Accelerating the pace of digital innovation will be critical to improving outcomes for ageing Australians, according to a leading researcher from the University of the Sunshine Coast.

From tyre fitting at the family business to studying mechatronics at UniSC to building lunar simulation robots at CSIRO, Michael Tedge’s new career is taking him to the moon and back.

In an effort to prevent road crashes between vehicles and wildlife, UniSC researchers are tracking roos with custom-made high-tech collars “to a degree of biomechanical accuracy not seen before” to better predict their hopping movements in different habitats.