Developments

Two-thirds of their income may come from export markets, but Seedling is firmly an East Tamaki business.   PIC: Phoebe Hayman In this globalised business environment it isn’t unusual for businesses to base different parts of their operation in different parts of the city, country or world. Not Seedling. Every part of their business is based at their Lady Ruby Drive headquarters and it seems to be working for them. Named as a finalist in the New Zealand International Business Awards in 2013, Seedling creates inspirational products for children aged 3 through to their tweens. And that’s not just marketing speak for toys, founder and CEO Phoebe Hayman describes what they do as ‘DIY for kids’. They’re kind of craft kits that allow children to get creative. It all started when, as a mother of a preschooler, Hayman was disappointed by the toys available. They were full of lights and sounds and usually made of plastic that was not intended to last. “I just didn’t understand why kids were given such low-quality tools. Why couldn’t we give children real tools?’ She created a small number of kits at home at the end of 2006, intending them to be more engaging for children. They were popular enough to start a company in early 2007 and now the company creates a range of more than 350 products that cross a wide range of areas: from sewing to art, games to adventure. ‘These aren’t paint by numbers kits,’ Hayman explains. ‘They’re curious, imaginative toys that allow kids to be really creative and bring their own ideas to life. From a parent’s perspective, if they want something different for their kids, they don’t have to spend the extra time coming up with a creative concept for their children and then finding the tools to make it.” […]

PICTURE: Dr Mark Lay was one of three individuals recognised for their contribution to the University of Waikato’s science and engineering work placement programme, through awards presented by the University’s Cooperative Education Unit. Three individuals have been recognised for their contribution to the University of Waikato’s science and engineering work placement programme, through awards presented by the University’s Cooperative Education Unit. Waikato University’s Dr Mark Lay, Perry Resource’s Mike James and AgResearch’s Dr Marcelo Martinez were nominated for the Co-op Halo Awards by students who they supervised during work placements. Cooperative education is the combination of work and study. Work placements are a key part of Waikato’s Bachelor of Science (Technology) and Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degrees, where students spend time working in industry to gain real-world experience. “Our dedicated industry supervisors are nominated by the students themselves, to recognise the enormous contribution supervisors make. A Halo Award is a large vote of thanks from the student and the Cooperative Education team,” says Cooperative Education Unit Director Professor Richard Coll. All three recipients described the experience of supervising a work placement student as an equally important learning opportunity for both the supervisor and the student. Dr Mark Lay, a Chemical and Biological Engineering lecturer from the University of Waikato has supervised one or more work placement students every year for the past six years. He says the experience of watching students develop their skills and becoming confident researchers, designers and engineers is a pleasure. For Mike James, a laboratory manager at Perry Resources in Hamilton, this is the first time he has supervised a work placement student, and he thoroughly recommends the experience to other employers. Also awarded was Dr Marcelo Martinez from the Reproductive and Developmental Biology team at AgResearch in Invermay. Dr Martinez’ most recent placement student was […]

An innovative New Zealand-made product is set to give people improved alerts and information about emergencies. When a disaster such as a tsunami or volcanic eruption happens, the Tsunado, a compact plug-in alert radio unit, sounds a loud alarm before tuning into a Civil Defence radio broadcast.Ê It will soon be available for use in homes and offices. The Tsunado is made by Disaster Warning Systems Limited (DIWA), who received funding and mentoring from Callaghan Innovation. After a successful pilot, DIWA recently signed a license agreement with Auckland Civil Defence, a division of Auckland Council, to broadcast public alerting messages using this system. The Tsunado builds on the long-established system whereby Civil Defence can request radio stations to broadcast public alerts and survival information. DIWA CEO Rhys Greensill says that even if the power is out, the Tsunado’s long-lasting battery enables authorities to communicate with people for up to ten days, allowing them to advise where to get fresh drinking water, shelter or food. “Cellphone-based systems are useful, but experience in New Zealand and overseas shows that they are very fragile in major disasters. With cellphone networks overloading or disrupted, they operate for only a short time after an event, if at all. We are therefore using a combination of broadcast technologies such as satellite and FM radio.” DIWA was initially awarded $5000 from Callaghan Innovation to undertake a freedom-to-operate search as part of the process of protecting intellectual property. This year they were awarded a $255,000 grant to complete the Tsunado system’s development. “While the funding was important to help us continue to develop the technology, our relationship with Callaghan Innovation evolved into one more akin to a mentor. They gave us useful suggestions on a number of the technical and marketing problems we faced, as well as linking […]

PIC CAP: Waikato engineering students and their supervisor following the big reveal of their electric car: Clockwise from back left, Sam Berkers, Dr Mike Duke Luke Overton (in car), Sam Waetford and Kyle van de Pas.   A group of University of Waikato mechanical engineering students have unveiled their masterpiece – an electric car they will race 3000km from Darwin to Adelaide over six days next month. The team has been working on the refurbishment of the car for the last six months in preparation for the 2013 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge which begins in Darwin on 6 October. The UltraCommuter car was unveiled at an exclusive event at the UniversityÕs Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, before its trans-Tasman journey to Darwin, ahead of the team. The University’s electric car was built in 2007. Its latest refurbishment has included reformatting of the suspension system and upgrading control systems, brakes and the body shell. About 44 teams from 25 countries are signed up to compete in this year’s challenge, the world’s largest solar electric vehicle event which began in the 1980’s. A total of eight University staff and students are heading to Darwin for the race, including the four key engineering students, Sam Berkers, Luke Overton, Sam Waetford and Kyle van de Pas and their supervisor, Senior Engineering Lecturer Dr Mike Duke. The biennial event attracts international teams from universities, technical institutes and private entrepreneurs that compete in three main classes: Challenger, Cruiser and Adventure. This year the University car has been invited by the WSC organisers to pioneer the new EVolution (EV for electric vehicle) class aimed at demonstrating practical and low environmental impact vehicles. As well as pioneering the EVolution Class, it will be the only New Zealand car in the event. “It’s a pilot to see if EVolution […]

The high and medium-high technology manufacturing sectors have shown growth and resilience despite global economic challenges, a new Government report shows. The High and Medium-High Technology Manufacturing Sectors Report was recently released by Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce. High-tech manufacturing includes pharmaceuticals, aircraft manufacture, professional and scientific equipment manufacturing, and computer and electronic manufacturing. It is a small but fast-growing part of our manufacturing sector counting for 0.7 per cent of GDP and 3 per cent of our total exports. Medium-high tech manufacturing products are diverse and range from domestic appliances, to motor vehicles and parts, milking machines and insecticides.Ê The sector is almost double the size of the high-tech manufacturing sector at $2.8 billion a year in exports. ‘These sectors are making a substantial and growing contribution to our economy,” Mr Joyce says. “Both were affected by the Global Financial Crisis but, as the report shows, they have bounced back, overcome barriers and shown renewed growth since 2010. “High-technology manufacturing has developed from small beginnings to become a significant export earner – from $139 million in 1991 to $1.4 billion in 2012 Ð and is now growing faster than the New Zealand wine industry. “The sector spends almost four times the New Zealand average on R&D and this investment is paying off. Firms in the sector are producing smart, innovative products that New Zealand is known for internationally.” The High and Medium-High Technology Manufacturing Sectors Report is the second in a series of seven Government reports that also includes ICT (released last month), construction, petroleum and minerals, tourism, knowledge-intensive services, and an overall report on all the sectors. Together they will make up the New Zealand Sectors Report 2013. “Under the Business Growth Agenda, the Government has set a target to increase exports to 40 per cent of GDP […]

A range of enhancements has been added to the Delcam Electrode integrated solution for the design, machining and inspection of electrodes. The new version includes support for burn-vector electrodes, automated machining of electrode frames, batch processing of multiple machining projects and faster generation of electrode drawings. Delcam Electrode also benefits from a number of options introduced into Delcam’s PowerSHAPE design software which provides the CAD element of the overall solution. Burn-vector or side-sparking electrodes are used to spark undercuts within moulds, including those needed for submarine gates, or to avoid any possibility of a collision when sparking the base of a deep rib or similar feature. They use an arbitrary axis for their operation, rather than being aligned with the principal axes. Delcam Electrode now allows these electrodes to be designed and used with the same quick and easy wizard-based process available for conventional electrodes. The electrode action can be simulated in the software and the final design passed to the PowerMILL CAM system for machining in the same way as standard electrodes. Electrode frames are used to provide the basis for machining and inspection datums. Delcam Electrode now allows these areas to be modelled and then coloured separately from the electrode blank. This makes it easy for them to be identified in PowerMILL for automated manufacture using a specific template. The burn region, extension faces and clearance faces were already able to be displayed and machined with separate colours in this way. The ability to automate programming within PowerMILL as part of the electrode solution does save considerable time for the user. However, when machining a large number of electrodes, it is inefficient to wait for toolpaths to be calculated on each individual project. To overcome this problem, the option to use batch processing of multiple projects has been […]

Japan has launched the world’s first talking humanoid robot “astronaut” toward the International Space Station.  Kirobo — derived from the Japanese words for “hope” and “robot” — was among five tons of supplies and machinery on a rocket launched Sunday from Tanegashima in southwestern Japan, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said. The childlike robot was designed to be a companion for astronaut Koichi Wakata and will communicate with another robot on Earth, according to developers. Wakata is expected to arrive at the space station in November. Robot designer Tomotaka Takahashi, of the University of Tokyo, advertiser Dentsu and automaker Toyota Motor Corp. worked on the robot. The challenge was making sure it could move and talk where there was no gravity. Ahead of the launch, the 34-centimeter (13-inch) tall Kirobo told reporters, “one small step for me, a giant leap for robots.” Japan boasts the most sophisticated robotics in the world, but because of its “manga” culture, it tends to favor cute robots with human-like characteristics with emotional appeal, a use of technology that has at times drawn criticism for being not productive. But Takahashi said sending a robot into space could help write a new chapter in the history of communication. “I wish for this robot to function as a mediator between person and machine, or person and Internet and sometimes even between people,” he said. JAXA said the rocket launch was successful, and the separation of a cargo vehicle, carrying the robot to the space station, was confirmed about 15 minutes after liftoff.   __

Lincoln University has launched a new research centre to be known as the Centre for Food Research and Innovation (CFRI). The new Centre aims to promote food science and technology through research, innovation, industry outreach and educational initiatives, and is in many ways an extension of the already well-established Food Science programme at the University. The new Centre’s research capabilities and discoveries will further expand Lincoln University’s relevance and expertise in the field of food science and technology, and go on to position the University as a global leader in the field. With food science, technology and innovation being critical components of New Zealand’s core commercial activity as a world-leading food producer, the CFRI will align a large part of its activity to the economic interests of the primary sector. “As the global population grows, meeting the challenge of food production while sustaining the finite land resource is vital. The Centre will assist in delivering new techniques, tools and innovations that result in new products and services crucial to the success of New Zealand’s food industry,” says Assistant Vice-Chancellor Scholarship and Research, Stefanie Rixecker. Consequently, while conducting its own independent research, the CFRI will complement Lincoln University’s notable research activity in agricultural science and look to work in collaboration with current industry partners such as Lincoln Agritech, AgResearch, Plant & Food Research, and Environmental Science & Research. As well as aligning itself with New Zealand’s key commercial interests, the Centre for Food Research and Innovation will also look to undertake research in social considerations associated with food and the food industry. “A key focus of the CFRI will be to utilise the theoretical knowledge of researchers to deliver applied solutions to the problems faced by the food industry, as well as tackle some of the increasing social problems that stem […]

Cyborgs are gradually working their way into our lives. The general representation of a cyborg is that seen in science fiction films of a fusion between man and machine. A direct interface between the brain and the Internet, like the brain-machine interface (BMI) described in the science fiction manga Ghost in the Shell, has been successfully tested in laboratory experiments. That extreme level of man-machine fusion aside, people’s lives would already be compromised by not having a mobile phone or smartphone, and in some cases, when we think about those who lead a life that is dependent on such devices, we can see that the fusion between man and machine is underway with a momentum that supersedes the pros and cons. However, the fusion of humans and machines is not confined to fusion with engineering machinery. Think of machinery as technology in a wider sense. One of the largest modern technological fields is biotechnology. People are helped by biotechnology in the form of medical treatment, but we could be heading toward a scenario in which people are composed of biotechnology. If that is the case, theÊquestionÊmust be asked: what are the people who have been integrated with technology in such a way? My background is in western philosophy, which since ancient times has continually asked the question, ‘What is mankind?’ Traditional philosophy was founded on a distinction between human beings and machines (as well as animals), but nowadays technology is beginning to shake this distinction and cyborgs, which are the fusion of man and machine, really have to be seen as a fundamental phenomenon in philosophical discussions. The question ‘What is mankind?’ needs to be replaced by the question ‘What is a cyborg?’ Human beings composed of technology Let’s move from abstract theory to concrete considerations. I have discussed the […]