iAward winners recognised for “cutting edge” ICT innovation

An automated health monitoring system for the Sydney Harbour Bridge has been announced as a winner of this year’s iAwards, along with a host of other innovative technologies nationwide.

The iAwards, which are considered the premier technology awards in Australia, are open to companies and individuals at the “cutting edge” of technology innovation.

The awards are jointly presented by the Australian Computer Society, Australian Information Industry Association and the Pearcey Foundation.

They are judged by industry for industry, and are strongly focused on promoting relationships between the ICT industry and various business sectors.

An automated and continuous structural health monitoring system for the Sydney Harbour Bridge has been announced as a winner in the company/group category in the NSW iAwards.

National ICT Australia (NICTA) and RMS were named winners of the e-Logistics and Supply Chain category for their Sydney Harbour Bridge Structural Health Monitoring System.

The system utilises a novel and innovative approach to address not only the immediate requirement but also to prepare for the longer-term adoption of ICT-enabled civil infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Louise Asher, Victorian Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business, has congratulated the winners of the Victorian iAwards, including Mark Toomey.

Toomey received the award for ICT Professional of the Year for “representing company directors in developing guidance on governance and management of ICT”.

Also in Victoria, the application of ICT innovation to connect students, teachers and parents – and enable efficient knowledge transfer – was recognised with an iAward.

CSG was awarded the e-Learning iAward for its Ultranet – The Ultimate Learning system.

The Ultranet is an online, student-centred learning environment that supports learning and teaching by connecting students, teachers and parents, and enabling efficient knowledge transfer.

This knowledge management framework enables teachers, parents and students to create, communicate and collaborate online.

In South Australia, iAward winners include a group of tertiary students, who developed an innovative game to help children suffered from cerebral palsy.

The Tertiary Student Project category was won by Flinders University students Matthew Kuckhahn, Jingyu Liu, Yao Dai, Yongqun Yu and Yun Chen for the design and development of their “Sunday Driver” innovation.

Sunday Driver is a game that aims to entertain and engage children with cerebral palsy, who can play it as part of a novel therapy intervention.

In Queensland, a fast-paced social media channel for governments, organisations or institutions was recognised in the company/group category.

The merit recipient of the Research & Development iAward was Ronald Schroeter from Queensland University of Technology, for Discussions in Space (DIS).

DIS offers a method of engaging with residents or visitors in public spaces, such as city squares, shopping malls, train or bus stations and museums.

It facilitates a public discussion and opinion forum through the installation of a large public screen, which passers-by can directly interact with using their mobile phone’s SMS and/or internet capabilities.

The winners will go on to compete against the winners of other state and territory awards for the national iAwards, which will be announced in Melbourne on August 9.

Many of the national winners will go on to represent Australia at the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards, being held in Brunei.