Research Engineering Facility

We design, build, operate and support a wide variety of robotics and autonomous systems to enable real-world research outcomes for QUT and our partners.

Overview

Equipment

Our wide-range of robotics and autonomous systems equipment enables real-world results for our partners.

Overview

We have access to purpose-built facilities and provide a wide range of energy and electrical systems testing and production services including: lithium-ion battery production with dedicated dry-rooms experimental testing and qualification of power systems energy testing of both high- and low-voltage devices characterisation of superconducting materials.

Details

Power and energy engineering

We perform testing of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) machines for maritime propulsion, power equipment and defence applications and advanced electric power system technology testing of both high- and low-voltage devices.

Lithium-ion battery fabrication

We established Australia’s first pilot plant facility producing commercial graded lithium-ion batteries. Our facility enables rapid prototyping of new battery formulations and cell types to improve the production and characteristics of lithium-ion batteries used in a wide range of applications.

Electrical and instrumentation workshop

Our team has access to assembly facilities for small Arduino projects including printed circuit board (PCB) design and construction. We enable data acquisition and instrumentation with a range of load cells, displacement sensors, laser and gauges.

Overview

We design and manufacture custom engineering solutions for niche applications for research, government and industry. With the ability to integrate a multitude of sensors to airborne and ground vehicles, we enable researchers to acquire data in ways not previously possible.

Our expertise in sensor and collection technologies allows us to extract the best performance from the systems we create. Our focus on ease of use and durability is key to achieving success in demanding environments. We take a holistic approach to how the systems operate out in the field to achieve the best result for our partners.

The team maintains compliance with regulatory authorities such as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for our airborne sensor integrations.

Overview

We have the space and the equipment needed to perform large specimen handling, manufacture, testing and destruction and can conduct testing of built environment structures, from individual components to building systems.

We have a wide range of test equipment and manufacturing abilities including a strong floor and associated heavy steel framing, large-capacity hydraulic actuators and associated instrumentation devices.

Spaces and equipment

Our facility provides many testing spaces suitable for mechanical and structural engineering testing.

• Flexible test areas including:
  • field sample preparation laboratory used for materials science including surface analysis, thermal conductivity testing and exacting tolerances at 0.01 microns
  • environmental chamber.
• Civil engineering areas including:
  • fire and wind testing for light steel structures (working with the QUT Wind and Fire Engineering Laboratory)
  • timber testing
  • concrete testing
  • carbon fibre testing
  • impact testing (including the ARC LIEF Impact Testing Facility).

We have access to a wide range of equipment to enable mechanical and structural engineering testing including:

• 5t gantry crane
• 2.5t forklift
• 100m2 of strong floor (up to 500kN),
• six-burner gas furnace that can deliver up to 1000°C.

Overview

Our fleet of unmanned aircraft integrated with appropriate sensors captures data in a wide range of applications including:

• photogrammetry
• orthomosaics
• terrain and surface models
• thermal and other spectral imagery
• object recognition and counting
• plant health monitoring
• biosecurity monitoring
• air quality monitoring
• media work.

Our sensor portfolio consists of high resolution red green blue colour (RGB), Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), thermal, multi-spectral, hyper-spectral, air sampling and video cameras and sensors.

We offer a broad range of test equipment and sensors:

• 4-point bending test
• test load from 1kN up to 3,900kN
• load cells from 3kN up to 3MN
• digital indicators with a 10 um precision
• laser sensors
• resistive linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs)
• thermocouples
• accelerometers
• vibration sensors
• three gas furnaces
• electrical furnace
• tensile coupons testing
• shaker table for earthquake simulation
• 6-degree of freedom motion controller
• custom-made test rigs.

We also structure and manage storage solutions for the resultant large datasets. Working with QUT’s eResearch group, we facilitate the creation and acquisition of working spaces, providing end-to-end solutions for data management including:

• consultation services
• acquisition of required approvals
• capture, conditioning, storage, processing and analysis of data