Meet the 2024 TRAM Runway cohort!
Imagine a world where artwork authenticity is secured by blockchain technology, individuals with physical disabilities can control devices with their minds and sports clubs are at the forefront of combating racism. These are not distant dreams; they’re the innovations being brought to life by the 2024 TRAM Runway cohort.
We’re thrilled to introduce you to the 11 teams that make up this year’s TRAM Runway cohort. These teams are developing research-driven solutions to some of the world’s most pressing and intriguing challenges. Over 12 weeks these teams will refine their value propositions, develop business models, and enhance their pitching skills.
At this stage in their journey, the teams are ready to take their projects to new heights by clarifying their pathway options, further exploring product-market fit, and building their teams’ capabilities.
“I am very pleased to welcome these incredible teams to the 2024 TRAM Runway cohort. I’m looking forward to seeing the world through their eyes and doing everything I can to support and develop their ideas, helping them make an impact in the world.”
Merida Sussex, TRAM Runway Program Manager
Please join us in welcoming the TRAM Runway cohort of 2024!
ArtCert - David Challis, Guy Morrow and Karen Thompson
ArtCert represents an innovative response to shortcomings in current artwork authentication practices. We aim to use blockchain and computational methods to validate the authenticity of painting collections. Our model takes a hyperspectral image and creates a Non-Fungible Authentication Token (NFAT) of the artwork. This will create fluidity in the art market, offering a secure and transparent solution for artists, collectors, and the art market ecosystem.
Enpower - Tim Mahoney, Dean Freestone, Farhad Goodarzy, Sam John and David Grayden
Enpower envisions a future where physical disabilities don't hold people back. We're a team of engineers and clinicians dedicated to creating brain-controlled technology that empowers individuals with disabilities to live on their own terms. Our minimally invasive device uses brain activity to offer individuals with disabilities new ways to perform activities on their own. We're excited to bring our innovation out of the lab and into people's lives.
MK Collect - Masood Alivand and Kathryn Mumford
MK Collect is a direct air capture (DAC) company based in Australia, focused on developing advanced technologies to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere. Our goal is to combat climate change by capturing and sequestering carbon emissions at scale. We have partnered with the University of Melbourne and Innaco Pty Ltd to build a pilot plant, leveraging progressive research and innovation to drive sustainable solutions.
STARS - Karen Block, Dana Young and Maia Tua-Davidson
STARS (Standing together against racism in sport) is a partnership between researchers Karen Block and Dana Young from the Nossal Institute of Global Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health and Maia Tua-Davidson from Welcoming Clubs (Welcoming Australia). We strive to address the insidious issue of racism within sports and beyond. Recognising the need for effective, scalable solutions, STARS is developing a "train-the-trainer" program to equip facilitators with tools to deliver anti-racism education, building racial literacy and promoting upstander action across the sporting sector.
Zero Tolerance 2 Bruxism (ZT2B) - Shazia Naser-ud-Din
Zero Tolerance 2 Bruxism (ZT2B) is the first of its kind active oral splint to eliminate heavy occlusal forces for patients suffering from bruxism (involuntary grinding of teeth). Bruxism can cause sore muscle joints, headaches and sleepless nights. Current treatments are outdated, ineffective and lack efficacy. Dentists, specialists, GPs, physiotherapists and osteopaths can enhance the quality of life of their bruxism patients with ZT2B. ZT2B, developed by Shazia Naser-ud-Din and analysed at the University of Bonn, Germany, provides evidence that a unique repulsion magnet on a specific zone of the splint can restore the natural freeway space, ideal for healthy occlusion.
SpinalLog - Antony Chacon and David Kelly
SpinalLog is a collaboration between the School of Computing and Information Systems and the Department of Physiotherapy. Our aim is to develop medical simulators for the learning and teaching of manual skills in spinal mobilisation, employing emerging technologies such as metamaterials, 3D printing and extended reality (XR).
Sensure Medical - Brandon Qilin Chen and Shuangjia Wu
Sensure Medical, originating from the 2022 BioDesign program at the University of Melbourne, strives to build solutions that work with and for users. Tackling epidural procedures initially, Sensure Medical aims to develop a new ubiquitous device that addresses the global barrier to safe and quality surgical and anaesthetic care. We are well on our way to building our first hardware MVP.
PixaLens - Shanaka Kristombu Baduge, Gihan Ruwanpathirana, Sadeep Thilakarathna and Hasala Sakvithi
PixaLens is developing an autonomous vision and robot system for identifying, auditing, picking and sorting objects in plastic waste stream. Our system independently and concurrently processes and synchronises vision, AI and robotics for real-time cognition, coordination and operation to audit and sort waste plastics simultaneously. PixaLens is a database and data model that characterises polymers by material types, colour, user types and brands, enabling real-time operation and synchronisation of the system for efficient waste sorting.
Jobography - Irma Mooi-Reci
Jobography is a tool designed for those who want strategic, personalised career insights to make informed, strategic decisions for their future in this dynamic job market. Jobography is a GPS roadmap for people’s careers, projecting occupational paths dynamically. It leverages users’ complete work histories and personal preferences to visualise where in the job landscape they are located, how they got there, and navigates the shortest, most frequent and most efficient routes to better fitting and better-paying jobs for them.
Sano Technologies - John A Nguyen, David Conidaris, Benny Li, Candice Bao and Yen Tien Yap
Sano Technologies (Sanotech) is transforming body composition assessment and disease diagnostics and management through our AI-enabled imaging technology. Our system can reveal localised composition imbalances and patterns in a three-dimensional and highly visual way, offering new insights into health and wellness.
Dentistry in Motion - Jean Wu
Dental clinicians and staff often suffer from pain and disability due to the nature of their work. Dentistry in Motion delivers evidenced-based protocols that have been scientifically proven to improve and prevent work-related musculoskeletal problems. Through our programs, we empower the dental community to improve their physical wellbeing.
These 11 teams exemplify the quality of research and development happening here at the University of Melbourne, with the potential to create significant positive change across various sectors and industries.
Mark your calendars for Thursday 14 November when the TRAM Runway teams will showcase their projects at TRAMaganza, an event celebrating research innovation and impact at the University of Melbourne.
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