The Western Australian government will provide a further A$5 million funding for geo-data company Fugro's Space Automation, AI and Robotics Control Complex (SpAARC) in Perth.
Roger Cook, the WA Premier, made the announcement at the opening of IPSEC 2023, Perth’s Indo-Pacific Space and Earth Conference (IPSEC 2023).
Fugro said he funding will be used to help strengthen existing partnerships while also developing a local pipeline of experts who will contribute to SpAARC’s world-class capabilities.
“WA Government is seizing the opportunity to transform WA into a global hub for space and technology hub that attracts the best and brightest talent, and accelerates the diversification of our economy," Premier Cook said.
"Leveraging WA’s high-tech robotics and remote operations sector, Fugro SpAARC will capitalise on our significant space infrastructure and capabilities to position WA as the Southern Hemisphere’s global hub for space operations and exploration," he added.
“Space has always been a hotbed of innovation in robotics, automation and harsh-environment operations," Fugro SpAARC director Sam Forbes said
"This additional support significantly improves our ability to lead in this dynamic field, while also furthering the unique remote and autonomous capabilities we’re working on at SpAARC and more widely within Fugro," Forbes said.
The announcement follows Fugro’s involvement in the WA Government supported AROSE consortium for first stage of the Trailblazer mission, delivered in partnership with the Australian Space Agency (ASA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
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