Deakin researchers showcase innovation at Australian International Airshow

Deakin University researchers will show the world how they are redefining innovation at this year's Australian International Airshow.

Researchers at the coal face of materials, design, performance, safety and robotics will trade their Waurn Ponds laboratories for Avalon Airport, where they will showcase their capabilities to potential industry partners.

After the three-day trade show, which begins on Tuesday, the public will get the chance to see some of the cutting-edge technology from across Deakin's Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment.

Deakin's Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Professor Lee Astheimer said the university was making the most of the unique opportunity to showcase research, collaborative activities and industry focus to an informed audience.

"Visitors will represent industry and government bodies from around the world – and across the spectrum from general aviation, to airlines, air forces and aerospace," Professor Astheimer said.

Over 30 staff from Deakin's Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM), Centre for Intelligent Systems Research (CISR), Faculty of Engineering and School of Built Environment, and the IBM Watson Cognitive Computing Platform, will be part of the Deakin showcase.

"While the work we are doing is directly related to industry, we are also excited to be able to showcase some of our exciting project to the community," Professor Astheimer said.

"Whether it be Deakin's mighty OzBot robots, super strong ballistics helmets, or a Virtual Reality Realisation System, everyone who stops by our stand is in for a treat."

With a focus on hands-on experience, the Deakin stand will give visitors the chance to see and interact with real examples of manufacturing and meet the researchers behind new innovations including:

• Carbon fibre materials and products;
• Performance and safety research and design; and
• Intelligent systems – including robotics, haptics and 3D scanning.

"Future students will also get to see how projects at Deakin are refined over a number of iterations and talk one-on-one with Deakin course advisors about the opportunities Deakin has to offer for careers in science, engineering and health," Professor Astheimer said.