With what3words, Chris Sheldrick and his team have divided the entire planet into three-meter squares and assigned each a unique, three-word identifier, like famous.splice.writers or blocks.evenly.breed, giving a precise address to the billions of people worldwide who don't have one. In this quick talk about a big idea, Sheldrick explains the economic and political implications of giving everyone an accurate address -- from building infrastructure to sending aid to disaster zones to delivering hot pizza.  You can view the address by Chris here   | A TED release   ||  October 19,  2017   |||        

Rocket Lab has won the supreme accolade at the New Zealand Innovation Awards in Auckland tonight. Rocket Lab, named the Bayer Supreme New Zealand Innovation for 2017, has pioneered a Kiwi space programme, with purpose-built rockets for regular commercial satellite launches. Rocket Lab chief executive Peter Beck was named most inspiring individual at the NZ Innovation Awards in 2014. To return three years on and receive the biggest honour of the evening is testament to the continued growth and success of Rocket Lab, says New Zealand Innovation Council interim chief executive Craig Cotton. “Rocket Lab plans regular small satellite launches…

New Zealand's top 200 technology companies now have combined revenues of more than $10 billion - and export receipts of $7.3 billion making the sector our third biggest earner of overseas income writes Tim Murphy for Newsroom. A report prepared by the Technology Investment Network (TIN) released Tuesday night found the technology, high-tech manufacturing and biotechnology sectors now contribute about 10 percent of all New Zealand exports. The 8.5 percent increase in export revenues in the year came despite currency challenges resulting from a higher Kiwi dollar against all major trading nations. The top two businesses, Datacom Group and Fisher…

New Zealanders are buying into the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) as it is creeps into many walks of everyday life, an AI specialist says. 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. Its potential impacts are profound. In the near future, it is likely to accelerate – at an unprecedented pace – resulting in major changes to our economy, society,…

A leading tech businessman, who has possibly done more to improve trade ties with Vietnam than any other New Zealander, has last night recognised for his leadership at the Auckland University of Technology Business School NZ Business Support Excellence awards. Augen director, NZTech and FinTechNZ chair Mitchell Pham was one of the finalists at the gala event in Auckland. Pham has impeccable links with South East Asia and was pivotal in setting up the Kiwi Tech Connection Hub in Ho Chi Minh city to help Kiwi tech businesses accelerate presence and engagement in the ASEAN region. “New Zealand lacks capability…

On Thursday 5 October at 12.30pm, ambassadors and high commissioners from nine of the countries involved in Antarctica will visit the Antarctic Ecobots programme at Ara. Their visit is being hosted by Antarctica NZ. Antarctic Ecobots is a free interactive workshop for year 9 and 10 students on 4 and 5 October. The focus in this workshop is to build a robot that can tackle dangerous environmental tasks using maths, physics and computer skills, utilising VEX IQ Robots and MBots that then compete to win the ‘Antarctic Mission’. After learning about Antarctic science, including microbiology, glaciation, the effects of global…

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,…

Results show that while 30% of 3PLs and 16% of shippers see blockchain as a potential application, they have yet to engage with the technology says MH&L. The 2018 22nd Annual Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Study, released on Sept. 26, shows the continuation of two trends: the importance of the relationship between shippers and 3PLs, and the importance of adapting to emerging technologies, including blockchain and automation. The result of these closely-forged relationships is improved services to the end customer. The study sponsored by Penske Logistics, Infosys, Penn State University and Korn/Ferry, examines the global outsourced marketplace and leading trends for…

Rocket Lab today announced it will fly payloads for Planet and Spire aboard its upcoming second test flight, ‘Still Testing’, from Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula, New Zealand. Rocket Lab’s Electron orbital launch vehicle will carry two Earth-imaging Dove satellites for Planet and two Lemur-2 satellites from Spire for weather mapping and ship traffic tracking. The flight is the second of three in Rocket Lab’s Electron test program and follows the successful inaugural Electron test flight carried out on May 25, 2017. Peter Beck, Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab, says carrying a test payload marks a significant…

The Spectrim platform, a state-of-the-art technology developed by Compac sorts and grades fresh produce by analysing up to 500 images of each individual fruit. This reduces fruit contamination and ensures that the very best produce reaches consumers. Compac and Spectrim make up 90 percent of New Zealand’s fruit grading technology, over 60 percent of North America’s and it’s continuing to expand in other areas including Europe and China. Have a listen, check out the visuals  and read what Compacs CEO has to say about this technology here . . .