World's first grit-blasting robots feature in engineering exhibition

Sandy and Rosie, two autonomous robots used for steel maintenance on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, are on display at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, as a part of the the annual Engineering Excellence exhibition.

They are the world’s first grit-blasting robots designed to clean the bridge’s hard-to-reach areas. With highly tuned senses, they are able to explore an unknown 3D environment, build a 3D map and plan collision-free motions in order to blast grit from the surface of the steel.

They were developed by the University of Technology, Sydney and the Roads and Maritime Services of NSW.

The exhibition features winning entries from the 2013 Sydney Engineering Excellence Awards and all demonstrate how the innovation and creativity of engineers positively impacts the community in all sorts of ways.

To launch the exhibition and the 2014 Sydney Engineering Excellence Awards, Alexandra Meldrum, president of Engineers Australia, Sydney Division, commented on the impact that seeing exhibitions as a school student had on her future career choices.

“As a schoolgirl I remember going on school excursions and seeing exhibits of what the future could be; it was a moment of inspiration I’ve never forgotten. I am delighted to launch this exhibition, in conjunction with the 2014 awards, because it is exhibitions like these that showcase the true innovators of our society and influence our youngsters to dream big.

“I encourage the engineering industry, schools, universities and the wider community to come and see this exhibit, because it is essential that everyone understands and supports our envelope-pushing engineers, devising technologies which contribute to the betterment of our society,” Meldrum said.

Other projects on display include the Bradfield Award recipient - State Water Corporation for its Computer Aided River Management Project, improving river efficiencies; the President’s Award recipient - CSIRO and Catapult Sports for their Clearsky Technology to track elite athletes; the winner of the Innovations and Inventions category - CSIRO for the Wideband Multibeam Phased Array Feed Receiver; and finalists in Innovations and Inventions - University of New South Wales, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Research Laboratory, NSW Department of Primary Industries Fisheries, and Port Stephens Fisheries Institute for their Specialist Barochambers.

Over half a million visitors will pass through the museum over the next 11 months that the projects are on display. For more information, click here. Entries for the 2014 Sydney Engineering Excellence Awards close 4 April 2014.