Nov 21, 2017  - Soul Machines says the humanised AVA will enable customers to get answers to questions direct them to content and enable them to complete transactions.  Soul Machines, a spinout from the University of Auckland Bioengineering Institute, is developing digital human interface to Autodesk’s customer assistance chatbot, the Autodesk Virtual Agent, AVA. Soul Machines says the humanised AVA will enable customers to get answers to questions direct them to content and enable them to complete transactions. “Soul Machines is advancing AVA’s capabilities, with a digital human face and persona that it literally brings AVA to life using [our]…

Nov 21 2017  -  Liberio Riosa is not one to get ahead of himself and he has grown his export business, LZ New Zealand, step-by-step over the past ten years. But he is hugely energised by a new patent the company is about to lodge which, he says, will redefine the maglev industry. Continue to read the full article published in NZBusiness Magazine here  ||  November 21, 2017   |||    

Nov 20  2017  -  The biggest and most important international tech conference to be staged in New Zealand will be held in Auckland early next year which may pave the way for faster advances for the Kiwi economy.  NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says changes and tech developments are happening globally at a phenomenal and unprecedented rate.  “This year alone we have seen the launch of a self-driving vehicle firm in New Zealand, face-detecting systems to authorise payments, the creation of new solar devices that could create cheap and continuous power and the relentless push to add connectivity to home…

15 Nov 2017  -  Applications close Friday 24 November for the Rocket Lab Scholarship that was established in 2017 to enable students from the Mahia Peninsula and wider Wairoa District in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, to pursue tertiary study in science, technology or engineering disciplines. The Rocket Lab Scholarship directly supports the community surrounding Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 and is designed to foster continued excellence and innovation amongst New Zealand’s next generation of science, technology and engineering leaders. To apply or view the regulations and selection process please click here to download the application form. Complete the form and…

10 Nov 2017  -  Blockchain is an emergent technology that may be as transformative as the internet, according to many predictions. But this innovative new technology has a surprising link to the days of medieval treasuries.  Blockchain is a distributed ledger that uses cryptography—mathematical code—to chain together records of transactions in a tamper-resistant and transparent manner. It is being used as an alternative or replacement for national currencies, contracts, internet device authentication and more. This form of record-keeping, though technologically novel in the digital era, is not so new after all. Historian M.T. Clanchy tells us that it existed in…

8 Nov 2017 -  Automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation issues facing the country could become threats, leading to increased social and economic difficulties and a strain on government resources unless they are immediately addressed, New Zealand’s tech leader say.  The TechLeaders executive has only recently just been formed because New Zealand is facing unprecedented growth and change in tech, which is now the nation’s fastest growing sector. TechLeaders from some of New Zealand’s biggest companies and organisations has been set up with the support of NZTech and is a group of New Zealand tech, digital and ICT focused-executives…

7 Nov  -  Dr Lynn Wilcox is the chief technology officer at Fuji Xerox’s Palo Alto Laboratory (FXPAL) in California and an expert in the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI).  Recently, Wilcox and her team at FXPAL have been working on projects in the ambient intelligence space – that is, the real world, practical application of IoT and AI. From a smart teleconferencing system that will notify individuals interrupting the meeting to tracking the location of patients in a hospital, as Ambient Intelligence develops - the impact it could have across all industries is exciting. But what…

7 Nov  -  Oracle is diving headlong into its quest to get more traction in the Australian and New Zealand small to mid-market with the launch of its digital hub in Sydney.  The new hub, the first to be opened in Australia, is one of five digital hubs the software vendor is establishing up in the broader Asia Pacific region.  It is part of a global network of best practice centres for small and medium-sized business (SMB) and is set to serve smaller clients on both sides of the Tasman. The tech giant first announced in November last year its…

7 Nov  -  With the risk to foreign student export market from potential changes to immigration policy, the government should increase its focus on the little cousin of education exports, edtech, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says. The education export industry is a $3billion market of which the majority is made up of bringing in foreign students. Today is the launch in Auckland of EdTechNZ, which is focused on growing and nurturing education tech in New Zealand, and is part of the New Zealand Tech Alliance. “While edtech is probably less than a $100 million export market at the moment…

2 Nov[] The increasing interconnection of devices and vast flows of data between machines are transforming factory floors around the world.  From robots that work alongside humans to tracking components throughout the logistics system, the internet of things (IoT) is reshaping the way products are designed and made — and changing the role of humans in manufacturing. CobotsUnlike traditional industrial robots hidden behind cages, like those that weld car bodies, collaborative robots — or cobots — work alongside humans and have been spreading across production lines. They are typically smaller, flexible and mobile, as well as being cheaper than their…

1 Nov -  Gartner analysts share insights on how organisations can scale in the digital era, but warn not everyone can make it through this change.  Digital is already reshaping industries, says Val Sribar, senior vice president at Gartner. But there is a certain point where affected industries drastically need to take action. Once digital revenues for a sector hits 20 per cent of total revenue, the shakeout begins, he says. This happened to the retail sector in 2005, when traditional stores were in denial about online shopping. They thought everybody wanted to buy clothes in the stores, but customers…