innovator Award ($15,000)
Organisers are also encouraging entries in the following categories, for which the judges may present additional prizes at their discretion:
- Combat Equipment and Mobility: from body armour and personal equipment up to guided weapons, high velocity guns for armoured vehicles and advanced truck and vehicle designs;
- Autonomous and Unmanned Systems: from hand-held UAVs, airborne payloads and advanced ground stations to robots, autonomous battlefield surveillance sensors and vehicles;
- Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR): from an infra-red weapon sight or tactical communications systems to a corps-level battle management system, satellite communications link, Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Cyber Security capability.
This will be the third Land Forces to feature the Innovation Awards, which are developed by conference organiser Industry Defence and Security Australia Limited (IDSAL).
“The awards reflect our altruistic purpose, which is to promote the development of Australia’s defence industries,” Land Forces 2018 CEO Ian Honnery said. “We have expanded them and increased the value of the two cash prizes in recognition of the great work being done by innovative Australians.”
“We want to present all six awards; we want to recognise the skills and expertise that exist within Australia and reward the highly innovative work which is being undertaken by Australian companies and individuals.”
The awards are open to Australian companies or the Australian subsidiaries of overseas parent companies. The innovation could be a new product or service to a new approach to business. Entries will be judged on originality and their understanding of user needs.
The 2016 award winners included:
- National Innovation Award: Australian Defence Apparel Pty. Ltd, for the One299 adjustable backpack frame which provides the ability to better distribute a soldier’s pack load for greater comfort.
- SME Innovation Grant: Marathon Targets, for its robotic small-arms target system for use in Army live fire training and exercises.
- Young Innovator Scholarship: Dr. Long Nguyen of DST Group at Fishermens Bend, Victoria, for his world-leading exploratory research on Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene composite vehicle armour.
The 2016 National Innovation Award went to Australian Defence Apparel Pty. Ltd, for the One299 adjustable backpack frame which provides the ability to better distribute a soldier’s pack load for greater comfort. Credit: AMDA/ADA
The Land Forces Industry Innovation Awards are part of a program of awards presented biennially at the Pacific International Maritime Expo in Sydney, the Avalon airshow, and the CivSec congress.
The program has awarded $245,000 in Innovation grants and awards across all events since it began in 2013.
Land Forces 2018 will be held at the Adelaide Exhibition Centre from 4 to 6 September 2018. More information and submission forms are available here.