AROSE CEO Leanne Cunnold says a new partnership with Robotics Australia Group can help “elevate collaboration and improve outcomes for the robotics ecosystem across Australia”, including in education and training.
AROSE (Australian Remote Operations in Space and on Earth) was established in 2020 to help transfer remote operations expertise and innovation between sectors such as mining and energy, and off-world enterprises.
Growth in Australia’s robotics, automation and artificial intelligence capabilities, and rapid change in these fields, presents a range of opportunities and challenges requiring the highest levels of cross-industry collaboration, according to Cunnold.
A 2022 Robotics Roadmap produced by Robotics Australia Group included a plan for Australia to achieve a sustainable homegrown robotics industry. It said domestic robotics companies had increased revenues by an estimated 50% to circa-A$18 billion between 2018 and 2021.
Automation could add up to $600 billion to Australia’s annual GDP by 2030 given sufficient investment across the private and public sectors, with the growth of analytics and robotics in the resources sector alone potentially generating $74 billion of new economic activity and as many as 80,000 jobs by 2030.
AROSE and Robotics Australia Group have provided input into the Australian Space Agency’s Robotics and Automation on Earth and in Space Roadmap 2021-2030, and the Australian Government’s National Robotics Strategy discussion paper.
“Robotics and automation are central to addressing a range of issues of national importance including our ageing population, servicing regional and remote communities, and labour shortages,” Robotics Australia Group CEO Nicci Rossouw said.
AROSE program director Michelle Keegan said while Australia was regarded as a world-leader in the design and management of autonomous vehicles, robotics and interoperability in the resources sector, “greater investment in robotics and workforce development is required to maximise the opportunities across all industries”.
She said big challenges for industry included the need to achieve zero emissions, zero harm and zero waste.
“The resources and space sectors recognise the need to collaborate to achieve these ambitious goals,” Keegan said.
“Now we need to expand collaboration across industries. This partnership will be a major boost to that important national enterprise.”
Robotics Australia Group chair Dr Sue Keay said an internationally competitive skills base would underpin future industry investment and development.
“The education side of the equation is crucial to providing a pipeline of workers who are appropriately skilled and passionate about robotics and automation,” she said.
