Welcome to the latest issue of AI Uptake!
The ARM Hub AI Adopt Centre works with Australian businesses to co-design workshops for SMEs, create technical roadmaps, and support implementation.
With the support of the Australian Government, we've helped hundreds of businesses move AI from chatbots into practical, factory-floor usable and scalable solutions.
This month: Propel-AIR wraps up a string of roadshows in Sydney, AI-cell design is making real impact and road safety finds a launchpad at ARM Hub.
Finally, our newest column from National AI Centre's Lee Hickin. Lee's background is fascinating, and we're looking forward to hearing more from Lee and NAIC in coming issues . . . |
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| | | Propel-AIR wraps up Tour with Shows in Sydney and Brisbane |
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Propel-AIR entered its final week of showcase tour with stops in Brisbane and Sydney this week.
Sydney’s Stone & Chalk hosted a lively fireside chat on Thursday June 4th, focused on turning strong robotics and AI ideas into real businesses.
Led by Stone & Chalk CEO Stela Solar, the discussion brought together ARM Hub’s Dr Troy Cordie and Nexobot founder Dominic Lindsay to unpack the opportunities and the practical realities of scaling applied robotics.
Winner of last year’s Propel-AIR AI & Robotics challenge, Lindsay has recently completed the delivery of his second deployment of NexoBot’s low-cost parcel sorting system, helping logistics operators automate a process that is often manual, labour-intensive and costly.
“The interesting thing about the logistics world is moving is between 50 and 60% of labour in any operation. So rather than trying to do things like manipulation that are really, really hard, let's just solve moving first,” said Lindsay,
“Most of the work in that kind of operation is literally people once they've got something in their hands, walking somewhere else and putting it down. That's the bit that makes more sense to solve.”
The conversation surfaced what’s changing as AI becomes embedded in physical systems; where Australian founders can compete globally, and the commercial ingredients that matter most: clear customer problems, fast iteration, and the right ecosystem support.
Dominic Lindsay shared how Nexobot has already deployed its low-cost parcel sorting system with customers in Victoria, while Troy Cordie highlighted ARM Hub’s role in helping companies bridge the gap between promising prototypes and commercial deployment.
“Australia doesn’t lack innovation,” says Prof Cordie. “The challenge is getting great ideas through the middle, where companies are trying to scale.” |
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| | Innovation behind the wheel: Propel-AIR X UQ (Photo credit:Jeanie Kumar) |
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| On the opportunity ahead, Stela Solar said the event reflected “the power of ecosystem collaboration” in helping founders go further, faster.
The Propel-AIR accelerator is open right now, offering exposure, support and the chance to win a one-month residency at Boston’s MassRobotics facility.
“Propel-AIR gave us exposure, momentum and, most importantly, real customer interest. It helped turn a promising idea into a commercial opportunity,” said Lindsay.
Earlier in the week the University of Queensland hosted the Propel-AIR team for a robotics tour showcasing their latest research, followed by a valuable session on IP protection for robotics businesses, with Helen McFadzean leading the discussion.
With so many innovative ideas on display across Australian robotics & AI, it’s clear the sector is building real momentum; and Propel-AIR is helping turn that potential into commercial progress.
Apply by 12 June to access expert support, industry exposure and the chance to win a one-month residency at Boston’s MassRobotics facility. |
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AI Cell-design Platform reduces Animal Testing |
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| Queensland medtech startup Gelomics is using AI and rapid 3D tissue printing to cut reliance on animal testing and speed drug development.
The platform grows human-like tissues by embedding patient or stem cells in a photocured hydrogel, producing test-ready tissues in about ten minutes instead of four hours.
The cloud‑based system combines deep-research AI for literature-driven experiment design with an integrated lab device, letting pharmaceutical teams plan, generate and test human tissue models faster and with fewer resources.
Early results are promising: the platform has been trialled by more than 300 researchers across 23 countries, and pharma partners report reduced animal testing and lower costs.
“Gelomics is a Queensland company building something the global pharmaceutical industry genuinely needs,” says ARM Hub Chief Executive Professor Cori Stewart. “What they needed was secure cloud infrastructure that would give pharmaceutical clients confidence their data was protected, and we helped build that foundation so they could scale.”
ARM Hub’s AI Adopt support helped Gelomics enter a Google accelerator and move from lab prototype to a secure, scalable product for global markets. |
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| | Dr Christoph Meinert GAICD, CEO of Gelomics (photo credit: QUT) |
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Road Safety finds a Launchpad at ARM Hub |
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| “In this day and age, why isn’t there a barrier device that can improve traffic management and protect workers completely remotely?”
The Arresta 100—an Australian-made, trailer-based crash barrier designed to protect road workers at temporary worksites—has changed this status.
Developed over five years, the barrier was launched to market at a live demonstration in the same place it was built—the ARM Hub factory floor.
Ventia, one of Australia’s largest infrastructure service companies, confirmed its position as the first commercial customer, with two units already committed to its road operation fleet. |
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| The Challenge: Safety Risks for Road Crew
Until now, road crews working in live traffic had two options for protection. The first is a static concrete crash barrier: effective, but slow to deploy and impractical for temporary worksites.
The second is a truck-mounted attenuator: a dedicated vehicle with a road worker inside, strapped into a five-point harness, watching a rear-view screen for an eight-hour shift, waiting for an impact that may or may not come.
That operator sits directly in the path of any vehicle that fails to slow or stop. It is one of the most stressful and physically demanding roles in road operations, and not always available or appropriate for regional and smaller sites. |
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| Making Australian Roads Safer with Arresta 100
ARM Hub worked with ProTx founder John Ferguson to move the Arresta 100 from proven prototype to commercial-scale production, including assembly process design, facility layout, procurement and inventory systems, and robotic welding integration. The barrier completed seven formal crash tests before reaching market, including impacts from a 2.2 tonne vehicle at 100 km/h.
For John, the trailer had to tick some boxes before going to the next stage.
"Right from the start it had to be capable of doing four things: protect the occupants of the vehicle, protect the workers, be towable by standard work vehicles, and be ‘drop and go’ – no operator sitting in the impact zone once it's deployed."
Speaking at the launch, ARM Hub CEO Prof Cori Stewart FTSE pointed to the product’s vitality.
“Arresta is a world-first vehicle arrestor, designed and built in Queensland to protect the workers who maintain our roads. Nationally, there are around 18 fatal crashes and 245 serious injuries at roadside worksites every year. For regional crews, that risk is at least five times higher.”
Reflecting on the five year journey, John spoke of the magic that happens when industry and government work together to champion innovation.
"Hopefully this lived example – innovation combined with industry support and combined with government support – is a good model for others in the future and for the roads industry more broadly." |
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| | Left to right: Prof Cori Stewart, Mike Woodcock, Barry Smith, John Ferguson |
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From the Factory Floor to the Frontier: AI Opportunities for Australian Manufacturers |
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| | “I've spent over 30 years in the technology industry – as a software engineer, a security architect, and, before joining the National AI Centre, the CTO of Microsoft ANZ, leading the launch of OpenAI and Microsoft Co-pilot. Across all of it, I've never seen a technology arrive with quite the same mix of excitement, uncertainty, and genuine transformative potential as AI.
For Australian manufacturers, that mix is especially real. The opportunity is significant but not always clear? Where do I start? What's the right level of governance? How do I make sure this investment will actually pay dividends? |
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| At the National AI Centre, these are exactly the questions we’re here to help answer. We recently launched our new platform AI.gov.au to give organisations of every size a clear, practical and balanced starting point. Whether you're just beginning to explore AI or already investing in it, the platform offers tools, guidance and use cases that are genuinely relevant to real business working in Australia today.
Whilst I chose the path of software engineering, my dad was a hardware engineer. A machinist by trade who went on to run a global company building weighing and sorting machines. From a factory in Granville NSW, he built machines that weighed and sorted the products we have come to know and love such as Fantails and Minties.
He came from a time before digital, electronics, automation and AI – but what I always remember is the engineer’s passion for learning new ways to build better things. Technology and change doesn’t build fear in the engineer; it sparks the wonder of what’s possible.
The work of the ARM Hub AI Adopt Centre – helping businesses assess their AI readiness and access hands-on technical support – is precisely the kind of grounded, practical effort that turns potential into outcomes.”
Lee Hickin Executive Director, National AI Centre |
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| | | | Female Founders Scaleup Manufacturing Program
This four-month program is designed to implement a technology adoption plan tailored to your business. The offer? Matched funding worth $25-50k to boost productivity, capability and capacity.
If your concept is ready to scale, get in touch with us! |
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Propel-AIR 2.0
Australia’s leading AI and robotics sprint closes JUNE 12!
Entries are filling fast, so fast-track your business and Register!
Access expert support, industry exposure and the chance to win a one-month residency at Boston’s MassRobotics facility.
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| | | | ATC 2026 Semi-finalist: Cortical Dynamics! |
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| Perth-based Neurotechnology company Cortical Dynamics has been selected as a semi-finalist in the Australian Technologies competition 2026.
In 2024, Cortical Dynamics partnered with ARM Hub through the Biomedical AI Sprints Accelerator (BASA) and secured matched funding as initial investment for their AI-based platform CORDYAN, which monitors post-operative recovery to enhance decision-making.
Subsequently, the start-up leveraged ARM Hub’s Data and AI-as-a-service to create synthetic datasets that simulate diverse clinical scenarios.
“Our selection is a testimonial to the team’s hard work, and the vision we share to advance medical Technology for the betterment of humankind,” said Dr Ashley Zimpel, CEO of Cortical Dynamics. Learn more |
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| | | Rio Tinto to use 3 decades old data with AI |
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| Leading global mining company Rio Tinto is using AI to document a manufacturing system that dates back three decades.
The global corporation has developed an AI domain assistant to tap into one of its highly critical systems called Metpro—a 30-year-old manufacturing execution system. Created by Rio Tinto’s Senior Data Science Advisor Ke Shi, the AI assistant documents the decision logic, knowledge and dependencies deployed by Metpro to manage the aluminium product lifecycle end-to-end.
“This established our future-ready foundation. Knowledge is now captured, understood and applied in a way that supports incremental, low-risk modernisation without disrupting the critical system,” Ke Shi said. Learn more
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| | | AMD to invest $10B in Taiwan’s tech ecosystem |
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| Leading global Semiconductor manufacturer AMD has revealed a giant investment of over $10 billion across Taiwan’s technology ecosystem.
Responding to the rising demand for AI infrastructure, the investment is aimed at building strategic partnerships and scaling advanced packaging manufacturing capabilities.
The move builds upon AMD’s collaboration with Taiwanese companies ASE and SPIL to design next-gen wafer-based 2.5-bridge interconnect technology
“Our goal is to enable integrated, rack-scale AI infrastructure that helps customers accelerate deployment of next-generation AI systems,” said Dr Lisa Su, Chair and CEO of AMD. Learn more
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| | | LG champions shift to AI, lands $1.6B US deal |
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| LG Energy Solution has secured a massive US energy storage battery supply deal worth $1.6B as part of its push towards AI.
The South Korean battery company is leading an industry-wide transition from labour-intensive expansion towards AI-driven operations and manufacturing while working through a slowdown in the EV sector.
Under the two-year contract, LG will supply 6 gigawatt-hours of ESS batteries to Michigan-based utility powerhouse DTE Energy. LG’s ESS battery plant in Holland, the first facility of its kind in North America, is set to manufacture the battery cells for DTE.
The batteries will be used across eight major grid infrastructure projects, including Oracle’s new AI data center in Saline Township, Michigan. Read more
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| | | Dr Troy Cordie, Director of Industry Research
Troy has a background in mechatronics engineering and a PhD in Modular Reconfigurable Field Robotics from QUT. With experience spanning CSIRO, academic research, and industry, he has a passion for translating cutting-edge robotics and AI into real-world manufacturing solutions.
Why did you join ARM Hub?
ARM Hub was an easy choice — it brought my two careers together. My background in structural steel and drafting gave me a grounding in real-world fabrication and design, and ARM Hub is exactly where that kind of practical engineering thinking meets cutting-edge robotics.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself.
Before becoming a robotics engineer, I spent years as a structural steel draftsperson drawing up the bones of buildings in Australia and the UK. It turns out designing steel frameworks and robot architectures have more in common than you'd think.
What’s something exciting in your life?
I recently returned from a family trip to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, filled with snorkelling and hiking. I’m always on the hunt for the next epic read to fuel my love of immersive fiction. |
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