Feb 03, 2018  -  Airports need to get smarter and not just bigger in order to meet the operational and capacity challenges of tomorrow, writes Kelly Allen for Smart Airports.  Civil aviation is booming, the tumbling cost of air travel helping create one of the fastest growing industries in the world as air passenger volumes and airline revenues continue to grow at a rapid pace.

Feb 2, 2018  -  Rotterdam Authority and IBM announced on Jan. 31 that they will collaboration on a multi-year digitization initiative to transform the port’s operational environment using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in the cloud.  As the largest port in Europe, the Port of Rotterdam handles over 461 million tons of cargo and more than 140,000 vessels annually. Previously the port relied on traditional radio and radar communication between captains, pilots, terminal operators, tugboats and more to make key decision on port operations.

Feb 2, 2018  -  On the evening of Jan. 31, 1958, the United States orbited its first satellite -- Explorer 1. The effort was part of the nation's participation in the International Geophysical Year (IGY), a peaceful scientific endeavor. It also marked America's first step in the Space Race of the Cold War.

feb 1, 2018  -  Some of the top cutting-edge tech companies, academics and leading tech chief executives will unleash all the latest information and how AI (artificial intelligence) is impacting on New Zealanders’ lives at a major event in Auckland in March. AI Day 2018 in Auckland on March 28 will be the biggest AI event ever to be held in New Zealand. The conference is being organised by NewZealand.AI and the AI Forum NZ, which is part of the NZ Tech Alliance, bringing together 14 tech communities, over 500 organisations and more than 100,000 employees to help create a more prosperous New Zealand underpinned by technology. New Zealand’s trail-blazing AI event will showcase the major steps AI has made in recent times and is starting to have impacts across the country, AI Forum New Zealand executive director Ben Reid says. Some of the trail-blazing pioneers of AI at the event include Steven Guggenheimer, corporate vice president, AI business, at Microsoft; Dawie Olivier, chief information officer for Westpac NZ; Kathryn Hempstalk, head of data and insights at Trade Me; David Leach, chief executive at Qrious; Eduard Liebenberger, chief tech officer at Jade; Kurt Janssen, chief executive at Orbica; Mahmood Hikmet , data scientist, at Ohmio and Angie Judge, chief executive, at Dexibit. “This event is about building New Zealand's AI community and helping kiwi businesses better serve their customers with AI, as well as emphasising the benefits of AI for people and society” Reid says. “Last year saw an explosion of machine learning in production use - AI technologies have moved beyond experimentation and are now being leveraged for practical applications in every domain thinkable. “Real world applications of AI are everywhere and out in the open these days. From Siri, Cortana and Google Assistant on your smartphone to the intelligent computer vision that enables Amazon’s new cashier-less grocery stores, there are plenty of examples of AI making our lives easier and more productive. “In fact, most people use or interact with AI every day, but seldom recognise it. When AI is done well, it usually becomes invisible. No one actively thinks of Amazon product recommendations or Netflix's 'Recommended for you' list as Artificial Intelligence, yet machine learning algorithms power these systems. “There are exciting developments applying AI to environmental goals – for example the Cacophony Project is using AI to radically improve trapping and accelerate us towards a pest free New Zealand. "There are incredible opportunities at the intersection of AI with people and society - initiatives such as the international Partnership on AI and Microsoft's AI for Good programme are just some examples of how AI can be used to leave a lasting, positive impact on the world. “Investment in the right skills is important. Demand for data scientists will surpass demand for engineers. According to IBM, demand for data scientists will increase to 2.7 million by 2020. China has recently stated that AI related courses will be added into the curriculum of primary and secondary schools – what are we doing in New Zealand to keep up? “AI Day is an opportunity for leaders and innovators to come together and start engaging with AI now to secure a prosperous and thriving future for New Zealand.”

| A MakeLemonade release  ||  February 1, 2018   |||

Jan 31, 2018  -  Gender-balanced tech firms are up to 40 percent more profitable and it is important that Kiwi companies and leaders acknowledge and accept that when hiring staff, the new executive director of Tech Women NZ says.

According to Statista, there were 453 million connected wearable devices worldwide in 2018, a figure that is predicted to increase to 593 million this year. While, unsurprisingly, the market is currently dominated by smart watches, you may be surprised at the benefits wearables can bring to a manufacturing facility. Here, Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director of obsolete equipment specialist, EU Automation explains how wearables could transform your factory.

Industries rise, fall and evolve under the constant development of new and innovative technologies. Refrigeration changed how food was supplied, the lightbulb enabled us to utilise more hours in the day, the telephone connected people and the internet distributed information far better and quicker than ever before.

Jan 30, 2018  -  The latest investment offering for inspection industry disruptor Invert Robotics has closed after attracting considerable interest from a number of high net worth and institutional investors from across Australia and New Zealand.

Invert Robotics provides non-destructive inspection services using state of the art mobile climbing robots. Invert Robotics’ climbing robots enable precise and accurate remote inspection of non-ferromagnetic surfaces such as stainless steel, carbon fibre, aluminium and glass. Invert Robotics’s patented robots are installed with high definition cameras and sensor technology to allow for equipment to be assessed for maintenance and for preventative analysis on a remote basis. Inspectors are fed real-time video during the inspection that allows for immediate and highly accurate analysis.

The device is already being used by the major Australian and New Zealand dairy companies and co-operatives such as Fonterra, Synlait and Murray Goldburn, as well as a number of global food and beverage brands. It is also attracting interest across other sectors and throughout the food and beverage manufacturing industry in Europe and Asia such as FrieslandCampina and Heineken.

The Company has also captured the attention of those working in the lucrative aviation inspection market and is poised to make a European partnership announcement soon regarding its successful development of further advanced robot technology. The company is also looking at potential opportunities in the chemical industry, in addition to further work with energy, oil and gas companies.

Following an almost million dollar crowdfunding campaign through the Sydney-based platform Equitise, a further NZ$6.4 million has now been raised from a limited sophisticated private investor round. Shareholders now include the former CEO of Macquarie Group Ltd, Allan Moss, and Inception Fiduciary Pty Ltd.

These investments add to the considerable funding received from government and private venture capital sources soon after the company was founded by its now Chief Technical Officer, James Robertson.

Since 2015/2016, Invert Robotics has experienced exponential growth; for the 2018/19 Financial Year, its revenue is expected to further quadruple, with significant contributions from European operations.

“Unlike other inspection methods using dyes, drones and optical or laser devices, Invert Robotics’s technology provides 360-degree diagnostics and does so in up to half the time of traditional inspections”, said Invert Robotics’ Managing Director Neil Fletcher.

“The accuracy, efficiency and the value-adding environmental and safety benefits of robotic technology makes it an obvious choice as global consumer demand for product safety, brand integrity and transparency grows,” Fletcher said.

Given the company’s rapid growth, in addition to its Australasian base in Christchurch, Invert Robotics have opened an office in the Netherlands and is poised to open premises to operate in Germany and Denmark.

Source: invertRobotics   ||  January 30, 2018  |||

Jan 29, 2018  -  Heading a list of innovations unveiled by 3D Systems for 2018 is the industry’s first scalable, fully integrated production platform for plastic and metal parts, providing manufacturers true factory solutions for durable, repeatable end-use parts.

The company’s new Figure 4 modular, scalable platform produces small, plastic parts with up to 15x throughput improvements versus competitive offerings, and up to 20% lower part cost than current manufacturing processes.

3D Systems also unveiled a next-generation additive metal platform for high productivity factory production of metal parts, including seamless large parts and the largest diameter parts available in the industry.

The new DMP 8500 Factory Solution features integrated powder management and a closed-loop system to ensure uniform, repeatable part quality, providing customers with a lower total cost of operation.

Similar to Figure 4, the new DMP 8500 Factory Solution has a modular design that reduces required capital equipment and maximises utilisation.

3D Systems has also bolstered its current line of leading SLS production systems with the ProX SLS 6100, as well as introduced three new nylon materials

New production SLS materials include DuraForm FR1200 fire retardant nylon, DuraForm EX BLK nylon 11 and DuraForm AF+ aluminum-filled nylon.

Thus this offering is quickly presenting itself as one of the quickest and most efficient means of production.

| An ITBrief NZ release  ||  jnuary 29, 2018   |||

Jan 23, 2018  -  Digital learning skills, smarter homes and medical drone deliveries will be major tech developments that will significantly impact lives of Kiwis, a leading New Zealand tech expert says.  NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says while the tech talk is often about issues such as robots stealing jobs or virtual reality worlds New Zealanders may sometimes overlook some of the advances that are happening already that will be important for Kiwis in the coming days of 2018.