Industry-focused research and training into the application of emerging aviation technologies

The North Australia Centre for Autonomous Systems (NACAS) conducts integrated industry-focused research and training into the application of emerging aviation technologies across industries, businesses, and other sectors in northern Australia and the Asia Pacific regions. 

Our mission is to enhance the prosperity of all our stakeholders through the safe adoption of emerging aviation technologies.

What we do

  • Provide an ecosystem to develop the drone industry in North Australia.

  • Help the industry to adopt and harness emerging aviation technologies.

  • Drive innovative drone-based research tailored to the needs of northern Australian industries and sectors.

  • Provide training and skill development pathways.

  • Create opportunities for Higher Degree Research students and Early Career Researchers.

Why work with us?

We have a large fleet of fixed-wing and rotor-copter drones, as well as a wide range of sensors (thermal, multi-spectral, hyper-spectral) to suit most applications.

The Centre has a core staff of experts who possess a comprehensive understanding of the Australian aviation regulatory landscape and the engineering and piloting of remotely piloted aircraft. This is complimented by our expertise in conducting impactful research and providing effective training.

Our team and partners are embarking on a mission to facilitate and support workforce transformation in applying Autonomous Systems to industries and businesses significant to northern Australia.

 

Foreword from the Director

Welcome to the North Australia Centre for Autonomous Systems.

Our team and partners are embarking on a mission to facilitate and support workforce transformation in applying Autonomous Systems to industries, businesses and sectors significant to northern Australia.

Within its first year of conceptualisation, NACAS has already grown into a leading autonomous systems innovation hub, embarking on the application of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems to healthcare, environmental monitoring, agriculture, and resource extraction. Our cross-disciplinary research and training team have helped transform the operational and business models of our industry and Government partners to meet the challenges of adopting and deploying Industry 4.0.

We aim to continue developing our Autonomous System research ecosystem by strengthening links between research innovation and industry needs and delivering game-changing capabilities in workforces and business operations.

Prof. Hamish Campbell
CENTRE DIRECTOR

Last week at the @charlesdarwinuniversity Katherine Rural Campus Open Day 🤠 The VET teams drone flying display was a hit!
Perfect flying conditions to survey the new @charlesdarwinuniversity campus located in the Darwin CBD
It was great hosting the @carbonix_uav team in Katherine last week where they did several flights over CDU infrastructure with their Volanti aircraft. We are looking forward to having the team back up here again soon!
A successful day out at Jabiru showing off the Wingcopter delivery drone to the Red Lily Health Board, key stakeholders and the wider community. We’re so pleased to have enthusiast support from the community for the Drones for Health project.
Some of the NACAS team attended the Australian International Airshow in Avalon this week. It was an invaluable few days to meet and hear from industry experts. The flying displays were pretty spectacular too! ✈️ @australianinternationalairshow

Our Partners