The City of Melbourne has announced the three finalists of the 2024 Fishermans Bend Digital Innovation Challenge, the winner of which will receive $90,000 to work with Council to bring their idea to life in 2025.
Fishermans Bend is Australia’s largest urban renewal project covering approximately 480ha in the heart of Melbourne.
By 2050 it is expected to be a bustling precinct, home to approximately 80,000 residents and provide employment for up to 80,000 people.
City of Melbourne has said that the project provides an exciting opportunity to collaboratively explore how data and emerging technologies can be harnessed to enable city spaces to thrive now and into the future.
City of Melbourne invited entrepreneurs, individuals, universities, researchers, startups, scaleups and organisations to submit their creative applications of data and technology to harness opportunities and solve challenges in future city spaces like Fishermans Bend.
The theme for 2024 is A Regenerative City and respondents submitted ideas as a response to the following challenge statement: ‘How might technology and data enable city spaces to be more resource efficient, circular, resilient and healthy?’
A record-breaking 33 submissions were received, with the judges undertaking the hard task of narrowing the top three ideas as finalists.
On 15 August, in front of a live and online audience, these three ideas will be pitched in front of the judges and community.
The three finalists are:
Mia Mias Micro Materials Bank
The Mia Mias initiative proposes an interactive microrecycling hub, targeting the ‘left behind’ material streams beyond the 2030 four bin system.
Australians buy almost 15 billion plastic bottles each year, creating an overwhelming plastic crisis. While most plastic bottles are captured by Victorian recycling bins, due to their small size, plastic bottle caps often go unnoticed and are irresponsibly discarded, making them one of the top five most harmful pollutants for marine life.
This public installation will be made from construction waste and designed to be disassembled. It will serve as a collection and education point for micro-waste streams like bottle caps, tetra packs, e-waste and soft plastics, capturing data and insights, making material processing transparent and facilitating new ideas to divert waste from landfill.
Using multi-sensory technology to help biodiversity thrive
Using EcoSound data, FutureLabs attracts, monitors and visualises animal activity in Fishermans Bend.
To accelerate biodiversity restoration, this initiative deploys speakers to guide identified animals into target areas. Sensors and AI will be used to monitor sound data and provide professionals with insights into the diversity, abundance and behaviour of animals in this evolving precinct.
The goal is to inspire proactive environmental measures and reconnect community members with the vibrant ecosystems that once flourished in Fishermans Bend as we restore and preserve them.
Upsoil Collective
This project tackles food waste by transforming it into nutrient-rich compost through visible, engaging and hassle-free urban composting.
This initiative diverts food waste from landfill by combining buried worm composting with community gardening and urban greening. A buried design, combined with worms and sensor technology keeps the compost healthy and fresh.
A mobile app allows residents and businesses to monitor compost health and celebrate wins as they work towards healing the soil. The project connects the public to vibrant soil life, fosters behavioural change, and enhances nutrient circularity in Melbourne.
Featured image: An artist’s rendition of the Mia Mias Micro Materials Bank. Image credit: City of Melbourne.
