Positioning technology boosts safety in resources industry

Safety will be improved for various industries in Australia with a trial of new positioning technology in the resources industry.

Geoscience Australia and the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) are planning to spend around $400,000 on the user testing of a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) for the resources industry in Australia.

Businesses selected for the user testing will work closely with international positioning experts to trial technology that has not been widely tested in Australia before.

Improved positioning technology has the potential to enhance a range of applications for the resources industry, including exploration, supply chain management and mine operations tracking.

The user testing is part of a two-year project to trial SBAS in the Australasian region. The Australian government has committed $12 million in funding to the project and the New Zealand government an additional $2 million.

The SBAS technology trial will potentially result in a number of safety, productivity, efficiency and environmental benefits for a range of different industries in Australia.

The project will be conducting user testing across nine different industries — agriculture, aviation, construction, maritime, rail, resources, road, spatial and utilities.

Interested businesses can apply for the trial by completing an application form available from the CRCSI website. The call for expressions of interest closes on Friday, 28 April 2017.

For more information about the SBAS trial and national positioning infrastructure capability, visit the Geoscience Australia website.

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