Inspired learnings from our computer scientists who are working side-by-side with communities every day.
What's it all about?
From smart shirts that keep forestry workers safe to bespoke digital tools that preserve Māori history, our collaborative research partnerships are yielding incredible results.
The first half of the session will showcase the work of Tini o te Hakituri, an MBIE funded project which is exploring how to keep workers in hazardous work environments - like forestry - safe. They are currently developing a wearable device that can predict fatigue and hazard risks as well as a forestry worker’s current activity and environment. This portion of the session will be led by Associate Professor Annika Hinze and Dr Judy Bowen who will highlight some of the exciting challenges faced by integrating IoT into a rugged environment like forestry.
The second half of the session will centre on the Tohenihorau Whakatōhea Digital Library Project which involves a team of our leading computer scientists working with the Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board in Ōpōtiki to develop tools that help develop digital literacy, capability and capacity.
One of these is a digital library which helps preserve rare and unique elements of their history for future generations using the open source software Greenstone, developed by the University of Waikato.
View the event website for more information.
You can drop into this event at any time.
Speakers
Annika Hinze is an Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Waikato, New Zealand where she heads the Databases and Information Systems (ISDB) group. She is involved in the Hakituri project which develops an innovative, ethical and evidence-based wearable monitoring approach suitable for the New Zealand workforce. Her research interests include complex event processing, location-based systems and semantic analysis.
Judy Bowen is a senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. She leads the MBIE-funded Hakituri project which develops innovative, ethical and evidence-based wearable monitoring approaches for hazardous industries, and has been working with New Zealand forestry companies and contractors for this work since 2013.
Danny Paruru is the Iwi Development Projects Manager for the Whakatōhea Maori Trust Board. He has many roles that include managing the Cultural and Environmental Portfolios for the Trust, and the Te Ihi Ka Roa Digitech centre. Danny has been involved in the development and implementation of the Trusts 50 strategic plans that incorporate Culture, Health, Education, Economic Development, Social Wellbeing, and Environmental outcomes. He is determined to support the Whakatōhea iwi to hold strong to their language, culture and identity in a modern world.
