The troubled triumph of 1993’s Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Greatest Hits by Jonny Potts | Guest writer for TheSpinOff October 3, 2017

Tom Petty died today, aged 66. Jonny Potts remembers his 1993 Greatest Hits album, one of the best single-disc greatest hits compilations ever released.

I still have my copy of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ Greatest Hits on CD. It was one of the first CDs I bought after acquiring a shitty boombox from an older kid at school. Up till then, it had all been tapes: The Rhythm Volume 3, Joyride, Use Your Illusion II, The Simpsons Sing the Blues.

With a CD, you could skip the tracks. That was the big selling point. Sure, the sound quality was supposedly immaculate, but what the hell did I know? CDs were big, beautiful objects to own. They were an investment which promised, in the excessive ‘How to Care for your CD’ notes which frequently accompanied the early ones, ‘a lifetime of listening enjoyment’. No more spooling the tape back in with a pencil! For a modest investment of $33 today you can guarantee that when you’re on your deathbed you’ll be able to skip straight to ‘Informer’ on Snow’s 12 Inches of Snow.

In 1993, the massive singles from Tom Petty’s Into the Great Wide Open were still current, with the videos being played alongside Green Jelly and C+C Music Factory on RTR Countdown. But they were already classics. ‘Free Fallin’’, ‘Into the Great Wide Open’, ‘Learning to Fly’ and ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance’ were rich and fully formed capital R Rock; they seemed to belong to another generation. The guy had a weird mumbly non-voice like the old dude off Dire Straits. The songs were kinda like Bruce Springsteen but without the bombast. And he looked like a skeleton. How old were these guys? Is it OK to keep the video recorder going to catch the creepy ‘Mary Jane’ video when all I wanted was the ‘In Bloom’ one? Brendan says this song is about drugs. Have I ever liked a song with a harmonica in it before?

The hugeness of those hits did not suggest a backstory. They were the story: massive, singalong standards that your friend’s older brother’s friend could play on guitar. They belonged to everyone. Because of this, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers did not seem to fit anywhere. In 1993, they were not canonised, like the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, nor were they ushering in something new like Pearl Jam and Nirvana. And Tom Petty was in a band with one of the Beatles? What is he, like, 60? Was there anyone else making music this restrained and commercial that we all agreed on?

But though we all liked that stuff, Petty wasn’t ours. This was Older Brother’s Music. The idea of risking $33 on a copy of Full Moon Fever on CD was prohibitive, especially when you’re saving up for the Spin Doctors’ Pocket Full of Kryptonite.

The songs were insistent. They were everywhere. They became mixtape staples. They were used to score cricket highlights. You heard them coming out of builders’ radios and student flats. Nobody could change the station when they heard the chime of that opening chord of ‘Free Fallin’’. You could make a decision to not like Paul McCartney or Neil Young: with Tom Petty you had no choice.

So the release of a greatest hits album was, as the sales figures bear out, a smart move. The album was massive. There were 18 tracks on it – great bang for your buck – and I knew about six of them. The great thing was, I could skip straight to those bangers. And by not buying four CD singles, I’d saved myself about $7.

OK, I am now going to ask you to try to imagine what it is like buying a CD with ‘American Girl’, ‘Refugee’, ‘The Waiting’ and ‘Don’t Come Around Here No More’ on it having never heard those songs before.

Continue to read Johnny's full article on TheSpinoff right here  ||  October 4,  2017   |||

When it comes to solar panels, the future is flexible. Vanessa Young discovers how a MacDiarmid project is unlocking the possibilities of a new generation of solar cell technology.

When we imagine solar panels, we think of hard rectangle frames, sitting upright on roofs, or spread out across expanses of deserts.

But imagine flexible, bendy solar panels, supple enough to skin a curved roof, pliable enough to be rolled up and transported easily. Lightweight enough to be a thin film for the roof of a tent. And portable enough to be rolled out to generate power for emergency relief operations, or taken into remote areas.

Printable solar materials that will allow all of this is closer than we think. Victoria University associate professor Justin Hodgkiss, lead researcher in a MacDiarmid Institute project investigating the possibilities presented by ‘printable photovoltaics’, says they will be low cost and could replace silicon as the next generation of photovoltaic (solar energy) materials.

“Silicon cells are getting cheaper but still require a high-temperature, high vacuum manufacturing process. For solar energy to be really accessible it needs to be much cheaper and faster to manufacture.”

He says these printable semiconductors, including polymers and nanoparticles, can potentially be manufactured on a roll, cutting production costs.

“Their ease of transport and light weight also mean it is feasible for these to be manufactured in New Zealand and shipped anywhere in the world.”

New generation flexible solar cell material. Photo: Eight19 Ltd

Shiny is the enemy of good

When we see photos of those bright shiny swathes of solar farms, we don’t automatically think of their shininess as a problem. But Hodgkiss says an ideal solar panel would look black.

“Every bit of light that reflects off a solar panel is light not transformed into energy. When no light bounces off it means all visible light is getting in.”

This is where nanotechnology comes in. He compares the idea to radio antennae on the roof of a building.

“When you see large antennae on the top of buildings, their size is related to the radio frequencies they’re tracking. Radio waves are of the order of metres, so the antenna discs are this size. But optical wavelengths are in the order of hundreds of nanometres.”

He says the MacDiarmid teams working on this are effectively creating tiny antennae that capture light and can direct it inside the solar panels.

“We’re making nano-patterns that make sure that light gets in and is not bounced away, and that capture and focus the light waves directly where it is needed in the solar panels.”

Continue to read the full article here published by The Spinoff on a MacDiarmid Institute Project a MacDiarmid Institute Project  ||  October 3,  2017   |||

China and the United States’ cooperation in applying sanctions against North Korea does not promise a new era of cooperation around increasingly entwined economic and security issues, new research led by Victoria University of Wellington academics has concluded.

“We’re seeing much more competition than cooperation” says Robert Ayson, Victoria’s Professor of Strategic Studies and author of a study published by a prestigious Australian National University (ANU) think-tank.

“Our new report, The Economics-Security Nexus Under Trump and Xi: Policy Implications for Asia-Pacific Countries, finds that New Zealand and its regional partners should expect less reassurance and more pressure,” says Professor Ayson.

“President Trump has withdrawn the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership process and is threatening to exit the free trade agreement with South Korea, a leading US security ally. And China has signalled to New Zealand, Australia and other regional countries that they need to consider the potential trade implications of taking a critical stance on the South China Sea. The days of separating our economic and security interests are well and truly over.”

The new study was kick-started by a symposium hosted by Victoria’s Centre for Strategic Studies, which brought together leading scholars from Victoria, the ANU and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

Associate Professor David Capie, the Centre’s Director, says the symposium was an opportunity to build strong links with some of Victoria’s most important capital city university connections. “We were also thrilled with the participation of senior officials from a range of government agencies.”

Building deeper connections with scholars in the region and with the official community is a strong focus for Victoria.

“This is exactly what we had in mind when we established ‘Enabling our Asia-Pacific trading nation’ as one of Victoria’s eight areas of academic distinctiveness and strength,” says Professor Siah Hwee Ang, Victoria’s Chair in Business in Asia and Chair of the team leading this area of research collaboration.

“We’ve created research connections across the University that can bring new combinations of expertise to deal with knotty interdisciplinary questions. And we’re leading the way in outlining the policy options governments need to consider.”

That’s where the next stage of Professor Ayson’s work will head.

“We knew none of the options for governments would be easy” he says, “but we think we’ve identified some of the most fruitful ways ahead. It’s no longer about finding our comfort zone between the US and China, because that doesn’t exist. For New Zealand, we think this means working even more closely with some of our regional partners, including Australia and Singapore, to make sure none of us is alone when we face future economic and security pressures from the big powers.”

| A Victoria University release  ||  October 3,  2017   |||

Ceva Logistics is celebrating two anniversaries in Australia this month, marking ten years of operations as Ceva Logistics, and the first anniversary of its new Australasian headquarters in Truganina, Victoria.

Ceva was born in Australia from the merger of Australian transport company, Thomas Nationwide Transport (TNT), and Eagle Global Logistics in August 2007.

Ceva is celebrating the milestone achievements with customers and staff across the country, starting with a staff event at Truganina hosted by Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand, Carlos Velez Rodriguez.

“We are delighted to be able to celebrate two landmark achievements at the same time with our colleagues and customers,” said Velez Rodriguez.

“I’d particularly like to pay tribute to our staff, be they working at this site or others in the Australia & New Zealand cluster, for their dedication and hard work in making this company the success it is today. A number of them have been with us for many more than the ten years we are marking today and we salute them all.”

| A L&MH release  ||  October 3,  2017   |||

DB Schenker Australia has announced the opening of its new logistics facility in Hoxton, New South Wales – 42km east of Sydney. The company notes that the internal site covers an area the size of almost eight football fields, making it one of the largest multi-client contract logistics facilities in the Southern Hemisphere.

The additional of the Hoxton site, with its 50,000m2 internal area and 15,000m2 external under-cover area, brings DB Schenkers Australia’s nationwide coverage to 330,000m2 over 25 sites.

Hoxton Park is a multi-client facility for consumer electronics, FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) and fashion/retail customers. It is located close to major highways, including the M7, M4 and M5, and has access to the Sydney metro and national network.

“Hoxton Park is the newest and largest contract logistics facility for DB Schenker in Australia,” said Ron Koehler, CEO Australia and New Zealand. “Our staff will provide for our customers first-class logistics services in this well-positioned facility right on the Sydney freeway network.”

He added that the company will also utilise the facility as a hub for domestic transport network, and to move full container load movements cost effectively to Hoxton Park for distribution to Sydney customers.

The facility will incorporate Automated Transport Sortation Systems (ATSS) that will allow for the consolidation of freight from several customers into the Schenker domestic transport business. In addition, value added services will be provided on site, including an Advanced Technical Centre providing configuration and testing for IT devices.

“DB Schenker Australia is consolidating existing business into Hoxton Park as well as adding new substantial business,” said Michael Harich, Director – Contract Logistics/Supply Chain Management AU/NZ, DB Schenker Australia. “Hoxton Park is a key part of our 2020 strategy to grow to 500,000m2 in Australia and at the same time combine existing smaller sites into larger facilities to generate synergies.”

Key features of the TAPA-certified facility include high clearance warehousing and access for high performance vehicles (two 40′ containers or four 20′ containers on one truck), full drive-around access and a weighbridge to support Chain of Responsibility (CoR) commitments

| A L&MH release ||  October 2, 2017   |||

More than $1 million has been gifted to the University of Auckland Campaign For All Our Futures by Canadian philanthropist John McCall MacBain to create a one of the country’s most prestigious scholarship programmes.

The new Kia Tūhura Scholarship Programme will be offered to exceptional postgraduate students with a view to developing the next generation of New Zealand leaders. Initially focusing on the sciences, up to 20 scholarships will be available from 2019, accompanied by a leadership programme.

“These scholarships are an incredible opportunity for New Zealand’s top students to prepare for challenging careers and to speak out and lead in their communities,” Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart McCutcheon says. “The programme will also help New Zealand to retain home-grown talent by fostering a cohesive community of exceptional scholars.”

McCall MacBain is one of the world’s most generous philanthropists to education. He gave an unprecedented $150 million gift to Oxford University’s Rhodes Scholarships in 2013, and is himself a former Rhodes Scholar. He has worked with the University of Auckland to develop the new scholarships and announced his support of the initiative in person at the University’s Chancellor’s Dinner on September 28, one year after the public launch of the University’s fundraising campaign.

“These scholarships aim to create the next generation of explorers in innovation and discovery for a new future,” he says. “The McCall MacBain Foundation is proud to be a funder of the Kia Tūhura Scholarships.”

McCall MacBain has committed to funding the development costs for the leadership course that will accompany the Kia Tūhura programme and to personally supporting five scholarships for the first five years. These will be known as the McCall MacBain Kia Tūhura Scholarships. The University is in the process of raising philanthropic funding for the additional scholarships prior to the 2019 launch.

Like the Rhodes, the Kia Tūhura Scholarships will support and nurture talented students with the potential to make real change in the world. Each scholar will be matched with a high calibre mentor to advise, challenge and guide. Mentors will be drawn from a variety fields and roles, from business leaders to senior policy makers.

For the first five years, the scholarship will be focused on developing exceptional science leaders, before expanding to other disciplines.

“We believe the sciences, medicine and engineering are areas of great significance for the future of New Zealand in a global economy,” Professor McCutcheon says.

“While New Zealand’s long term success will take much more than just scientific leadership, John’s inspirational support will create a more agile and responsive science and innovation community that makes a major impact on our health, economy, environment and society.”

Successful scholars will receive full tuition fees, accommodation, and significant development in leadership. The selection process will look for academic brilliance as well as leadership capacity, with special consideration given to including diversity in the cohort.

About John McCall MacBain

Following the successful sale of Trader Classified Media, the world’s leading classified advertising company (1987 – 2006), John McCall MacBain, the Founder, majority shareholder and CEO, set up the McCall MacBain Foundation in 2007 which has committed over NZ$275 million in donations to scholarships and education, health and climate change.

Mr. McCall MacBain is a Rhodes Scholar (Oxford, M.A. Law), a Harvard M.B.A. and an Honours BA graduate in Economics from McGill University. He is also Chair of the Trudeau Foundation and the McGill Principal’s International Advisory Board, Founding Chair of the European Climate Foundation, Second Century Founder and Trustee of the Rhodes Trust, director of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation in Cape Town and an Officer of the Order of Canada.

About Kia Tūhura

Tūhura means to discover, unearth, explore, investigate. The name acknowledges the scholarship’s aim to create the next generation of explorers – pioneers at the forefront of innovation and discovery committed to forging a new future in a new world.

About The University of Auckland Campaign For All Our Futures

Through the University of Auckland Campaign For all our Futures, the University aims to address, with philanthropic help, some of the key issues facing New Zealand and the world. Publicly launched in September 2016, the campaign has so far raised $220 million for multiple projects, including in the areas of cancer research, innovation and entrepreneurship, online STEM subject education, and scholarships for students.

Information about the campaign is available at www.giving.auckland.ac.nz

| A UOA release  ||  October 2,  2017   |||

As a House of Lords Member a Lord Peters can serve in a New Zealand government cabinet

Knowingly or unknowingly New Zealand caretaker prime minister Bill English has it within his gift to put renegade electoral balance of power holder Winston Peters MP on the high road.

The one that leads to the House of Lords.

Former National Party prime minister Jim Bolger signalled that Mr Peters wanted “respect.”

This can now be interpreted beyond the abstract sense in which until now it has been taken.

Neither does it take the form of a knighthood.

Mr Bolger has deliberately stood aside from this diluted form of ennoblement.

Mr Peters will do so, if he has not already done so.

It is within a New Zealand prime minister’s patronage or gift to recommend to Buckingham Palace a candidate for the House of Lords.

The last such candidate was the late Lord Cooke of Thorndon, an eminent jurist.

Mr Peters displays many of the characteristics of this former Wellington law lord.

He is also a lawyer. He is at ease with formality, and protocol.

He is consistently pro monarchist.

He has long been an advocate of Commonwealth trade preference.

Early last year he addressed the House of Lords on this topic in the context of Brexit.

His speech widely publicised in Great Britain was ignored here.

Why then cannot Mr Peters be similarly dispatched to the House of Lords by a coalition friendly Labour government?

The reason is that as a Labour Party initiative such a bold move would be much, much, more difficult if it could be implemented at all.

The action by the last Labour government in eliminating the British honours here was one of string of slaps across the imperial face dating from the Norman Kirk era.

Such an elevation will require also the endorsement of the British prime minister.

Premier Theresa May is likely to have doubts about sponsoring into the House of Lords a new member who is part of a Labour Party. Mrs May would need to be assured that such a candidate was not going to add to the Brexit dissonance.

Neither is it widely understood that as a member of the House of Lords Mr Peters, now Lord Peters, could still serve as a member of a New Zealand government cabinet.

He could not of course continue to sit as a Member of Parliament.

No insoluble problem here to a delicately balanced National-led MMP coalition because the next one on his list would simply slide in at the bottom.

By House of Lords standards Mr Peters at 72 is not very old.

An operational problem is the financing of a member of the House of Lords from New Zealand.

Robin Cooke QC, Lord Cooke of Thorndon, was able to look after the costs of his own membership of the House of Lords.

In the instance of Mr Peters an obvious solution is for his deployment to be part of the operations of New Zealand House.

Mr Peters, now Lord Peters, as a New Zealand cabinet member with an international role would therefore become an official deftly positioned to push the national cause simply by being part of the establishment instead of a mere observer looking in.

Couched in bitter-sweet terms here is part of Mr Peters’ somewhat prescient pre-Brexit appraisal of the position that he delivered to the House of Lords last year……

………The Commonwealth the UK will find in 2016 is quite different to the one it turned its back on in 1973. Infrastructure has come on in leaps and bounds. The days of the Commonwealth having nothing but raw commodities are gone.

It is now a dynamic powerhouse, crossing every time zone and trading session in the world. It covers nearly 30 million square kilometres, almost a quarter of the World’s land area. It’s members can be found in every single inhabited continent. Together, we have a population of over 2.3 billion, nearly a third of the world’s population. In 2014 the Commonwealth produced GDP of $10.45 trillion, a massive 17% of gross world product. Seen that way the Commonwealth could be a colossus.

| From the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ||  Sunday 1 October 2017   |||

Did you know that it takes over twelve hours to fly from China to the United States? With such a large distance between them, it is not surprising that the regions differ in many ways, from culture to industry. Here, Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director at obsolete industrial parts supplier, EU Automation explains the main differences between the manufacturing markets in the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0, that brings the Internet of Things (IoT) to industry, first began in Germany. Manufacturers worldwide aim to compete with companies by investing in the technology introduced during this period. According to the Global Competitiveness Index, manufacturing is an important industry in both the United States and Asia. America has been a manufacturing power for the majority of its history and greatly contributes to the countries’ economy. The US has also been an innovator in the sector, most notably for inspiring the second industrial revolution with Henry Ford’s ground-breaking assembly line. However, Asia is widely regarded as the manufacturing hub of the world. The largest country in the region, China, has led the manufacturing sector in the last few years and smaller Asian countries are climbing the ranks. These two regions are competing for the top position as the global leader in manufacturing, and the US is expected to overtake China to take the top spot by the end of the decade. So, what does the manufacturing sector look like in each region? Industry 4.0Both countries have embraced the changes introduced by the fourth industrial revolution. Governments in both Asia and North America have introduced policies and incentives to integrate more technology into factories. With automated systems, both manufacturing hubs can increase productivity, offering more customisable products at a lower price and reduce both waste and risk of downtime. Asian manufacturers in leading countries, such as China, were quick to embrace new technology and emerge as innovators in manufacturing. Asia has both invested and produced a high volume of robots to remain competitive. Asia installed around 689,349 industrial robotics units in 2013 and this is expected to increase to around 1.1 million by the end of 2017. Asia is known for its cutting-edge technology, investing in robots and artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionise industry and everyday life. Singapore is leading this innovation, introducing technology to city infrastructure to become a smart nation. In the US, automotive manufacturing is the main sector that benefits from automated assembly lines. Businesses can provide high quality vehicles that are assembled cost-effectively and efficiently. HubsAsia Pacific and North America are both large geographic areas, so it is difficult to pinpoint one specific hub. Different areas of both regions develop at different rates and contribute to the respective economies in different ways. Many Western countries outsource manufacturing labour, relying on Asia to provide the majority of goods, as labour and materials are less expensive. While China is best known for its large factories producing the majority of goods, other countries in Asia Pacific contribute to the manufacturing economy of the region. In India, for example, over 40 per cent of factory work is completed by robots. This is expected to rise to 70 per cent by 2020. India also introduced the “Make in India” initiative in 2014, investing in technology to become a leader of the Industrial IoT revolution. The FutureGovernments across Asia and the US hope to encourage economic growth by investing in automation and manufacturing. In 2011, President Obama introduced the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) to bring government, universities and industries together to invest in emerging technology and enhance the US manufacturing sector. This partnership recommends enabling innovation, securing the talent pipeline and improving the business climate to become leaders in advanced manufacturing. Some governments in Asia are also investing in automation. Made in China 2025 encourages the improvement of production in the country, to move to higher quality manufacturing. Smaller countries, such as India, Korea and Japan, are also hoping to innovate their own respective manufacturing sectors through automating the supply chain. Even though Asia Pacific and the US are separated by the Pacific Ocean, they both rely on manufacturing to support their economies. While they may embrace automation at different rates and with different technologies, it is clear that both areas will continue to be leaders in the sector.

| An EU Automation release  ||  September 29,  2017   |||

As the rebuild takes effect, Christchurch has a golden opportunity to become New Zealand’s number one city of choice, says outgoing Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend. Townsend says Christchurch is back and running after 11,000 aftershocks, 53 of them over five on the Richter scale. Currently $83 million is being spent in rebuilding the city every week, and by the end of this calendar year 75 per cent of the housing stock will have been repaired and rebuilt. A total of 70 percent of the commercial building repairs and rebuilds will also have been completed, he says. The cost of the Structural side of the rebuild so far is $33 billion. But there is still a massive amount to do. The total cost of the whole rebuild is still estimated at somewhere between $40 and $50 billion. EQC insurance proceeds have accounted for around $11 billion dollars of insurance monies injected into the rebuild with other private insurance contributing another $20 billion “There is nowhere in the world where around $30 billion dollars of insurance proceeds have been applied to the rebuild of a city of 400,000 people”. “The Government have injected around $8.5 billion into land, infrastructure and amenities”. Townsend makes other factual and compelling points about Christchurch and Canterbury, as it becomes a city of choice. • A total of 1100 commercial buildings in the city were lost in the earthquakes but they might be replaced by just 400 buildings. • By the end of 2020 Christchurch is going to have as much hotel accommodation as it had before the earthquakes. • Christchurch will be the safest city in New Zealand because all the shonky stuff has gone. • The city will be the most energy efficient city in New Zealand because it has rebuilt to a new code of double glazed windows, better insulation, heat pumps under the floors to heat the concrete pads and it all results in much cheaper electricity. • A total of 25,000 Christchurch houses were destroyed or had in excess of 100,000 of damage in the earthquakes. • There is no other city better equipped in primary, secondary and tertiary education, by a country mile. • Canterbury is regarded as having one of the top six health systems in the world. • Christchurch is going to be the most accessible city in the country as its traffic infrastructure is taking off with the southern motorway, the northern arterial route and the west diversion. • A taxi driver told Townsend that many of his overseas passengers says the drive from the airport into the city is the most beautiful airport to city drive in the world • Christchurch is the only city in the world with under a million people that has a daily Airbus 380 service • The city is a target for medical specialists and doctors wanting to live and work in Christchurch. Why – Brexit, Trump, lone-wolf terrorism and Christchurch is seen to be a safe bolt-hole for people to live and bring up their kids; it’s really a compelling proposition. • Canterbury is not all about dairy. Canterbury grows 68 percent of the world’s radish seeds and 34 percent of the world’s carrot seeds • Finally, the rebuild of the ChristChurch Cathedral over the next seven to 10 years must be a tourist attraction. Townsend says, why not, instead of fencing it off and wrapped in white plastic, why not put glass panelling around the outside of it? Why not put a couple of grandstands in the Square so people can look into the rebuild? And why not make the rebuild of the ChristChurch Cathedral a positive experience for tourists.

| A MakeLemonade release  ||  September 29,   |||

Artificial Intelligence has been making waves in many industries and is increasingly affecting life as we know it.

Now the New Zealand wine sector is getting in on the act, with Lincoln Agritech Ltd developing a computerised system to make early-season predictions on the grape yield a vineyard is likely to harvest.

"Grape growers and wineries spend a lot of money trying to predict their grape yield each year," says Lincoln Agritech Optics and Image Processing Team Leader Jaco Fourie.

"This currently involves hiring a large number of workers to manually sample grape bunches."

Lincoln Agritech is working on creating a more convenient system that uses electronic sensors to accurately count grapes.

"The sensors will capture and analyse grape bunches within individual rows, and assess the number, sizes and distribution of grape bunches," says Dr Fourie.

"We’ll then feed this dat into computer algorithms, which have been designed by the University of Canterbury, to predict grape yield at harvest time."

New data will be added to the system each year, leading to continuous improvements in the model’s accuracy, with the system’s predictive power improving over time as more data is gathered under different conditions.

Dr Fourie says profitable wine production depends on early knowledge of the grape yield that is likely to be harvested each season.

"Estimating the yield as soon as possible allows marketers to know how much wine will end up being produced."

The main focus of grape varieties for the study is Sauvignon Blanc, after which the team will identify how much technology development will be needed for Pinot Noir.

The project is funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and NZ Winegrowers. Collaborating partners include Plant and Food Research, Lincoln University, the University of Canterbury, CSIRO (Adelaide), NZ Winegrowers and local winegrowers in the Marlborough region.

Lincoln Agritech Ltd is a research and development company owned by Lincoln University.

| A Lincoln Agritech release  ||  September 28,  2017   |||