Trellis Data expands to Adelaide

Canberra-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) company Trellis Data is expanding into Adelaide, South Australia. This expansion follows the company’s recent opening of an office in Washington DC and marks a significant milestone in its strategy to deliver sovereign AI solutions to the Australian government and defence clients, the company says.

Trellis Data uses AI technologies, including generative AI, to enhance computer vision for object detection such as detecting shipping containers on boats and reading the graphics on them; and facial and vehicle recognition using its own Decision-Making At The Sensor (DMATS). The DMATS system enables a user to train a sensor to look for specific events or objects such as a vehicle, sound, hand signal, even a written or spoken key word, and issue an immediate alert.

It also specialises in developing accurate speech-to-text models designed for both translation and transcription. The Trellis Secure Speech application offers features such as automatic speaker and language identification. At the Milcis show late last year, Trellis Data unveiled a Universal Translator it is trialling with Adelaide-based CODAN Communications. This new technology is slated to help solve some of the challenges of real-time translation  in the field

Trellis Data is recognised as a leader in explainable AI technology, says the company, and builds solutions that help a user understand how a response was generated. The company’s AI system is able to explain how it arrived at a particular decision and, uniquely, helps maintain a client’s corporate knowledge by producing a secure summary of everything the organisation knows about a specific topic without any external inputs.

“We know the government is looking for local solutions that meet their changing needs,” said vice president Mark Ryan, a former RAAF WGCDR and Defence Industry Adviser at the Office of Defence Industry Support (ODIS). “Crucially, investing in a local partner will yield huge returns in the future, upskilling local talent and developing an AI sector that can play a leading role on the global stage.”

Trellis Data addresses some of the important concerns that exist when adopting new AI technologies, by specialising in secure, disconnected AI applications that seamlessly integrate with existing business systems, said Ryan.

“We’ve spoken to many CEOs and continue to hear the same thing: that integrating sensitive data is of the utmost importance. There are many agencies looking to leverage the latest AI technologies, but they want to ensure they maintain control of their data and don’t see it go abroad. Australian businesses must fiercely protect their intellectual property and Trellis Data is at the forefront of providing industry-leading, secure AI solutions,” said Mr. Ryan.

Adelaide’s new LOT 14 precinct has been earmarked as a possible future home and comes with plans to grow the current team by 300 to 500 experienced professionals over the next five years. The move is also expected to inject an additional $100 million into the South Australian economy and boost its emerging tech industry.