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Curtinnovation Awards 2024

Official Program
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Order of Proceedings
Acknowledgment of Country

Acknowledgment of Country

Curtin University acknowledges all First Nations of this place we call Australia and recognises the many nations who have looked after Country for more than 60,000 years. We are honoured and grateful for the privilege to maintain campuses operating in Boorloo (Perth) and Karlkurla (Kalgoorlie) in Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present as Custodians and Owners of these lands.

Official Welcome

Professor Lindy Fitzgerald, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research Curtin University

As a university with an established reputation for innovation, Curtin excels in a diverse range of research areas that aim to make tomorrow better for people all over the world. Hear from Deputy-Vice Chancellor of Research, Professor Lindy Fitzgerald, as she explains how the Curtinnovation Awards help to showcase Curtin’s strengths in research, commercialisation and innovation.

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2024 Finalists

Celebrating Curtin University’s bold innovators.

Congratulations to our 2024 Curtinnovation Awards finalists on their innovation-driven projects:

AI-Enhanced Stethoscope

AI-Enhanced Stethoscope

AnalyZr: Mineral analysis tool predicting field characteristics

AnalyZr: Mineral analysis tool predicting field characteristics

CeSL: Chatbot to Encourage Self-Regulated Learning

CeSL: Chatbot to Encourage Self-Regulated Learning

ChemoDX: Early Detection of Chemotherapy Drug Response in Ovarian Cancer

ChemoDX: Early Detection of Chemotherapy Drug Response in Ovarian Cancer

Children’s Technology Cove: Coaching digital literacy in children

Children’s Technology Cove: Coaching digital literacy in children

Autonomous Drill Rig Path Optimisation (DRPO) Technology

Autonomous Drill Rig Path Optimisation (DRPO) Technology

Edison Collab: AI-driven workshop outcomes tool

Edison Collab: AI-driven workshop outcomes tool

Healthy Connections: Mobile first-aid response kit

Healthy Connections: Mobile first-aid response kit

ImageHeal: Predicting healing trajectories of patients in real time

ImageHeal: Predicting healing trajectories of patients in real time

Maintenance Schedule Optimiser

Maintenance Schedule Optimiser

MiniJet: A novel spacecraft thruster for small satellites

MiniJet: A novel spacecraft thruster for small satellites

Moombaki Noongar Cultural Virtual Quest

Moombaki Noongar Cultural Virtual Quest

Procuracon: A two-sided construction marketplace

Procuracon: A two-sided construction marketplace

RETIdrop: Pioneering eye drops targeting defective genes

RETIdrop: Pioneering eye drops targeting defective genes

Shell-to-Sheet: Sustainable food packaging from abalone

Shell-to-Sheet: Sustainable food packaging from abalone

SMAAT: Speech Movement and Acoustic Analysis Tracking

SMAAT: Speech Movement and Acoustic Analysis Tracking

Curtin University: A Global Entrepreneurial Institute

Innovation is embedded in Curtin’s identity. The University has a strong history of transforming ideas into successful products, services and businesses.

Summary of performance

Curtin University have refined a suite of programs to support innovators and startup companies and continues to develop initiatives to inspire and guide Western Australia’s next generation of entrepreneurs.

Curtin’s entrepreneur development programs have supported more than 550 startup ideas, raising more than $200 million in follow on funding and generating more than $230 million in sales revenue.

Commercialisation Outcomes

Programs

The Curtinnovation Awards recognises and celebrates innovative individuals and teams. Programs such as Curtin Ignition and Curtin Accelerate build capability in entrepreneurial teams.

Our new Curtin Venture Studio is fast tracking the building of ‘protoventures’, successful enterprises based on demand driven research.

Our Entrepreneurs in Residence program is designed to inspire and guide the next generation of entrepreneurs whilst the Kickstart fund fills the gap in early-stage funding.

Our annual West Tech Fest will be taking place from 2 – 6 December 2024 and connects the local startup ecosystem with global tech titans.

Curtinnovation Event Showcase Booths

View the eight showcase booths located in the River View Rooms throughout the Curtinnovation Awards event.

A Winning Impact: DARC

A research team who have developed a novel system to help mining companies enhance their drilling efficiency and safety practices took out the inaugural Trailblazer Curtinnovation Award. Find out how the win has helped accelerate their commercialisation journey to market since 2022.

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Contact Us

Curtin’s commercialisation team takes ideas from infancy to commercial viability.
If you’re a potential investor scouting for opportunities, or you’re a researcher, student or alumni with a great idea for an innovative product or service, contact us today for a chat.

Available in alternative formats on request.

Disclaimer and copyright

Information in this publication is correct at the time of printing but may be subject to change. This material does not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. Curtin accepts no responsibility for and makes no representations, whether express or implied, as to the accuracy or reliability in any respect of any material in this publication. Except to the extent mandated otherwise by legislation, Curtin University does not accept responsibility for the consequences of any reliance which may be placed on this material by any person. Curtin will not be liable to you or to any other person for any loss or damage (including direct, consequential or economic loss or damage) however caused and whether by negligence or otherwise which may result directly or indirectly from the use of this publication.

© Curtin University 2024.

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Official Welcome

Each year, the quality of innovation on display at the Curtinnovation Awards is inspiring, and this year’s event is no different. In fact, 2024 is our strongest field to date.

With novel ideas that stretch from the subterranean to the far reaches of space, the 2024 finalists exemplify the remarkable potential that emerges when academia, industry and savvy investors join forces.

Four of the sixteen finalists are dedicated to improving the lives of children, continuing a long-running thread at these awards of youth welfare and development. Six are in the field of healthcare and medical technology, and four leverage artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency at a scale that was unimaginable only a few years ago.

All sixteen are steadfastly focused on making a positive difference to our people, planet and partners.

Curtin University’s Commercialisation Team is committed to helping Western Australians turn novel ideas into commercially viable products and services. The team not only supports research translation – it delivers a series of programs that mentor and foster WA’s aspiring entrepreneurs at all stages of the innovation cycle, including Ignition, Accelerate, and West Tech Fest.

In May, the team unveiled the multi-million-dollar Curtin Venture Studio, which will help accelerate the growth of start-ups that are pioneering ways to enable the resources sector to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Please contact Curtin’s Executive Director of Commercialisation, Rohan McDougall, if you want to learn more about what Curtin can offer your business beyond today’s event.

Thank you to everyone who submitted applications to the 2024 Curtinnovation Awards. It was a very strong field and I congratulate the finalists on their success, which only comes from a combination of research excellence, rigour, ambition and persistence.

I encourage you to consider the potential of the innovations presented this year, and whether your organisation can partner with us, not only in spirit but in action.

Your support and investment can shape the future, drive positive change, and yield substantial returns for both academia and industry.

AI-Enhanced Stethoscope

Early detection of Valvular Heart Diseases (VHD) is particularly challenging in remote and rural areas due to the scarcity of specialised cardiac care and advanced diagnostic tools like echocardiograms. VHD, if left undetected, can lead to severe complications and high mortality rates.

A research team at Curtin have proposed an AI-enhanced stethoscope that can improve the detection of heart diseases by analysing the sounds of the heart more accurately than the human ear. In doing so, it significantly increases the chances of timely treatment and reduces the risk of complications like heart failure. Guided by AI, a clinician collects heart sounds from their patient and benchmarks them against echocardiography and cardiac MRI standards to more accurately detect and classify heart valve diseases.

The team are currently working with data collected by Fiona Stanley Hospital to improve the device which they hope to bring to market after further testing and development.

Lead Applicant: Dr Abdul Rahman Ihdayhid

Team: Professor Mohammed Bennamoun, Professor Girish Dwivedi, Misha Gunasekara, Ashley Hooper, Dr MD Moniruzzaman

AnalyZr: Mineral analysis tool predicting field characteristics

Chemical ‘signatures’ are traditionally used to identify economic mineralisation and the source of that mineralisation. However, some sources can have non-unique signatures requiring additional chemical analyses which are time consuming, expensive, and not widely available.

AnalyZr is a mineral analysis toolkit for geoscience, mineral exploration, and supply chain verification that merges conventional chemical indicators with unconventional physical properties of zircon, which are cheaply and rapidly obtained to ‘fingerprint’ materials and predict characteristics of the material’s source in the field.

Developed with support from Iluka Resources and the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia, the software is now in its second phase of development with an expanded toolkit and updated web interface, intended for industry applications. 

Lead Applicant: Ms Taryn Scharf

Team: Professor Chris Kirkland, Mr Sajib Mohajan, Mr Charles Ong, Mr Liunardy Tjong

CeSL: Chatbot to Encourage Self-Regulated Learning

Starting university can be an overwhelming experience for new students. Students are often overloaded with information, need personalised support, and find it difficult to access the help they need when staff are not available 24/7. Introducing CeSL: an AI Chatbot that seeks to encourage self-regulated learning so that students are motivated and supported but also able to learn how to navigate the university system themselves.

What sets CeSL apart from other chatbots in the market is its integration of advanced natural language processing capabilities with self-determination theory. This meets the needs of universities to provide effective, efficient student support whilst prioritising human agency as well as responsibly and pedagogically appropriate interactions. This provides students with a more immediate, tailored experience whilst alleviating the administrative burden on staff.

The researchers behind this exciting new innovation have successfully completed a pilot trial within Curtin University’s Faculty of Business and Law and the School of Education, and plan to further develop their prototype to reflect feedback and more fully incorporate the theory into the design.

Lead Applicant: Associate Professor Anna Bunn

Team: Mr Jack Moursounidis, Dr Abhijeet Singh, Professor Rachel Sheffield, Mr Craig Sims, Associate Professor Nik Thompson

ChemoDX: Early Detection of Chemotherapy Drug Response in Ovarian Cancer

Platinum-based chemotherapies, including cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin, are commonly used in the treatment of various advanced cancers. However, studies indicate that up to half of all patients may not respond effectively to these treatments. At present, there is no method available to predict a patient’s response to these therapies before treatment. In fact, up to 50% of patients have been found to be resistant to this type of chemotherapy, causing unnecessary pain and prolonging effective treatment.

The ChemoDX team have potentially discovered a solution to this problem. With an initial focus on ovarian cancer patients, the team have developed a diagnostic test to determine a patient’s likely response to platinum chemotherapy before treatment commences. They are using state-of-the art transcriptomics and artificial intelligence analyses to enable more in-depth examination of the tumour microenvironment. These predictive biomarkers, derived from tumour biopsies, are then able to provide clinicians with a solution to better tailor the treatment plans of their patient’s diagnosed with advanced cancer.

Having recently secured almost half a million dollars from the Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, the ChemoDX team now have support to further develop ChemoDx.

Led Applicant: Dr Yu Yu

Team: Mr Alishum Ali, Professor Paul Cohen, Dr Adeline Tan

Children’s Technology Cove: Coaching digital literacy in children

A critical issue facing teachers and parents of young children is the child’s lack of preparedness for an ever-increasing digitally focused world. Research highlights a gap in understanding and resources, leaving parents and educators uncertain about fostering children’s digital best practices. Without adequate support, children may be exposed to risks and developmental issues.

The Children’s Technology Cove (CTC) has created interactive-digital-experiences that provide children and their parents with the digital literacy and skills for guiding quality play-based digital learning. As a result, children are able to develop their digital citizenship and creativity with digital technologies in a fun, safe learning environment.

The team have trialled programs and services with collaborators such as Scitech, Goodstart Early Learning and Catholic Education Western Australia Limited, ensuring the ecosystem aligns with early years regulatory frameworks while promoting innovative play and learning practices.

Lead Applicant: Professor Karen Murcia

Team: Ms Emma Cross, Mrs Sarsha Mennell, Dr Sinead Wilson

Autonomous Drill Rig Path Optimisation (DRPO) Technology

Existing semi-autonomous drill rigs fail to update themselves based on the complex, dynamic conditions in drilling areas and to respond to new situations in real-time. This adversely affects the efficiency of the rigs and, consequently, the productivity of the mining operation. In particular, inefficiency in resource utilisation, increased safety hazards, impacts on the environment, and additional costs.

As of today, no fully autonomous drilling solution exists in the market. The DRPO system provides technical and financial advantages to the semi-autonomous solution that’s currently market standard. From managing multiple fleets of drill rigs within a mining field, to optimising paths, DRPO offers significant reductions in drilling costs, time, resources, whilst enhancing Work Health and Safety.

The DRPO team are currently seeking investment and further development of the system with several top drill rig manufacturers and service providers with a mission for the final product to be sold in Australia and overseas in the coming years.

Lead Applicant: Dr Roohollah Shirani Faradonbeh

Team: Dr Hyongdoo Tom Jang, Mr Masoud Samaei, Professor Erkan Topal

Edison Collab: AI-driven workshop outcomes tool

Post It Notes. Whiteboards. Scraps of paper. The process for capturing ideas generated in workshops is a notoriously manual process, requiring facilitators and coordinators to spend hours collating notes in order to produce reports that accurately reflect workshop outcomes.

Curtin Ignition alumni Samuel Cunningham and Sean Oldenburger have developed an intuitive system to tackle this problem. By utilising AI, Edison Collab streamlines the process of capturing workshop feedback, comments, and discussion points. In a matter of seconds, Edison Collab can produce slick, custom PowerPoints and reports to share with participants, providing more time for next steps in the process.

The team were successful at being shortlisted for the 2024 Plus Eight Accelerator Program and are currently working with clients on the next phase of the product’s development.

Team: Mr Samuel Cunningham, Mr Sean Oldenburger

Healthy Connections: Mobile first-aid response kit

Western Australia’s Pilbara region is a vast and unique landscape with unparalleled beauty and rich natural resources. It also has some of the worst health inequity in the world, with people living in remote Aboriginal communities experiencing early onset of chronic diseases and low life expectancy. The health and social impact of this on Aboriginal communities is immeasurable.

Over the last year, researchers from Curtin’s Faculties of Science and Engineering, and Health Sciences, have collaborated on the Healthy Connections project to create the mobile Medi-Kit – bringing the clinic to the community. The Medi-Kit aims to reduce health inequity through culturally safe and accessible healthcare. It is a portable, satellite connected, AI-powered preventative health assessment kit that can be taken On-Country for both preventative health screening and to guide treatment of existing chronic diseases.

Cisco and Optus are industry partners on this innovative project. The team has worked closely with community and have also consulted with key stakeholders including Puntukurnu Aboriginal Medical Service, Jamukurnu Yapalikurnu Aboriginal Corporation (JAYCA) and Ngurra Kujungka. Healthy Connections recently won the Social Impact Award at the WAITTA INCITE Awards.

Lead Applicant: Dr Susannah Soon

Team: Professor Andrew Maiorana, Associate Professor Duc Son Pham

ImageHeal: Predicting healing trajectories of patients in real time

Radiotherapy is a powerful cancer treatment, effectively targeting and destroying cancer cells. However, its use of ionizing radiation not only destroys cancerous tissue, but also surrounding healthy cells, often leading to long-term complications and compromising quality of life for patients.

An imaging technique improving patient recovery from radiotherapy by predicting healing trajectories is being developed by a team of researchers at the Curtin Medical School. Leveraging advancements in high-frequency ultrasonography, the team have developed a new protocol which integrates multiple imaging parameters to identify specific biomarkers of tissue toxicity, crucial for providing a comprehensive assessment of radiotherapy-induced tissue injury. This approach will allow clinicians to monitor and predict the healing trajectories of individual patients in real time.

The team are collaborating with ultrasound manufacturers to improve their systems and hoping to integrate the system into hospitals, clinics and research institutions in the coming years.

Lead Applicant: Dr Helen DeJong

Team: Associate Professor Georgia Halkett, Prof Zhonghua Sun

Maintenance Schedule Optimiser

The demand for automated maintenance scheduling technology is significant across asset-intensive industries, particularly in the mining and mineral resources sectors. Although off-the-shelf software such as Microsoft Project and Primavera exist, these tools rely on simple algorithms and often produce low-quality schedules which require significant manual efforts to improve.

A research team from Curtin has developed the Maintenance Schedule Optimiser with significant advantages over existing solutions, including fast run time, the ability to handle large schedules, and an advanced algorithm that has been shown to reduce downtime by 25% and headcount by 20% for large shutdowns, bringing systems back online faster and increasing productivity.

The software has been tested and verified using data from ten maintenance outages provided by several mining companies. The team are now in discussion with leading mining producers and operators to further validate and develop the technology in dynamic shutdown situations.

Lead Applicant: Dr Hoa Bui

Team: Professor Ryan Loxton, Dr Elham Mardaneh, Mr Alex Massen-Hane

MiniJet: A novel spacecraft thruster for small satellites

Small satellites have emerged as an economically effective means to perform commercial and scientific research; however, the majority of these satellites lack propulsion capabilities which limit them to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Development of a low-cost, miniaturised propulsion system is highly sought after by the space industry to decrease risk of collision and enhance the mission capabilities of small satellites.

The MiniJet is a highly miniaturised, novel satellite thruster for the small satellite platform that’s more cost-efficient and environmentally sustainable than pre-existing solutions. Its unique design featuring intricate lattice structures made from a unique copper alloy within the thruster, significantly enhances its thermal efficiency despite being the size of a AA battery. As a result, the thruster enables small satellites to stay in space for longer, reach new orbits, and deorbit to comply with new space debris mitigation regulations.

The MiniJet has received interest from several leading companies in cutting-edge space technology and is currently part of the design for a propulsion system that would be the first in Australia capable of taking a satellite to the moon.

Lead Applicant: Mr Daniel Turner

Team: Professor Phil Bland, Dr Robert Howie

Moombaki Noongar Cultural Virtual Quest

Inspiring children’s understanding and exposure to Noongar culture and language has now become more accessible thanks to the team of researchers behind Moombaki VR.

Moombaki VR is an educational experience that blends virtual reality with classroom teachings centred on Noongar languages, culture, and history. It consists of a comprehensive Noongar curriculum accompanied by various resources for diverse learning styles, including class activity sheets and PowerPoint presentations, a mobile game playable on iPads, a virtual reality game, and an immersive on-country camp experience.

In doing so, the team are improving outcomes for Aboriginal children, especially those in urban schools, boosting their cultural knowledge and self-esteem by reconnecting them to culture, land, and country. The project currently has support from the WA Department of Education and School Curriculum and Standards Authority with a pilot trial recently completed to test the technology’s alignment with the school curriculum.

Lead Applicant: Professor Cheryl Kickett-Tucker AM

Team: Noongar community and students of Weeip Maali Boodja, Ms. Sophie Karangaroa, Miss Taylor-Jade Gray, Mr. Jonathan Pillai, Miss. Scarlett Slater, Mr Maxmillian Wright, Students of the Curtin School of Design and Built Environment, Moombaki Chief and Partner Investigators, Moombaki Community Partners

Procuracon: A two-sided construction marketplace

Pre-qualifiying and selecting suppliers for construction and property-related projects is often a manual and fragmented task. This can cause lengthy delays, increase costs, and potentially lead to quality issues which has a cascading impact on all stakeholders involved, from land and property owners, to developers and project managers. Procuracon seeks to resolve these issues through their unique pre-qualification and quoting tool, empowering clients to make well-informed, swift decisions on which suppliers to use for projects.

The construction tech startup based in Perth supercharges the procurement process by enabling clients to find, compare, and shortlist suppliers based on their capabilities and risk profiles, reducing the prequalification process to just minutes and resulting on average to a 75% reduction in procurement time and cost. The platform also leverages data analytics to provide insights into supplier performance and industry trends.

The team have now successfully launched the company to market, attracting WA’s leading developers and property owners, contractors, consultants and trades such as Hawaiian, NDY, RPS, RLB, Perkins and PACT.

Team: Mr Cuong Ly, Mr Andrew McColgan

RETIdrop: Pioneering eye drops targeting defective genes

Usher syndrome is a genetic disorder that profoundly affects lives. Globally, more than 400,000 people are affected by Usher syndrome. Starting in childhood, patients with Usher syndrome face progressive loss of sight. Unfortunately, due to multiple anatomical and physiological barriers in the eye, commonly used oral drugs or topical eye drops cannot reach the back of the eye for effective treatment.

A pioneering research team from the Curtin University Medical School are developing a unique formulation in the form of an eye drop infused with a specific gene payload, engineered to target cells with a genetic mutation at the back of the eye. When applied, the eye drops form a transparent, nano-scale thin film on the front of the eye. A unique protein formula coating ensures the payload is delivered to genetically defective eye cells, replacing the need for specialised eye injections and thus decreasing pain and discomfort for the patient.

This innovation enhances patient outcomes and could transform the treatment landscape for genetic eye disorders worldwide.

Lead Applicant: Bozica Kovacevic

Team: Dr Hani Al-Salami, Dr Livia Carvalho, Fred Chen, Dr Samuel McLenachan, Dr Armin Mooranian

Shell-to-Sheet: Sustainable food packaging from abalone

A new sustainable type of food packaging for manufacturers incorporating waste from abalone processing could be the solution to meeting Australia’s target of 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable food packaging by 2025.

Researchers at Curtin University have developed a unique product incorporating abalone shell powder, a biogenic source of calcium carbonate, in place of traditional polylactic acid or PLA. PLA, whilst a bioplastic with a smaller environmental footprint, lacks the strength required for many packaging applications. By incorporating abalone shell powder, the team have developed a way to enhance PLA’s strength, thus its use in a wider range of packaging applications.

With the potential to utilise other shell waste from oyster or mussel shells, this innovation offers a broader solution to the seafood industry and has the potential to reduce reliance on more expensive raw materials.

Lead Applicant: Dr Nicholas Sheng Loong Tan

Team: Miss Wing Huen Chung, Associate Prof Janet Howieson, Prof Thunyaluk Pojtanabuntoeng

SMAAT: Speech Movement and Acoustic Analysis Tracking

Speech sound disorders affect approximately 15% of children under the age of five and constitute up to 75% of a paediatric speech pathologist’s caseload. Diagnosing these disorders is both resource-intensive and subjective. However, without timely and accurate diagnosis, children face significant risks, including impaired school performance and reduced social participation, which can lead to long-term economic consequences. The World Bank estimates that this issue contributes to a global income loss of $177 billion annually.

SMAAT – Speech Movement and Acoustic Analysis Tracking – is a novel software application combining state-of-the art facial landmark detection and tracking algorithms to support speech pathologists in diagnosing speech sound disorders with a high degree of accuracy. Using audio-video recordings of a child repeating a wordlist containing 40 words and 4 phrases, the software can score a child’s speech movements against a set of clinically established criteria. Based on data collected on over 60 adults and 200 children with typically developing speech and language skills, the clinician can benchmark a child’s performance against their peers and use it to inform diagnosis, select the most appropriate intervention, and show treatment progress over time.

The tool has the potential to scale up to support other communication disorders such as stuttering and patients recovering from strokes or a brain injury.

Lead Applicant: Dr Roslyn Ward

Team: Dr Petra Helmholz; Dr Richard Palmer, Geoff Strauss, and the broader SMAAT team

Program of events

11.30am Registration
Refreshments and entrée canapes served in River View Rooms 1 & 2
12.30pm Welcome to Country
Freda Ogilvie
12.35pm Welcome and Introduction
Mr Rohan McDougall
Executive Director, Commercialisation, Curtin University
12.40pm Lunch is served
1.35pm Formalities commence
Professor Harlene Hayne CNZM
Vice-Chancellor, Curtin University
1.40pm Winners announced:

  • Curtin Entrepreneurs Prize sponsored by the Malka Foundation
  • Trailblazer Prize
  • Business & Law Prize
  • Health Sciences Prize
  • Humanities Prize
  • Science & Engineering Prize
  • Griffith Hack Overall Winner
2.25pm Professor Melinda Fitzgerald
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Curtin University
2.30pm Formalities conclude
Dessert, tea and coffee served
Networking
3.30pm Event concludes

DARC

The legacy of the Curtinnovation Awards extends well beyond certificates and hand shakes. Each year, we profile the exciting journey our recipients teams have been on since their win, how their innovation is having an impact on society, and what commercial outcomes they’ve achieved as a result of the program.

Researchers from Curtin’s Drilling Automation Research Centre (DARC) are one such team. The team won the inaugural Trailblazer Award at the 2022 event for iFluid: an automated drilling fluid system which helps mining companies improve the efficiency and safety of their drilling activities. Drilling fluid, or ‘mud’, lubricates the drill bit and stabilises the drill hole. iFluid automates the consistency of the fluid in real time, by sensing the drilling conditions and optimising the mixture.

Since winning the award, the DARC team has continued to work hard with the support of the MinEx CRC to develop a system of technologies that can fully automate exploration drilling. The team have developed a new advanced formula for drilling mud marketed as Universal Drilling Fluid (UDF), and improved the delivery system for this fluid to include most common drill types.

Field deployments of fully automated drilling fluid management systems will begin within the next 6 months. The team have delivered UDF to operating drill sites to demonstrate its effectiveness in reducing drilling costs.

The suite of iFluid technologies are now being treated as a ‘protoventure’ within Curtin’s new Venture Studio with support from the Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Trailblazer. As engagement with commercial drilling operations continues, Curtin and the team will look to launch a spinout company to further grow these exciting technologies.