Launched in 2006, Western Australia's (WA) Innovators of the Year has celebrated local businesses, government entities and young people that have developed an outstanding innovative product, technology or service for 20 years.
The Great for the State Award is awarded to a WA innovator whose bold innovation showcases the State’s creativity and ingenuity, and offers clear benefits for WA’s economy, community and/or environment.
Infin Robotics is the 2026 recipient of the Great for the State Award, receiving a cash prize of $15,000 (excl. GST) plus an advertising, subscription and sponsorship pack to the value of $15,000 with Business News.
Infin Robotics
Autonomous Solar-Powered Underwater Vehicle
Infin Robotics has developed a new class of autonomous ocean robot - a solar-powered underwater vehicle capable of extended, uncrewed operation across vast marine areas without any fixed support infrastructure. The vehicle addresses a fundamental limitation of current ocean robotics: conventional autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) run on battery power, limiting them to hours of operation before requiring recovery by a crewed vessel. Uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) have unlimited endurance but cannot dive, leaving them blind to subsurface conditions.
Infin Robotics solves this capability gap by combining dive capability with solar energy harvesting. The robot surfaces periodically to recharge, upload collected data via satellite, then dives again, autonomously, without any human in the loop. Based on adverse weather forecasts, it parks on the seafloor and resumes when conditions improve. A single deployment can sustain operations for months at a time.
