Jan 12, 2018  -  After failing to launch last month, US spaceflight startup Rocket Lab will try again at the end of January to get its experimental rocket to orbit. The company plans to launch the vehicle, called the Electron, from its New Zealand facility sometime during a nine-day window that begins on January 20th. If all goes well, it could be the last test flight before Rocket Lab begins commercial flights in the coming year.

Dec 19, 2017  -  New Zealand’s education system for providing trained tech graduates is insufficient and the country is over reliant on importing advanced digital skills, a leading Kiwi tech expert says.  NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says while the geo-political situation is currently working to New Zealand’s advantage - making it attractive for digital talent to consider a role in New Zealand - it will be risky to continue to rely on immigration for the bulk of the talent pool. He was commenting today about key insights from the digital skills report released by the New Zealand Digital Skills…

Dec 13, 2017  - : Rocket Lab has completed analysis of the Electron test flight abort that occurred during the company’s ‘Still Testing’ launch attempt yesterday. The analysis determined the launch was aborted due to rising liquid oxygen (LOx) temperatures feeding into one of the Electron’s nine Rutherford engines on the vehicle’s first stage. Rocket Lab has implemented corrective actions ahead of the next launch attempt, which is currently targeted for no earlier than 2.30 pm, Thursday 14 December NZDT. The slight LOx temperature increase was a result of a LOx chilldown bleed schedule that was not compatible with the…

Dec 11, 2017  -  The NEM.io Foundation, the organisation behind the NEM blockchain technology, is setting up shop in New Zealand as part of what it says is $US40 million global expansion plan, and has been in New Zealand promoting a $US90 million ($130m) global development fund that it says will help kick start local blockchain companies. The NEM.io Foundation is a Singapore based not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is “to introduce, educate, and promote the use of the NEM blockchain technology platform on an international scale to all industries and institutions.” NEM has its own cryptocurrency, XEM, that is says…

Dec 11, 2017  -  In the coming days we will attempt to launch the second Rocket Lab Electron rocket, Still Testing. As the name suggests, we are still very much in a test phase, but this flight is a significant milestone for our team and the next step in our mission to democratize space. The potential of space to help us better understand our planet and improve life on it yet to be realised. The benefits of more satellites in low Earth orbit are almost endless, including crucial applications such as improved weather monitoring and natural disaster prediction, to internet…

Dec 8, 2017  -  Rocket Lab plans to roll out the company’s second light-class Electron rocket to its launch pad in New Zealand on Thursday for final countdown preparations, but officials have delayed liftoff to no earlier than Friday night, U.S. time.  The Electron booster, standing roughly 55 feet (17 meters) tall, could blast off from Rocket Lab’s commercial launch pad as soon as 0130 GMT Saturday (8:30 p.m. EST Friday) at the opening of a four-hour launch window. The launch opportunity opens at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in New Zealand. Rocket Lab says it has a wider window to launch…

Dec 7, 2017  - The government is right to raise this concern that there is a growing digital divide, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says in response to a digital report released yesterday.  Muller says the opportunities emerging from the rapid exponential growth of technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles and augmented reality are fantastic for all Kiwis. Communications Minister Clare Curran yesterday released a report - Digital New Zealanders: The Pulse of our Nation - outlining the digital divide in New Zealand. She says the government will, with the assistance of a soon to be established advisory group,…

Nov 28, 2017  -  If your organisation is struggling to clear backlogs of integration projects, increase time to value and overcome resource and skills constraints, you’re not alone Eric Thoo, research director at Gartner (Computerworld) writes. The need to connect applications, systems, endpoints and users in complex, multi-organisation ecosystems is growing. This is forcing integration to become pervasive, which is a critical but complex competency that’s now foundational to enabling digital business transformation. Application leaders responsible for integration are having to empower almost every member of their organisation to make this new reality happen. If your organisation is struggling to…

Nov 28, 2017  -Christchurch apps design company LWA Solutions is launching a world-first virtual reality pilot training app with the Ports of Auckland early next year. Maritime pilots people guide ships safely into harbours all around the world. As part of their job, they have to get on and off moving cargo ships by means of a rope ladder – a demanding and risky job. The LWA app uses virtual reality to safely simulate the experience maritime pilots go through when getting on and off ships. LWA chief executive Atta Elayyan showcased the virtual reality training solution at the recent…

Nov 22, 2017  - Kiwi tech companies urged to ‘eat more of their own dog food’ when it comes to selling – Kiwi technology needs to sell itself smarter to realise its full potential to become the country’s largest export industry, according to the latest Market Measures report. “We don’t face the same environmental constraints of the other two major export sectors –agriculture and tourism – so the potential for tech is virtually limitless,” says Owen Scott, Managing Director of Concentrate Limited, who organise the study along with fellow tech marketing company Swaytech. “Improving our ability to sell efficiently is…

Nov 22, 2017 -  Auckland University’s Michelle Dickinson and Soul Machines business chief Greg Cross are among top key speakers at the biggest artificial intelligence (AI) event ever to be held in New Zealand next year.  New Zealand’s trail-blazing AI event will be held in Auckland on March 28 and will showcase the amazing strides AI has made and is making across the country, New Zealand AI Forum executive director Ben Reid says.  “AI is pervading across many walks of Kiwi life and this conference is the place to hear all about the latest in AI. Some New Zealand companies…