Sleeptite, RMIT University and Sleepeezee Bedding Australia (Sleeptite Collaboration) have won two prestigious awards at the annual Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia (KCA) Awards.
The awards are run by KCA – the peak body for Australasian research organisations involved in knowledge commercialisation and technology transfer – techtransfer.org.au
The Sleeptite Collaboration took home the awards for Best Industry Collaboration and People’s Choice for the creation of REMi® a world-first, non-invasive monitoring and alert system that as previously reported by Inside Ageing is likely to have a significant impact on the aged care industry.
The Sleeptite Collaboration credits the creation of the REMi system to the close and respectful relationship between the three partner organisations, including KCA member RMIT.
“While our team consists of people from incredibly diverse backgrounds, skillsets, and outlooks, every single person approached the project from a position of mutual understanding and respect regarding each partners’ focus and work,” Sleeptite CEO Cameron van den Dungen said.
“The REMi monitoring system is a top tier example of how collaboration between Research Institutions (RMIT University) and Industry Partners (Sleeptite and Sleepeezee Bedding Australia) can result in a life-changing product with the potential to provide significant economic benefit and incredible social outcomes,” he continued.
“In just over three years, our three collaborative organisations, from three very different sectors have managed to take RMIT University’s fundamental sensor research out of the lab and – when combined with industry insights from Sleeptite and Sleepeezee Bedding Australia – transformed this IP into tech that can extract data from the surface of a bed – REMi” van den Dungen continued.
The REMi system consists of flexible sensors embedded into a medical-grade mattress cover and will be deployed to residential aged care facilities and home care environments to assist with overnight monitoring, fall prevention and pressure sore management.
“This year the KCA Awards finalists demonstrated the highest quality nominations we have seen in many years. The RMIT REMi collaboration with Sleeptite was a deserving winner of the Best Industry Collaboration Award and is an exemplar of “top tier work” in Australasian research commercialisation,” one of the judges, Dr. Tim Boyle said.
“These are the only Australian Awards that recognises the role of technology transfer professionals in bridging the gap between publicly funded research institutions, and commercial partners such as entrepreneurs, industry and government stakeholders,” Dr. Boyle added.
KCA Award for Best Industry Collaboration and People’s Choice Finalists
- REMi non-invasive aged-care resident monitoring and alert system (RMIT, Sleeptite Pty Ltd, Sleepeezee Bedding Australia)
- COVID-19 Recovery Programs for impacted small to medium enterprise (La Trobe University, Agriculture Victoria, Investible, Business Victoria, La Trobe Business School, Outcome.Life)
- v2food | CSIRO – industry collaboration (CSIRO, v2food)
