Universities are hotbeds of cutting edge research. Most of the time all this is hidden from view, except for the odd occasion when the kimono will be lifted and some R&D breakthrough announced.

At UTS they do things differently, and actively encourage industry partnerships and collaborations. Two such accessible initiatives—UTS ProtoSpace and UTS Rapido—are designed to help industry leverage its cutting edge facilities and springboard them into the full UTS innovation ecosystem.

Delegates to IoT Impact 2024, being held at UTS on 13 June, will get a chance to learn about UTS ProtoSpace and UTS Rapido. It’s one of several tours of UTS labs and facilities on offer as part of IoT Impact.

The tour will be hosted by by Hervé Harvard, Founder and Executive Director, UTS Rapido and Michael Behrens, Principal Delivery Manager, UTS Rapido, Engineering and IT Solutions. You can register for the tour here.

UTS ProtoSpace is one of Australia's leading additive manufacturing facilities, offering industry partners access to advanced 3D printing and scanning technologies, expert technical support and educational engagement opportunities.

This advanced 900 square metre facility houses Australia’s largest collection of additive manufacturing technologies and aims to boost skills in Australia's digital manufacturing transformation (Industry 4.0). Industry professionals and innovators from startups, SMEs, and larger corporates receive support from concept generation, rapid prototyping, testing, and manufacturing.

The collaborative facility aims to inspire a new generation of thinkers, inventors, designers and innovators.

UTS Rapido: the bridge between academia and industry

In contrast to UTS ProtoSpace—which aims to support rather than actively undertake research—UTS Rapido is an industry focused R&D innovation hub that bridges the gap between academia and industry.

Through UTS Rapido, individuals, organisations and communities can navigate and leverage the vast resource of knowledge, R&D skills and facilities at UTS.

UTS Rapido’s professional team of R&D experts in software, mechatronics, user experience design and digital solutions develop, test and commercialise products and services for its industry clients, drawing on the UTS innovation ecosystem’s world-class researchers, facilities and labs.

Its track record is impressive. A collaborative project with a leading Australian naval shipping company spawned a joint institute to nurture Australia's sovereign capability in the maritime sector. Work to improve manufacturing conveyor systems led to a new product, now marketed globally. It also developed prototype technology to harvest the electrical energy radiated by high voltage power lines for the benefit of rural communities.

More to see at UTS during IoT Impact

The UTS ProtoSpace and UTS Rapido tour is one of several on offer at UTS Impact 2024. Delegates can also get to visit the UTS Data Arena; the NTT DOCOMO Greenwall project and the UTS Radio Frequency and Communication Technologies (RFCT) Laboratory.

The UTS Data Arena is a 360-degree interactive data visualisation  facility that enables researchers to immerse themselves in, observe, interact and collaborate with their data on a massive scale. Data is visualised and projected onto a large cylindrical screen, four metres high and ten metres in diameter.

The NTT DOCOMO Greenwall is a seven-metre square vertical garden on the outside of UTS Building 1. Sensors gather data on moisture, temperature, nutrients and plant health to enable deeper understanding of green infrastructure health and operations.

The Faculty of Engineering and IT (FEIT) at UTS hosts the Radio Frequency and Communication Technologies (RFCT) facility. This state-of-the-art hub unites a team of world-class researchers and engineers with international and local expertise. RFCT is a collaborative hub for multidisciplinary and industry-driven research and development. RFCT is dedicated to fostering the development of next-generation RF-based devices and supporting technologies. These innovations have the potential to revolutionise a vast array of sectors, including agriculture, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, space exploration, transportation, cybersecurity, and the development of smart cities.

The IoT Impact conference will be held in Sydney on 13 June, 2024, at the Great Hall, UTS. Purchase tickets and see the IoT Impact Conference agenda here.