Unearthed Perth 2018 winners Team Steel Ballers.
BY REUBEN ADAMS
MORE than 100 innovators gathered at CORE Innovation Hub over 13-15 April to tackle four real operational challenges from BHP Nickel West for Unearthed Perth 2018.
Students and professionals from the science, engineering, business, entrepreneurial, software development, and mathematics disciplines participated in the 54-hour open innovation event.
Nickel West head of integrated operations Karl Stokes said working with Unearthed was an opportunity to connect with some of the best minds in the technology and data science space.
“Nickel West is in an exciting period as we are set to become a globally significant battery material supplier very soon,” Mr Stokes said.
First prize went to Unleashing SAG2; a State based simulation and genetic algorithm developed by University of WA Engineering alumini Team Steel Ballers, which increased the processing throughput of an ore crushing circuit.
“We used Machine Learning Regressions to unleash a Digital Twin Model of the SAG crusher, which was then used along with a genetic algorithm to adjust operator tuneable parameters to increase the processing throughput of an ore crushing circuit by 3 per cent,” team member Rohan Mehra said.
In addition to winning $2500 cash, plus tech prizes with the support of SAP and Amazon Web Services, Team Steel Ballers will meet with Nickel West staff on site and pitch its prototype.
Unearthed Perth teams can now apply directly to the Unearthed Accelerator program, which provides seed funding, and access to experienced industry mentors, training and facilities to selected start-ups looking to grow and commercialise their prototypes.
Unearthed director Justin Strharsky said alumni from Unearthed Accelerator 2017 have graduated with industry contracts and continued to build sustainable businesses with global markets.
“We were excited to discover new talent in Perth and look forward to welcoming the 2018 start-ups to the program later this year,” Mr Strharsky said.
Since Unearthed Perth 2014, more than 4000 innovators from across Australia, South Africa, the US, Canada, and South America have engaged with Unearthed.
“With the support of our resources technology community, we have run 26 hackathons in 14 cities, six online competitions, two accelerator programs and four demo days; addressed over 100 industry challenges with terabytes of data; witnessed the development of over 400 prototype solutions, and the distribution of over $250,000 in cash and $150,000 in credits and prizes,” Unearthed director Zane Prickett said.
Winners: Unearthed Perth 2018
1st
Unleashing SAG2
Team: Steel Ballers
Challenge: Grindin’ at the Mill – investigating bottleneck in grinding circuit
2nd
Holistic Process Solution
Team: Eclipse
Challenge: Strong and Steady – using lab analysis for regulating leach recovery
CORE Start Award
SAG Mill LRS Control
Team: ECU
Challenge: Grindin’ at the Mill – investigating bottleneck in grinding circuit
Young Innovator Award
Radiclean
Team: Rush Hour
Challenge: Smooth Operator – preventing shutdowns from solid scale build up in pipes
People’s Choice Award
Sensual
Team: SENSE-U-ALL
Challenge: Find the Leak – detect when air is entering the smelter offgas train
