A device that makes it easier to identify and manage concussions in rugby games has won Massey University industrial design graduate Spencer Buchanan top prize in the New Zealand section of the 16th James Dyson Award.

The global product design competition celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers.

Mr Buchanan (pictured), 22 from Warkworth, designed a prototype mouthguard called Nerve with motion sensors worn by rugby players to identify concussion risks after the player has taken a rough knock. He wins $4000 to help commercialise his design concept and an official prize package from the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) tailored to his design’s intellectual property needs, a year’s membership to The Designer’s Institute and a Dyson vacuum cleaner.

His design uses motion sensors to identify possible impact injuries to the head but missed by the human eye. If an athlete wearing the mouth guard takes an impact over a certain threshold, the sensors communicate wirelessly to the team doctor’s iPad or tablet. It then calculates the risk based on an algorithm that measures the impact and where it was located along with the player’s previous concussion history to determine whether the player should return to play.

Mr Buchanan, who suffered several concussions playing rugby and snowboarding, says his design was a good match for his sporting interests and background in design.

“Rugby and concussion is a topical issue that is constantly under the spotlight,” he says.

Medical professionals confirmed at the start of this design process that existing headgear only protects against cuts and abrasions and not concussion. With wearable technology becoming an emerging trend in contact sport, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to combine my industrial design knowledge and look to find a solution to the problem.”

The mouthguard is designed to be custom-made to fit the individual requirements of players and its microelectronics are laminated within the design to prevent any health and safety concerns too.

The judges were unanimous in their decision. Head judge Mike Jensen says Spencer’s design addresses a topical issue for New Zealand sport and culture.

“We must be coming close to a culture change with an older generation of All Blacks linked with dementia.

“What is exciting about Spencer’s design is that it is not one product; he’s developed an entire system encompassing sensors in a fully sealed, non-corrosive mouth guard, a charger unit and an app. These components also reveal his sensitivity to good design, while offering peace of mind to athletes involved in any contact sport, their medical support and their families,” Mr Jensen says.

Other finalists included fellow Massey industrial designers Geoff Desborough who designed a camera attachment called a gimbal for hand-held filming of action sports and Cameron Holder who designed a temporary safe habitat, in the shape of a pool, to rehabilitate wildlife caught up in oil spills. All three designers studied at Massey’s College of Creative Arts. Victoria University graduate and Nelson designer Stuart Baynes was also a finalist with his design of a swimming prosthesis that helps lower leg amputees to walk unaided to the pool, dive in, and swim with symmetry and ease

The New Zealand finalists now progress to the international final to be announced on October 26. It includes prize money of NZ $60,000 for the winner and NZ$10,000 for the winning designer’s university.

Chorus has today announced that it will extend its one gigabit (1Gbps) residential and SME business fibre broadband service across its entire Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) footprint from 1 October 2016.

The move follows Chorus leading the introduction of gigabit services to New Zealand – proving both the demand and the technical viability – after the launch of its gig services in Dunedin in February, 2015. The company has long had national gigabit broadband services on its product roadmap and from October will make them available on any UFB connection.

“We are delighted that other fibre providers have joined Chorus in championing gigabit residential and business services,” said Mark Ratcliffe, Chorus CEO.

“Making New Zealand a true 'Gignation', beyond the 5000-plus connections we have in Dunedin, should see us catapulted up the league tables of broadband speed rankings and reinforce the high quality of the broadband infrastructure we're rolling out.”

Currently, the average download speed across Chorus' networks is 30.5 megabits per second (Mbps). Gigabit broadband offers real world download speeds approaching 1000Mbps and uploads of up to 500Mbps. This is the equivalent to uploading 25 high resolution images to Facebook in under five seconds; downloading 25 MP3 songs in a second or streaming ultra-HD movies to 40 different devices simultaneously.

Chorus' Gigabit broadband service will run at the maximum speed the network electronics allows today. In practice this means customers will see download speeds of between 900Mbps and 970Mbps and upload speeds of up to 500Mbps.

Chorus’ residential wholesale gigabit broadband service will be available to broadband retailers at an introductory price of $60 per month until 30 June 2017 after which it increases to $65 per month. The business service will be priced at $75 per month from launch. Existing fibre customers looking to upgrade to a gigabit plan will not require a Chorus technician to visit their home.

Chorus is working closely with Crown Fibre Holdings for their approval of the gigabit service pricing, however if approval is not obtained by the end of September the services will launch on a trial basis.

TROY, Mich.—Engine products and drive systems supplier Dayco Products has appointed Arnold Mouw as managing director of its business in southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Mouw will lead the company’s business in the region, including sales, manufacturing, distribution and all support functions.

Moore and his team “are achieving continued growth in the regions they manage through expanded product offerings and best-in-class service,” said John Bohenick, chief executive officer for Dayco.

“As the market rapidly grows, the automotive aftermarket in southeast Asia is expected to become a $38 billion industry by 2025,” said CEO John Bohenick.

Mouw joined Dayco in 2011 as managing director of Australia and has helped the company’s growth in Australia and New Zealand.

It's aimed at helping to automate and streamline tasks like document approval.  Companies that want to try simplifying the tangled mess of their internal workflows will be able to use a new tool from Box to help.  Box Relay is a new product the enterprise storage company announced on Tuesday that's aimed at giving employees a way to manage and track the process of doing repetitive work, like submitting expense reports and getting agreements approved. Using Relay, power users will be able to design workflows that they can then share with co-workers inside an organization and people from other companies who work with them. According to Chris Yeh, Box's senior vice president of product, Relay is aimed at making Box the system that people use to get work done together, in addition to storing files.  Continue to article

Word is transparent warning to withdraw your money from anyone uttering it

Dear SirFrom your catalogue of old words/new meanings you (deliberately?) omitted the most misleading and indeed most dangerous in this category. I refer to the word transparent, usually rendered as “transparency” which has been plucked from the three dimensional world and applied to accountancy.In its application in accountancy it is used by people who wish to give the impression that that they are well versed in this most demanding of professions. Such people talk about the need for transparency or for this or that to be in a state of transparency.It is no coincidence that the word is used in a direct ratio with the growth of opacity or the lack of “transparency.”An example of this will suffice. The finance sector crash which caused almost all New Zealand’s finance companies to collapse was due to this opacity. The words transparent and transparency were on the lips of all the operators and on all those who were supposed to be regulating them.The words are dishonestly used as synonyms for the single word audit which means verification. It means that you do not take anything at face value.The dishonesty in those who used, and still use, the words transparent and transparency is that they know that most people having heard the words so often from those in a position of authority believe that they mean the same thing as audit and verification.When anyone reading this hears the words transparent or transparency I advise them to at the earliest opportunity to withdraw their money from the stewardship of the individual using either of them.

Yours faithfullyCDC Lineen

The MSC Newswire panel has identified the following words routinely uttered by politicians, officials, and broadcasters which have in recent years taken on new meanings.

Today’s Auckland mayoralty debate covered a range of issues, but completely missed any discussion on Auckland’s productive industry, jobs and wealth creation, say the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA).

NZMEA Chief Executive Dieter Adam says, “The lack of discussion on wealth creation and building an environment for productive businesses to succeed is a concern for manufacturers - this is an issue that needs to be part of the debate both at local and central government levels.

“We need real discussion and vision for how to create an environment that supports sustainable growth in productive businesses, both in Auckland and across the country, to provide the growth, exports and well-paid employment we need.

“Auckland is home to about a third of our population, makes up about 36% of national GDP and manufacturing makes up over 11% of Auckland’s GDP. What happens there has ramifications for New Zealand as a whole.

“However, the economic performance of Auckland, in terms of GDP-per-capita growth, has not been spectacular, particularly when compared to other cities are around the world. We need to see a real focus at both the local and national government level on how to create more growth in productive businesses, particularly those in manufacturing and exporting.

“There was some quality discussion on the issue of housing, which effects all people in the city as well as the businesses who employ them. We are continuing to hear comments from manufacturers who are finding it increasingly hard to find and retain good skilled staff with the cost of housing in suitable areas rising at current rates. The same is true for transport infrastructure, where it is increasingly hard for workers to get to their place of work every day. Both these issues are adding to the existing problem of our education system not providing the flow of skilled people manufacturers need to grow and expand.

“As we have heard from Auckland company F&P Healthcare’s Managing Director Lewis Gardon recently, for example, currently a combination of the above factors and the high New Zealand dollar creates a disincentive for investment in manufacturing in Auckland. Without a plan for how to address these issues, this does not bode well for the city’s future.” says Dieter.

We've Done it again! -

C'est du déjà-vu!

In a second international comparative tasting, this time of 10 Chardonnay – five from Hawke’s Bay and five French heavyweights – Hawke’s Bay was placed first and three Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay where placed in the top five.

Ngatarawa Proprietor’s Reserve Chardonnay 2014 took out first place overall in the double-blind tasting held on 1 September at the Radegast Hotel in Beijing, China.

“Not only did we outshine the French reds in the comparative Syrah tasting in China earlier this year, but now we’ve demonstrated that we can also produce outstanding whites, with our award-winning Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay beating the French hands down.” says Michael Henley, Chairman of the Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Association. “And our Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay is also great value for money.” says Henley: “The highest-ranking Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay and overall winner is almost one-eighth the price of the top French Chardonnay, which it outclassed.”

The 10 Chardonnay were judged by more than 30 wine writers, key influencers and trade buyers from China, with the panel established by internationally-renowned Dragon Phoenix Wine Consultants. Its co-founder, globally-recogonised judge and Master of Wine, Fongyee Walker, praised the calibre of the 2013 to 2015 vintage Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay being tasted. Fongyee Walker said that for a lot of the Chinese wine tasters, the NZ wines, with their purity of fruit, their vibrancy and their liveliness, are perhaps even more appealing than their more austere French counterparts, which she described as “truly heavy hitters” and “amongst the best Burgundy has to offer in terms of terroir”.

On Friday, Hawke’s Bay Wine wrapped up its second round of events for the year in Qingdao, with a masterclass and wine show at the Hyatt Qingdao for trade, consumers and media, before the 10 Hawke’s Bay wineries headed home, wrapping up year three of the China Marketing Programme with a bang.

A Hawkes Bay wine press release

Auckland, New Zealand – FUSION®, a worldwide leader in lifestyle entertainment, announced today the introduction of the world’s first purpose-built portable watersports stereo – FUSION STEREOACTIVE. With built-in Bluetooth audio streaming, AM/FM radio with weather-band available in the U.S. and USB audio playback, STEREOACTIVE is packed with features. Engineered inNew Zealand, the new compact system is designed for the challenges of life on the water and tuned to deliver crystal clear audio that enhances any activity. Featuring the unique Puck-It mount system, users can easily and securely attach the stereo to any paddleboard, kayak, canoe, boat or even hot tub. To keep valuables safe from the elements, FUSION has also incorporated the ACTIVESAFE which, when combined with STEREOACTIVE, will securely house any smartphone, vehicle keys, bank cards or loose change.

“We approach every new design from the perspective of the customer,” said Graham Brain, Lead Industrial Designer, FUSION Entertainment. “Even after more than 20 years of experience in marine design, STEREOACTIVE was my passion project from day one. With modern design software and manufacturing processes, we are now able to produce a powerful, high-quality stereo system that goes where no one else’s would dare to go. Where others sink, we choose to float.”

Whether standing on a paddleboard or rowing a canoe, STEREOACTIVE is controlled with easy to press, scalloped buttons which are adjustable with the touch of a finger or the tap of a paddle. The high-grade rubber over-molded keypad is engineered to take a paddling. The Puck locking mechanism securely fixes STEREOACTIVE in place, even in the event of capsizing. In the unlikely event that it does become detached from the Puck mount, both STEREOACTIVE and ACTIVESAFE float, keeping the stereo and valuables safe from the depths below.

“We are well established in the marine market for making the highest quality speakers and head units on the water,” said Chris Baird, Managing Director, FUSION Entertainment. “We have now taken marine audio innovation to a place it has never gone before. With STEREOACTIVE paddlers, kayakers and beachgoers can personalize their time with that quality FUSION sound.”

STEREOACTIVE is capable of streaming audio via Bluetooth from any popular music service such as Pandora or Spotify, from a compatible A2DP Bluetooth enabled device or playing music with the built-in AM/FM tuner. The unit also contains a waterproof cavity designed to provide secure housing for a low profile USB for MP3 playback, while keeping the flash drive waterproof and IPx7 safe. Audio playback over USB is available for Apple lightning products and AOA 2.0 Android phones so users can simply plug and play. Engineered to distribute quality audio for a more personalized listing experience, the 2.5” custom designed directional speakers matched with the passive radiator and Class D amplifier has been designed to deliver audio efficiently and powerfully through the 40 Watt speaker system. A flat mounting surface has been positioned perfectly to allow for the mounting of a Garmin Virb or other third party action camera. With a long-life battery, STEREOACTIVE will keep music playing for up to 20 hours and the type-A USB port also provides playback and charging for Apple iPhone lightening connector products and Android AOA devices.

Users also have complete control of volume, track and source adjustment directly from a compatible Garmin smartwatch – another innovation that shows FUSION’s commitment to enhancing its customers’ on water entertainment experience.

FUSION, the leader in lifestyle entertainment, is dedicated to offering innovative solutions that enhance personal leisure time, whether on the water or on the road. FUSION, backed by GARMIN, builds products that exceed regulatory standards using the latest technologies at GARMINS’s international ISO accredited manufacturing facility.

For more information on STEREOACTIVE, ACTIVESAFE, the Puck-It mounting system, FUSION or its entire line of audio products, please contact 623-580-9000 or visit their website.

Industrial Waste-to-Energy systems used in Europe will protect New Zealand's water says Napier’s Ken Evans. Widely used technology routinely ignored in New Zealand claims process engineer.  European technology that converts milk and meat processing plant effluent into self- contained waste consuming and energy generating plants is now available in New Zealand.

Napier industrialist Ken Evans said the technology allowed milk and meat processing plants to become their own standalone waste treatment units with the added advantage of these plants using the waste so consumed as their own source of energy. As an example he cited large scale milking centres in Europe that were self sufficient in power simply because all the waste they generated was converted into electricity.

He said that the era in which factories could discharge their waste in any volume or in any proportion into the public domain should have ended many years ago. It was now time to apply a readily available solution, and one widely used internationally, he said.

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