July 2019

In a special collaboration between Actura and NASA’s Space Center Houston, Actura’s FlipRobot Solution was implemented at Space Center University (Space U) for the first time on Tuesday 9 July 2019 as part of Space U’s 5-day STEAM education program. The CASE Senior Space School students were fortunate to be the first to engage in this program. This came at a momentous time in history, as the 50th anniversary of manned spaceflight was celebrated in mid-July, symbolising human exploration and success at its finest.

The collaboration between Actura and Space Center Houston represents a unique union with Actura’s FlipRobot Solution module designed specifically for the Space U Program; a five-day program designed to engage students in immersive STEAM-related activities that promote teamwork, problem-solving and engineering solutions to space exploration. The bespoke design FlipRobot Solution included the chance for students from the CASE Space School International Study Program to engage in robotic education learning activities. In total, thirty-seven lucky CASE Space School students from Year 10 to 12 were involved in the program.

The objective of the FlipRobot rover challenge that the students engaged in was to simulate building a rover module to collect samples from a Mars landscape in the shortest amount of time. Students designed, implemented and built a rover using multiple available configuration options. They also learnt how to apply different sensor technologies to help the rover traverse through simulated martian terrain intelligently. In addition, they used blockly and script programming to code the rover to complete different tasks.

“We are delighted to be collaborating with Space Center Houston on robotic learning applications. We share a commitment to provide interactive, engaging and exciting STEAM programs underpinned by the foundations of the Seven Survival Skills by Dr Tony Wagner. This helps develop students’ interest in the areas of STEAM, leading students to utilize STEAM skills after high school. A new and renewed interest in these subjects will prepare young people for leading occupations of the future”, said Actura’s David Sunton, Vice President for Marketing and Product Management. 
Daniel Newmyer, Space Center Houston Vice President of Education, also commented: “We look forward to collaborating with CASE on delivering hands-on robotic opportunities for CASE Space School students as part of their Space University program”. 

Mirroring Australia and NASA’s partnership, and also as a timely reminder of our involvement, July also marked the commemoration of 50 years since Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins first made their historic successful landing on the moon in 1969. This symbolised a momentous occasion in history for manned space exploration and the spirit of entrepreneurialism that the landing on the moon embodies.  

STEAM education is cross-disciplinary. Robotic education is the best pathway for implementing STEAM education. As an extension of in-class learning, the OneWorld Robotics Competition challenges students to apply STEAM-related skills through robotics to solve real-world problems. The competition inspires students to develop critical-thinking and creative problem-solving skills, engage in collaborative teamwork and utilize effective communication, all critical to students’ future success.

The inaugural OneWorld Robotics Competition category for 2019 will be “Smart Cites.” A smart city is a city that is better able to cope with the demands of an increasingly over-populated, more globalised world. A smart city will be a city that is highly data-driven, demanding that world leaders understand technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, and the myriad of digital technologies now available.

To develop cites in order to make them “smart” also entails making them more “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” This will also involve considerations such as the need for higher data transfer speeds, greater storage capacities, better sensors, and faster vehicle-to-vehicle infrastructure exchanges as we contend with modern technologies to alleviate the changing situation. There will also be relevant legal, social, and ethical implications as a result, including issues such as environmental impact, regulating traffic and accidents, and consequent privacy and cybersecurity risks. In the OneWorld Robotics Competition, students will have to consider all of these challenges through their application of robotics.

The OneWorld Robotics Competition challenges students from all over the globe to apply STEAM-related skills through robotics to solve real-world problems. Area Competitions will be held over two days, where teams compete in technical challenges as well as present a legal, social, and ethical solutions to AV application in Smart Cites. The Global Competition will involve the top three teams from all Area Competitions competing over five days. Students will have their projects assessed by a panel of industry experts. As the students take on the timely category of “Smart Cites” they will contemplate topics such as the benefit of Autonomous Vehicles in alleviating the problems associated with transport congestion and over-population, while honing their critical thinking skills.

To learn more about the OneWorld Robotics Competition, head to:

http://oneworldrobotics.com.au

APAC Business Headlines Magazine has announced the release of their new edition “10 Fastest Growing Robotics Technology Solution Providers to Watch”, with Actura Australia being named as one of the leading major players in the Robotics industry, recently in March 2019.

APAC Business Headlines Magazine covers major industry trends in the APAC markets and is working alongside leading players to document the opinions and the expectations of the global technology community. It also supports the established players in the market to unveil a commercial launch of their new products through its content-marketing platform.

Actura Australia’s FlipRobot Solution being nominated on this list is significant and clearly places Actura as one of the major Robotics Technology Solution Providers on the market.

APAC Business Headlines Magazine is dedicated to profile and reveal the most promising technology and business applications and the heads behind them. Featuring the latest and trending business updates of the business personalities and their APAC ventures, the magazine regularly features business coverage on start-ups, business briefs and press releases.

Actura Australia, being nominated on the “10 Fastest Growing Robotics Technology Solution Providers to Watch” list is a tremendous honour. While the issue reviews the key players in the Robotics industry, it also sheds light onto how these robotics companies have evolved to mature firms with their domain-specific knowledge, sound marketing strategies, and innovative products. It is highly significant that Actura Australia made this list alongside other key Robotics companies.

Charles Chung, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Actura Australia has remarked: “FlipRobot facilitates schools so that educators can adopt STEAM learning with ease. It starts with the CASE FlipRobot curriculum, spanning from K to 12”

The new Australian Space Agency is set to become the centre for Australia’s burgeoning space industry, with headquarters located in Adelaide, SA. The agency is predicted to help triple Australia’s space economy to $12 billion and create up to 20,000 new jobs by 2030, which is great news for our CASE Space School graduates!

With Australia’s extensive historic involvement in the industry, many believe that an Australian Space Agency is long overdue. Countries including Uruguay, Bahrain, Mongolia and South Africa already have established government space agencies, however they have minimal to no operational and launch capabilities. In fact, of the 72 different government agencies that are in existence today, only 14 if these have launch capability, of which Australia is one.

The Australian Space Agency is capable of launching sounding rockets – also known as research rockets – and operating satellites. This will be coordinated from a small Mission Control located at headquarters. While there is currently no capability or plans for human spaceflight, the possibility has not been ruled out for the future of the Space Agency, and Australia may yet have their very own Astronauts.

Currently the primary responsibility of the Agency, according to the Australian Space Agency Charter, is to provide national policy and strategic advice on the civil space sector, as well as support the growth of the Australian space industry and coordinate civil space sector activities. The Agency is also responsible for delivering on international space obligations and leading engagement on a global scale. Last, but certainly not least, the Australian Space Industry has an official responsibility to inspire the next generation of space entrepreneurs.

Our CASE Space School graduates are this next generation of space entrepreneurs. They have a head-start on their peers after having seen inside NASA, spoken to experts in the industry, and developed their own personal skills including teamwork and leadership qualities. Over the next 10 years the Australian Space Agency will be expanding rapidly, and searching for candidates in diverse fields such as engineering, robotics, law, biology, medicine… Space technologies are not just about taking people to the moon, and a career in this sector contributes to developments in many other industries including communication, agriculture, mining and more. As stated by Dr Megan Clark, head of the Australian Space Agency, “Space underpins almost every part of the broader economy… Space will be a defining domain for human endeavour and will change what we do on Earth.”

This chapter in Australian Space involvement is just beginning, and our graduates are perfectly situated in their schooling and life-experiences to enter at the ground level and help shape the future of the industry. Our advice is to take every opportunity, follow your dream, commit to your goals, and in the words of NASA’s JPL and our ever-supportive guest speaker Tom Nolan, “Dare mighty things!”