Shoal to present innovation in maritime survivability and Defence data quality at ADSTAR 2026

Shoal Group will showcase two presentations at the Australian Defence Science, Technology and Research (ADSTAR) Summit in Adelaide this week. As the premier Australian summit for defence innovation, science and technology, the presentations highlight practical approaches to improving Defence capability through advanced modelling, artificial intelligence and systems engineering.

Shoal’s presentations demonstrate how emerging technologies, along with modelling simulation and analysis, and robust engineering methods can support faster, more informed decision making across complex Defence environments.

The first presentation, ‘FastCAD – An innovative approach to delivering maritime platform RCS within tactically relevant timeframes’, will be delivered by Henry Bennison, Modelling and Simulation Engineer at Shoal. His presentation introduces FastCAD, a Shoal-led innovation that enables Defence to rapidly understand the detectability of maritime platforms within tactically relevant timeframes. By combining LiDAR capture, rapid CAD model generation, GPU-accelerated processing, bespoke algorithms and AI and machine learning feature classification, FastCAD transforms representative platform data into timely Radar Cross Section (RCS) insights. The approach supports mission-driven survivability assessments while demonstrating potential application across maritime, land and air domains.

Shoal’s second presentation explores a practical framework for adapting enterprise data quality methods to open-source information. It demonstrates how fragmented open-source information can be evaluated for timeliness, authoritativeness and validity before being combined into a transparent confidence measure. The approach supports more repeatable and defensible intelligence assessments while recognising the continued importance of stakeholder judgement. This work aligns closely with ADSTAR’s strategic themes by showing how structured data quality scoring can strengthen Defence decision-making through greater transparency, repeatability and collaboration across complex information environments. Titled ‘Aligning Enterprise Data Quality with Defence Needs’, the presentation is co-authored by John Wharington PhD, Principal System Engineer, and Luan Dinh, Modelling and Simulation Engineer, Shoal.

Held in Adelaide from 4 – 6 August 2026, ADSTAR 2026 is themed ‘Delivering more together’ and is built around the Defence Innovation, Science and Technology (IS&T) Strategy’s four strategic lines of effort: Anticipating the Future, Experimentation, Integrated Ecosystem and Mission Driven.

About Shoal

Shoal is complex systems design company. We use Systems Engineering combined with Modelling, Simulation and Analysis to help our clients define, analyse, decide, optimise, and deliver technology-intensive projects in complex environments across Defence, Space, Transport, Energy and Infrastructure.

In 2026, Shoal celebrates 25 years of applying systems thinking to complex challenges.

More: shoalgroup.com

Media Contact

Matthew Wylie
Head of Engineering, Shoal Group
+61 403 156 288
[email protected]

Adelaide, 3 August 2026