UC Engineering researchers, (pictured left to right) Professor Richard Green, Professor Dan Zhao and Kelvin Barnsdale, have gained MBIE Endeavour funding of $9,837,002 over 5 years for their UAV project.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Endeavour fund, announced by Research, Science and Innovation Minister Hon Dr Megan Woods, will fund 成人大片 projects to improve food safety, increase drone capability, boost productivity of redox-flow batteries and reduce hatch failure in our critically endangered native bird, the K膩k膩p艒.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Professor Ian Wright is delighted with the high number of Canterbury research projects which gained funding.
鈥淥ur 成人大片 researchers are committed to solving current and future challenges faced by all New Zealanders. The funding of these research projects highlights their national and international significance and relevance for ensuring tomorrow鈥檚 economy, industry, and environment are the best they can be.鈥
Professor Richard Green鈥檚 project,听enabling unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) to perform precise tasks in complex environments, will benefit from $9.8 million over 5 years.
鈥淥ur research will go beyond simple surveying and inspection tasks. We will build a platform for UAVs to use precision tools in changing dynamic environments, such as outdoors, around hazardous infrastructure like power pylons, or in construction or forestry, without ladders or scaffolding,鈥 Professor Green says.
鈥淓nabling UAVs to use precision tools is a new technological capability and a radical change in functionality. It will not only transform the way UAVs can be used, but also how and where,鈥 he says.
鈥檚 research is focused on a new听electromagnetic detection and imaging method aimed at boosting food safety听systems will benefit from $5.2 million in funding over 5 years. The technology, first developed for the timber industry, is being adapted to identify foreign objects in food, such as milk.
Associate Professor Tammy Steeves鈥听Smart Idea (receiving $1,000,000 over 3 years) is a nationwide听project investigating the DNA structure of the K膩k膩p艒听to find the cause of high hatching failure. It is believed to be the first research project in the world investigating the relationship between DNA structure and early hatching failure.
UC research projects awarded 2021 Endeavour funding
Eight 成人大片 Smart Ideas and two Research Programmes have been funded in the听:
Research Programmes
- Professor Richard Green听鈥 Enabling unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) to use tools in complex dynamic environments ($9,837,002 over 5 years).听Enabling drones to use tools in complex environments
- 听鈥 A new electromagnetic imaging method for advanced food process optimization ($5,225,040 over 5 years).听Super-sensing offers food safety breakthrough for food processing industry
Smart Ideas projects
- Associate Professor Catherine Bishop听(Associate Investigator, MacDiarmid Institute) 鈥 Production of technology-critical, strategic metals using molten oxide electrolysis ($999,999 over 3 years).听Unique research into tech-critical metals to help support climate goals
- Professor James Brasington听鈥 3D bathymetric modelling of shallow freshwater bodies with short-wave, small-footprint aerial lidar ($999,924 over 2 years).
- Dr Sarah Kessans听鈥 Fungal biosynthesis of nisin for enteric methane mitigation ($1,000,000 over 2 years).听Launching a space lab into orbit
- Associate Professor Aaron Marshall听(Principal Investigator, MacDiarmid Institute)听鈥 Designing electrocatalytic electrodes to increase performance and lower the cost of redox flow batteries ($1,000,000 over 3 years).听UC electrode research paving the way for cheaper renewable energy storage
- Professor Tanja Mitrovic听鈥 Transforming New Zealand鈥檚 ICT workforce using digital personalized interactive training听($999,753 over 3 years).听Targeted approach to developing soft skills in ICT sector
- Dr Stephen Pawson听鈥 Distributed radio-localisation techniques to track flying insects with a UAV swarm ($999,705 over 3 years).听Tracking NZ鈥檚 threatened bugs with drones
- Associate Professor Tammy Steeves听鈥 Building an integrative genomics framework to mitigate maladaptive reproductive traits in endangered species ($1,000,000 over 3 years).听Breakthrough for k膩k膩p艒 hatching could be in the genes
- Professor Matt Watson听鈥 Non-invasive sap flow measurement and mechanisms for reliable tree syrup yield predictions ($999,999 over 3 years).听Sweet future tapped for NZ maple syrup test
