Tech advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) might help New Zealand move toward a solution for helping feed the world which will require food production to double to meet a growing population demands.

New Zealand IoT Alliance executive director Kriv Naicker says the new government needs to support the tech industry, in particular, the NZ IoT Alliance and its sister organisation the New Zealand AI Forum to help address a growing food shortage.

Naicker stating, “Farmers’ uptake of technology is becoming the norm in the rural sector, smart farming and precision agriculture is helping farmers get better results on the land with enhanced tech forecasting and IoT sensor data collection and analytics, optimising resources and supplies.

“We know the world is heading toward a major food supply crisis, by 2050 the planet’s human population will reach beyond nine billion, requiring food production to double to meet demands.”

To read the full article click here.

The New Zealand virtual reality and augmented reality (VRAR) industry sector’s forecast revenues are estimated to be worth more than $320 million within two years, a report states.

The publication was commissioned by the New Zealand Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Association (NZVRARA), which is a part of the New Zealand Tech Alliance.

The NZVRARA was formed last year and has more than 110 members.

More than 1,100 full-time equivalent staff are currently employed in the sector, in New Zealand and is conservatively estimated to double in two years.

Globally, AR is predicted to be the fastest growing segment in the world with forecast global revenues of US$83 billion.

Forecast revenues for the sector at more than $320 million compares favourably with the New Zealand games development industry, which has revenues of around $100 million, Graeme Muller NZTech chief executive says.

To read the full article click here.

Many New Zealanders are buying into the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) as it is creeping into many walks of everyday life.

New Zealand needs to actively embrace artificial intelligence at a faster rate as an extraordinary opportunity and challenge for New Zealand’s future, Artificial Intelligence Forum of New Zealand (AIFNZ) executive director Ben Reid says.

AI has a growing impact on the daily lives of all New Zealanders.

In the near future, it is likely to accelerate at an unprecedented pace, resulting in major changes to NZ’s economy, society, and institutions.

Precision Driven Health (PDH) is one organisation spearheading AI changes across NZ in the health sector.

To read the full article click here.

Smart Seeds involves multi-disciplinary teams of young professionals generating fresh ideas to tackle complex challenges facing their city. In 2018, GHD is bringing Smart Seeds to Christchurch.

Check out a short highlights video from the 2017 Wellington programme to see what Smart Seeds is all about.

For Expressions of Interest or further information, please contact smartseedsnz@ghd.com or visit www.smartseeds.org

We’re proud to announce that EPIC tenants MTech Games won the Champion Canterbury award in the Professional Services, Small to Medium Enterprise category.

MTech Games was created to explore the possibilities for virtual reality in the rehabilitation/medical space and beyond.  They are currently focused on helping new powered wheelchair users through the tough transition to life in a wheelchair.

To see the full list of winners, click here.

Media Release                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            18 September 2017

NZ Teen in Global Competition to Create Super Happiness

A global challenge with big prizes and massive opportunities has a single Kiwi as one of its 15 finalists announced today.

The Singularity U / Project Heha Super Happiness Challenge is looking for solutions to help people achieve true happiness, and has invited people from all over the world to share unique solutions to co-create a happier world.

18 year old Christchurch woman, Lucia Kennedy, has reached the semi-finals with her project called Luminary Legacies, the only New Zealander to do so and from an expected 500 entries. Her idea is to get people to promote, congratulate and acknowledge those who have made an impact on our lives, using apps and other forms of social media to do so, around the world.

“It’s about creating a viral global conversational environment of acknowledgment.  It’s about us getting connected with each other, our friends, families, peers, and the communities we belong to.  In the act of acknowledgment, people get to know they make a difference and they have left a legacy or their signature on that person’s life – they become a Luminary, says Lucia.

The competition organisers believe people have an innate need to be happy and should share that happiness with others. However, they say our collective level of happiness has not kept up with its potential growth despite technological advances and improved quality of life.

“I want us all to reach out and acknowledge these luminaries; many of whom don’t know the positive effect they have on our lives, and sadly many never will but I want to change that.” 

Lucia says what she really loves about her idea is the simplicity.

“Our goal is to create 1 billion luminaries, share1 billion legacies and in the process activate 2 billion moments of happiness that last forever; transforming our lives and motivating us to reach out to others so happiness expands and grows. Real acknowledgement is a gift that keeps giving; it gives us the option to be generous, be big, inspire, connect while also making someone else happy, – that’s super happiness right there,” she says.

The 15 Semi-Finalists have each uploaded a short video providing a high-level overview of their idea, and the finalists will be announced by judges on 22 September. A popular vote is also underway online and the results of that will add to the “pitch” power of the finalists chosen.  The three finalists win US$5,000 each and will be invited to pitch their ideas in San Francisco on October 20^th (a paid, three day trip to the San Francisco) and compete for the grand prize of US$35,000, with the runner up winning US$10,000.

Websites links are:

Popular Vote for Luminary Legacies HERE          Supper Happiness Challenge website HERE

In a run of nominations coming Corvecto’s way, they have been announced as finalists in the NZ Innovation Awards in not just one category, but THREE! The VR training solution company have been announced as finalists for Innovation in Technology Solutions, Innovation in Media, Marketing & Communications, and Young New Zealand Innovator through Managing Director Henry Lane.

We wish them all the best as winners are announced Thursday 19 October in Auckland.

Big data and artificial intelligence aren’t usually topics associated with education, but thanks to two local startups these tools are being developed in Christchurch to help prepare students for the future.

Last week Charlie Tomlinson and Raphael Nolden, presented to the EdTech Asia Summit 2017 on software tools developed here with the potential to help students around the world.

Charlie Tomlinson from software startup EdPotential moderated a panel on ‘Current Trends in Big Data and Analytics in Education’. The sophisticated software developed by EdPotential enables schools to inquire into their assessment data, analyse it to identify gaps and strengths and then act to target solutions that improve student achievement.

Raphael Nolden from maths tutoring startup Osnova spoke on ‘Emerging Tech: AI and Automation in Education and the Workplace’. Osnovo has developed an AI maths tutor, called Amy, which is being trialled in ten New Zealand schools and the company is currently capital raising after participating in Flux Accelerator.

“The Summit was a great event with a real mix of people, companies, investors and vendors from across the education technology community and the wider Asia region.

“It enabled us to showcase technology developed and used in Christchurch to educators from across Asia,” said Charlie.

Another EPIC tenant, VR and AR training platform Corvecto, have also been announced as finalists in this year’s Champion Canterbury awards. Corvecto are one of three finalists in the Champion Innovation category and the winner will be announced at the ceremony on the 4th October.

To find out more about Corvecto click here.

Two EPIC tenants were announced last night as finalists in the Professional Services – small enterprise category for the Champion Canterbury Awards 2017.

Concentrate Limited and MTech Games Ltd were announced to be finalists at the event last night in the PWC building.

This year’s Awards has seen 150 entries with 24 finalists moving forward. Awards chairman Peter Townsend said he was thrilled by the calibre of the finalists.

Winners in the eight categories will be announced at a ceremony on the 4th October and we wish both Concentrate and MTech Games the best of luck.

To find the full list of finalists, click here.

Post by Jacques-Pierre Dumas on FutureFive NZ:

This weekend I had the opportunity to meet Henry Lane, Corvecto managing director.

Corvecto is a Kiwi startup that works with enterprise organisations of all sizes looking to protect themselves or grow their business through virtual and augmented reality.

Corvecto provides full-stack design and development services.

They distinguish themselves by leveraging half a decade of experience in creating virtual worlds for global entertainment brands and professional organisations.

Before this meeting, I thought of virtual reality as simply the newest fad in the entertainment industry, however, after an hour with Henry and his VR programs my mind was blown away at the potential of this technology.

After a quick chat about Corvecto, I jumped into the VR headset and experienced a series of simulations.

Three, in particular, stood out to me, the x-ray machine, commercial factory and virtual observatory.

The x-ray machine built with Virtual Medical Coaching put me in the shoes of a technician and I was tasked with taking an x-ray of a virtual patient’s foot.

The simulation was incredibly life-like and fully involved, I had to do everything from positioning the patient’s foot to operating the machinery.

I was completely taken back by the potential this technology has for education.

To read the full post click here.

PwC’s Commercialising Innovation Report shows that artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are the most advanced of the emerging technologies in New Zealand – and some Kiwi companies are already banking the returns.

Augmented reality, 3-D printing, drones and robotics will grow in disruptive significance in the next three years but PwC predicts that AI will boost the global economy by US$15.7 trillion by 2030.

“Leading the way in the AI space are Kiwi companies and innovators like Soul Machines. Their avatars could be amongst the first digital employees and are designed to work on well-known AI platforms and operate with realistic facial expressions and muscles as well as the ability to detect emotion in the person they are interacting with.

“The avatars can provide the digital interface but as organisations increasingly look to use AI platforms to transform their businesses, data availability and data quality will become a central focus for them,” says Andy Symons, PwC Partner and innovation leader.

Click here to read full article.

Fiona Ambler, of Digital Marketing Specialist for GymMaster, has recently placed second as part of the national MYOB IT Challenge. Her team, Team GYOB  were awarded second place for their innovative stock management application, which uses augmented reality technology.

UC Centre for Entrepreneurship Incubator Manager Michelle Panzer says the challenge reveals students who understand the issues that businesses face and can use today’s technologies to create solutions.

“It’s essential we continue to encourage the fresh thinking of tomorrow,” says Ms Panzer.

“The MYOB IT Challenge encourages the kind of entrepreneurial mindset that will play a key role in shaping how Kiwis do business in the future.”

As well as receiving return flights, expenses and accommodation in Auckland to compete in the national finals, the top three teams also won a share of the $5,000 cash prize.

Click here to read more about the project. 

Superstar tenants CerebralFix are being recognised around the world for their game development capabilities. In a recent article by FutureFive NZ, Cerebral Fix’s latest indie game Ninja Tobu is ranked as one of the top, addictive games at the moment.

It’s great to see tenants doing well and being recognised for the work they are doing.

Read the full article here.

ShadowTech Day was held last month where students spend a day with a mentor within the industry, promoting a career in IT as a viable option to more young women.

Eva Sherwood, Account Executive at Oracle New Zealand and Board Member of NZTech, takes part in the day as a mentor and shares her insights on the day, why she believes in the programme and what she finds great about it.

Read her whole story here. 

As part of Tech Week, thirty-five school kids showed off their computer coding skills for MPs in the beehive. Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne said Code Club Aotearoa, which organised the event, was having a big impact on children aged 9 to 12.

Code Club, starting out of a small computer lab in Aranui, sets out to give every kiwi kid the opportunity to learn code. They encourage children to combine their imaginations with an understanding of programming, empowering our next generation to take their incredible inventions to the world.

To find out more about Code Club and the visit to the Beehive, click here.

Recognised by NZEntrepreneur as a Start-up to watch is EPIC Westport tenant Wearbox. Wearbox, brainchild of Karen Bongard and Tim Bourne, is a men’s underwear subscription service.

“In early 2015 we decided to find a service to offer to men that would make their lives easier and more enjoyable. Investing in a Wearbox subscription is a gift that keeps on giving,” explains Karen.

This is just one of the examples of the great ingenuity that is coming out of the West Coast and EPIC is proud to be a part of making this happen.

To find out more about Wearbox, click here. 

As part of the Ministry of Awesome’s recent Lab 5 workshop, a group of Christ College students have created an idea for jackets made out of recycled materials. Held in the EPIC building, the week long event sees groups of teenagers coming together, formulating an business idea and turning it into a realistic model.

The Christ College team’s jacket idea would see retailers selling the jackets and for every one sold, another is given to someone who is homeless.

The Lab 5 workshops give students an opportunity to take their ideas and turn it into something realistic, fueling their drive for innovation and entrepreneurship.

To find out more about the idea click here.

This year’s Microsoft Imagine Cup New Zealand took place a few weeks ago and the winning team is off to Seattle to compete in the Imagine Cup global competition. Winning team, GroupCram, took out the competition with a student collaboration app designed to help with studying and group assessments.

In the past, New Zealand teams have done well at the competition with Estimeet winning the Innovation category in 2014 with their social interaction app. Not only does this help showcase young New Zealand talent on a global stage, but it also highlights the future of the industry here. The calibre of developers and innovators coming through the ranks is high and makes for exciting things on the horizon for the community.

To read more about GroupCram and the Imagine Cup, click here.

Improving data-sharing across government is fundamental to many of the outcomes the Better for Business programme is working on.

The Data Futures Partnership has been created to help lead the development of a data-use system that will create value for business and all New Zealanders by making better use of our data.

The partnership is an independent group funded by Government to work with all New Zealanders to create the right systems, settings and conditions to allow our data to be put to work making New Zealand a better place.

Read more…

Are you on the hunt for tech talent? 

We’ve got just the ticket.

LookSee Wellington is a world-first global talent attraction programme, which is aiming to offer top tech talent the ultimate career trip.

In May 2017, we want to bring 100 lucky candidates from around the world to Wellington (flights and accommodation paid for), for a series of pre-arranged interviews and unique Wellington experiences.

On Sunday 22nd January, TEDxChristchurch hosted sold-out viewing party of the TEDxScottBase broadcast along with over 60 other viewing parties around the world. TEDxScottBase hosted international voices in science, art, entrepreneurship and more came together, in the most remote location on Earth, to broadcast their ideas to the world. For more information visit: http://www.tedxscottbase.com/

Photos by TedXChristchurch