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Read articleUnearthed worked with long term partner, South32 to support the delivery of BioTrack, an open innovation challenge focused on identifying new approaches for fauna monitoring and environmental observation across Worsley Alumina’s operations in the South West of Western Australia.
BioTrack was designed to explore how emerging, commercial and adjacent-sector technologies could strengthen the way native species and feral animal activity are detected, identified, tracked and understood across large and varied land areas.
This is a complex challenge because fauna monitoring is not limited to one species, one landscape type or one point in time. It requires visibility across different environments, seasonal conditions and stages of rehabilitation.
Capabilities Sought
South32 articulated a broad capability needed around improving how fauna activity is identified, tracked, observed, profiled and monitored across rehabilitated lands, remnant forest, and surrounding landscapes.
The challenge sought groups with emerging technologies, methods or solutions that could improve visibility of both native species and feral animal activity, while supporting low-disturbance monitoring across large and varied environments.
Areas of interest included solutions able to:
- Identify target species presence across rehabilitated lands, including indicator species that may signal broader ecosystem recovery.
- Track native fauna dispersal, as well as feral animal movement patterns across disturbed and undisturbed landscapes.
- Observe species activity and interactions with habitat structures, while minimising disruption to natural behaviours.
- Monitor changes in population density, spatial distribution and localised activity trends across key landforms and ecosystems.
Challenge Delivery
Unearthed supported South32 through challenge design, market engagement, innovator outreach, submission review and technology assessment.
This included helping translate the operational and environmental monitoring needs into a clear, open innovation challenge that could be understood by innovators beyond the mining sector. With a focus on attracting and engaging those in environmental science, ecology, and conservation technologies.
We conducted three waves of deep research and innovator outreach, fielding more than thirty “innovator calls” to discuss and share further information. With our in market activity, crescendoing to a technical webinar, which allowed the internal South32 subject matter experts to interact directly with curious innovators.
Technology Domains Explored
BioTrack generated a strong level of market interest, with submissions and engagement from a broad mix of technology developers, environmental monitoring specialists, research groups and adjacent-sector innovators. The breadth of response highlighted how quickly environmental monitoring capability is evolving, particularly where sensing, automation, data processing and ecological expertise are being combined.
Unearthed also helped facilitate new collaboration between vendors and research specialists, encouraging blended approaches that brought together complementary technologies and domain expertise.
Of the more than fifty technical submissions received from innovators, several technology domains emerged as areas of highest interest through the challenge:
- Radar based detection for low disturbance observation of hollow use and activity.
- In field processing techniques for eDNA sequencing.
- Advanced bioacoustics monitoring approaches to detect, classify and understand species activity through sound.
- Camera based sensing and processing platforms using edge sensors, with supporting analytics to improve detection and review workflows.
Impact and Outlook
BioTrack demonstrated the value of applying open innovation across the broader mining value chain, including the critical activities that continue after mineral extraction.
By opening the challenge to innovators from both mining and adjacent sectors, South32 was able to explore a wider range of potential approaches than may typically surface through traditional market engagement alone.
The challenge surfaced several new concepts for deeper exploration, while providing a broader view of the environmental technology landscape. This creates value at both group and operational level, supporting ongoing awareness of emerging capability and greater optionality when selecting innovators to engage.
