A world leading research hub developing intelligent robotic systems for inspection and asset management.
We are the Australian Robotic Inspection and Asset Management Hub (ARIAM), an ARC Research hub hosted by the University of Sydney and in partnership with Queensland University of Technology and The Australian National University.
ARIAM aims to transform the way assets and infrastructure are managed through the development of intelligent robotic systems with new capabilities for inspection, monitoring, maintenance, and optimisation.
Our Hub unites a team of globally recognised leaders in field robotics research and development from academia, government and industry to generate important new knowledge in robotics and associated fields.
We share a vision for a future of robots equipped with the ability to autonomously collect data for integration into a digital twin that provides a real-time representation of the true state of a physical asset.
Our Objectives
Advance the fundamental science of robotics in three core areas: planning and control, sensing and perception, and mapping and insights.
Develop and demonstrate never-before-seen capabilities for robotic systems enabling them to inspect and interact with complex assets in challenging environmental conditions.
Drive growth through the creation of new robotics technologies that give Australian industry a competitive advantage in a rapidly growing market.
Build capacity by training researchers and forming new pathways between academia and industry.
In addressing these aims, the Hub will deliver a step-change in robotics capabilities for asset management, enabling reliable, robust and safe semi-autonomous and autonomous inspection and maintenance of large complex structures in challenging environments.
Ultimately these advances will transform the way assets and critical infrastructure are managed, reducing maintenance costs and increasing “uptime” and thereby improving productivity and competitiveness across the Australian economy.
Project Impact
Much of Australia’s infrastructure assets were built in a period of rapid growth in the three decades following World War II. Many of these assets are now rapidly approaching the end of their 50- to 80-year lifespan, creating an “infrastructure cliff”. This is a clear call to action.
Terrestrial assets such as factories, towers and bridges, as well as offshore assets such as gas platforms and pipelines, require frequent monitoring and maintenance to ensure their functional integrity, safety and maximise their lifespan. These assets are often vast in scale, intricate in geometry, and sometimes located in challenging environmental conditions. These circumstances severely restrict, and in some cases prohibit, manual inspections and repairs, and lead to considerable costs and safety risks.
While Australia’s vast land mass, sparse population, and high cost of labour add particular urgency here, many countries face the same challenges in a similar timeframe. Robotics is widely seen as essential to the solution, with the global market for asset and infrastructure inspection robots forecast to grow by USD 3.7 billion (AUD 5 billion) over the period 2020-2024: an annual growth rate of nearly 20%.
Our Hub will capitalise on this unique moment in time and on Australia’s unique opportunity: we are globally recognised as leaders in field robotics research, and we have an emerging cohort of innovative and energetic companies developing and marketing robotic systems for asset management. As such, the Hub brings together academic and industry partners with a shared vision of the future: teams of mobile robotic systems will perform inspection, monitoring and maintenance tasks with a high degree of autonomy, thus safeguarding and increasing the longevity of our assets cost-effectively, reliably and safely.