NSSN member partners with mining giant to drive the future of autonomous vehicles

NSSN member university, UTS, recently announced a research partnership with Australian mining giant, Fortescue Metals to develop autonomous mobility technologies.

In partnership with the local community, City of Karratha and technology and research partners, the partnership will be embodied in the Fortescue Future of Mobility Centre and will leverage Fortescue’s success in using autonomous technology across its operations.

Fortescue’s Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Gaines said that innovation and emerging technologies, like autonomy, present an opportunity to work closely with the community to bring about mutual benefits.

“We are at the forefront of this technology with our mine operations set to become the first in the world to be fully autonomous and our fleet having safely travelled over 26 million kilometres since the first autonomous truck was introduced in 2012,” Ms Gaines said.

Of course, sensors are at the heart of autonomous vehicle technology and are pushing forward a fast-growing industry. The NSW government is already testing autonomous vehicles for public transport in various locations including Sydney Olympic Park.

The research partnership will be led by UTS’ Dr Fang Chen, Executive Director of Data Science, who spoke at the official launch of the Fortescue Future of Mobility Centre in Karratha.

Dr Chen said “Research into new technology and infrastructure will accelerate innovative mobility solutions to accommodate growth and future demands.”

Dr Chen is a leading Australian scientist in the translation of the raw data that sensors collect into usable, valuable information. She is contributing to a number of NSSN projects and helping to shape a wider NSSN program in big data.

UTS’s Prof Fang Chen with partners from Fortescue Metals at the launch of the Fortescue Future of Mobility Centre

For more information, visit the Fortescue Metals website.