In 2007, Darren Foster founded Whitsunday Moorings and Marine Construction (WMMC), a successful commercial diving and inspection business based in Airlie Beach, Queensland, Australia. Darren’s company serviced many of Australia’s largest bulk material handling ports that services many of the coal terminals and mines in Central Queensland. With hands on inspection experience, Darren’s company observed gross structural defects at various ports that triggered entire asset shutdown or asset failure.
In 2012, Darren began working on the concept to create a marine robotic device for enhanced pile integrity inspection, improved asset management and reduction of commercial risk. A comprehensive search of experienced personnel and suitable technology moved Darren to the USA from 2013-2016 where he worked with US based design and engineering experts to develop a prototype and initiate first patents. The company Artemis (Intelligent Robotic Solutions Pty Ltd) was formed to commercialise the technology and later renamed to Artemis Robotics.
In 2017, Artemis won the Australian and Queensland government funded KPMG Accelerator Program Choice Award, representing the most promising scale-up commercial venture.