The following two Australians will this month be awarded at Government House ceremonies and celebrated at dinners in both Brisbane and Perth.
Auto-Skills Australia Churchill Fellows 2019
Dr Paulo Borges (Queensland): The Auto Skills Australia Churchill Fellowship to bridge the gap between autonomous vehicles and individuals with mobility difficulties. Paulo will travel to the USA
Project Overview: This project focuses on versatility for self-driving cars to be able to go off road networks for passenger pick up. This projects goes against the concept of “big data” (used for machine learning training and world mapping), and makes it possible, with minimal information, for a vehicle to travel and self-localise in areas that it has never been to or that it has only limited information about. The project implements a LiDAR data dimensionality reduction representation that captures the gist of the environment avoiding the usual need for a detailed representation of the world. This versatility makes it possible for passengers who cannot easily access a public road to fully benefit from self-driving mobility.
Alison Morley (Western Australia): The Auto Skills Australia Churchill Fellowship to examine installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in low population areas. Alison will travel to China, South Korea, USA, Canada, UK, Norway
Project Overview: The widescale uptake of Electric Vehicles (“EVs”) has the potential to solve numerous emissions, CO2 and energy security issues. Most auto manufacturers are investing heavily in the development and production of EVs. However, people will not buy these vehicles if they perceive that efficient fast charging facilities do not exist in the areas where they wish to travel. Australia is well behind the rest of the world in the installation of public fast charging infrastructure, particularly in areas with low population. This project will examine equivalent jurisdictions where effective charging infrastructure has been installed and has subsequently led to the increase in uptake of EVs in those regions.
Engagement, Mentoring and Media Opportunities
Connection to industry is a highly valued component of our Fellowships, helping our Fellows achieve the most from their travel experiences, and the greatest community benefits on their return. We strongly encourage Fellowship recipients to actively engage with their relevant industries throughout the course of their Fellowships (prior to, during and on return).
In the same spirit, we invite past ASA Directors and members to consider ways your sector might engage with these Fellows, whether as facilitators for information sharing, or mentors, or providing other opportunities to support, help shape and share in the Fellow’s journey and findings.
Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss ways to help promote or engage with these two new Fellows. We are very happy to work with you on joint industry media releases, articles, or any other promotion opportunity you would like to pursue.
Sponsorships and Partnerships
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust