Soft Robotics for Australia's national broadband network

NBN-UTS Partnership Set to be a game changer in Telco

The collaboration between NBN Co, Australia's national broadband network company and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) aims to develop robots using "soft robotics" to maintain and improve the vast infrastructure of the national broadband network. 

Imagine going inside small ducts with old data cables, and all other things that could be present, to understand what is happening. For example, are there any blockages? Through what is called a ‘soft robotics’ solution, these robots can grow inside the ducts, utilising available space and using cameras and sensors to identify potential issues within the network to continuously strengthen its resilience and performance.

Professor Sarath Kodagoda
Director, UTS Robotics Institute

This partnership, known as ASTRID (Advancing STEM, Technology Research, Innovation, and Deployment), is the first of its kind in the telecommunications sector. It focuses on bringing together cutting-edge research and industry insights to solve real-world problems and enhance the internet experience for millions of Australian homes and businesses.

One of the things that excite me about this partnership is that it’s broad-based – it’s able to look not only at the technology itself and what the technology might do or could do. It’s also able to explore what sort of skills are needed to be able to support the technology, whether it’s from a telecommunication provider perspective, or from a user perspective.

Professor Andrew Parfitt
UTS Vice-Chancellor and President

By combining the expertise and resources of both organisations, the NBN co and UTS partnership seeks to push the boundaries of what can be achieved in the telecommunications industry. The partnership will also advance the state-of-the-art in robotics, infrastructure maintenance, and internet service provision.