Episode 105 -- Jonathon Wolfe from Optera Solutions and Don Wright from Western Sydney University

Welcome to this special episode of @AuManufacturing Conversations, which is part of our annual Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.

It's been made possible through the support of Australia Wide Engineering Recruitment, TXM Lean Solutions, the Industry Capability Network, Bonfiglioli Australia, the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre and the SmartCrete CRC.

In this episode, we are joined by Jonathon Wolfe, founder/CEO at Optera, and Don Wright, Executive Director, Enterprise at Western Sydney University. Wolfe tells us about the benefits of neuromorphic engineering and where they might be commercially useful, why the way dragonflies catch mosquitoes is so impressive, and why it’s his duty to wash bottles. 

Do you think you belong on @AuManufacturing’s list of Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers? Apply to be recognised in this exclusive group here. It’s completely free to enter, and we’ll be celebrating the announcement of the 50 Most Innovative list and the award winners at a special breakfast event on May 7 at Crown Melbourne, during Australian Manufacturing Week.

Episode guide

1:12 – An introduction to Wolfe and his company, Optera, which was spun out of Western Sydney University’s International Centre for Neuromorphic Systems.

3:25 – introduction to Wright and his work as WSU’s Executive Director, Enterprise.

5:48 – A career migrating technology from university to the commercial world. “I’m on my seventh spinout from five different universities.”

6:48 – Spatial hearing for hearing aids, Wolfe’s first spinout. Then efforts including cow pregnancy detection and fault-finding in solar panel production. 

10:20 – What Optera does and the issues it is addressing: increasingly congested and contested environments in space, a growing and high-value market.

12:02 – The upcoming Factory of the Future at WSU’s Bankstown campus – opening in February – and its focus.

15:22 – Manufacturing businesses in Bankstown. “It’s a really broad range.”

16:42 – Neuromorphic sensors operate much more like an eye than a camera. Here’s how, and how they could be applied in a showcase at the FotF.

19:43 – Further explanation on how a neuromorphic retina works.

24:00 – The “scary amount” of power being consumed by data centres for processing and storage and why this is relevant for neuromorphic-style computing.

24:50 – At SMEs, historically in a lot of companies innovation is driven by one leader. This needs to change, and it is beginning to.

27:30 – Founders should display both resilience and curiosity.

28:47 – “Don’t tell me why it’s so good. Tell me five reasons why it won’t work.”

30:00 – Flexibility also needs to come with tenacity for startup founders and their teams.

31:30 – Why a startup founder also needs to be a bottlewasher if it’s needed.

32:15 – Why it can get difficult for established SMEs in adapting with the times, for example to incorporate digital twinning and/or evolve their business model.

34:55 – The semiconductor value chain in Australia and the lack of understanding and linkages when it comes to this.

35:55 – The difficulties attached to relying on using overseas chip fabrication and packaging if you’re an Australian startup.

37:20 – The recent cancellation of the JP9102 contract and the sovereign risk implications.