The NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN) has supported three small businesses teaming up with NSW universities in receiving government funding to solve the state's top priority R&D challenges in areas like telecommunication connectivity, koala population monitoring and water quality in health facilities.

Biodiversity Monitoring Services, Dandelions and PEGRAS are part of the seventeen SMEs that will share in more than $1.5 million in funding under the NSW Government Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) program.

Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Alister Henskens said the SBIR program helps local businesses solve long-standing problems while boosting jobs, products and services in high-tech industries.

"NSW has great business innovators and we want to harness that talent. The first phase of this program will back small businesses to develop devices and systems that have the potential to benefit our people, the environment and our economy," Mr Henskens said.

NSSN Co-Directors Professor Ben Eggleton and Professor Julien Epps congratulated the teams and said working with NSW researchers ensures the businesses will develop state-of-the-art technologies with high potential for impact.

"The SMEs have received $100,000 under phase one of the SBIR program to conduct feasibility studies into their proposed solutions. We will continue to support all three teams aiming in completing a feasibility study, which if successful, will secure proof-of-concept grants of up to $1 million per project."

NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte said the program has received a huge response from local innovators.

"We hosted webinars which were attended by over 250 local businesses, entrepreneurs and researchers. The response has been overwhelming and shows the strength and depth of local talent," Professor Durrant-Whyte said.

Biodiversity Monitoring Services are working with NSSN Environment & AgTech Lead Dr Tom Hu and researchers from Western Sydney University to detect and quantify koala populations in NSW for the benefit of koala preservation.

The group will undertake a feasibility study to develop a bio-inspired acoustic sensor and processing approach using an event-based spectrum analyser to deliver a low-power, high-efficiency solution for sensing acoustic signals associated with koalas.

PEGRAS are working with NSSN Industrial Futures Lead Dr Don McCallum and researchers from the University of Sydney on the Water Purification Challenge to eliminate microplastic contamination in water.

Working with NSSN Business Development Manager Ivan Chua and AI Engineer Ayu Saraswati, Dandelions have joined forces with researchers from Macquarie University and the University of Newcastle to solve the Connectivity Challenge.

The group will undertake a feasibility study to develop an unpowered air-to-ground vehicle integrated with a communications payload to provide on-demand communication networks in emergencies.

A new set of challenges and further feasibility grants will be offered later this year.

The NSW Smart Sensing Network is a consortium of seven leading universities across NSW and the ACT. Funded by the NSW Government through the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer, the NSSN brings together academia, industry and government to translate world-class smart-sensing research into compelling solutions.

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NSSN teams up with three NSW SMEs solving priority challenges