Current status of and future opportunities for digital agriculture in Australia

In Australia, digital agriculture is considered immature and its adoption ad hoc, despite a relatively advanced technology innovation sector. In this review, we focus on the technical, governance and social factors of digital adoption that have created a disconnect between technology development and the end user community (farmers and their advisors). Using examples that reflect both successes and barriers in Australian agriculture, we first explore the current enabling technologies and processes, and then we highlight some of the key socio-technical factors that explain why digital agriculture is immature and ad hoc. Pronounced issues include fragmentation of the innovation system (and digital tools), and a lack of enabling legislation and policy to support technology deployment. To overcome such issues and increase adoption, clear value propositions for change are necessary. These value propositions are influenced by the perceptions and aspirations of individuals, the delivery of digitally-enabled processes and the supporting legislative, policy and educational structures, better use/conversion of data generated through technology applications to knowledge for supporting decision making, and the suitability of the technology. Agronomists and early adopter farmers will play a significant role in closing the technology-end user gap, and will need support and training from technology service providers, government bodies and peer-networks. Ultimately, practice change will only be achieved through mutual understanding, ownership and trust. This will occur when farmers and their advisors are an integral part of the entire digital innovation system

Launching the Grand Challenges for Ocean Conservation

The ten most pressing Grand Challenges in Oceans Conservation were identified at the Oceans Big Think and described in a detailed working document:A Blue Revolution for Oceans: Reengineering Aquaculture for SustainabilityEnding and Recovering from Marine DebrisTransparency and Traceability from Sea to Shore:  Ending OverfishingProtecting Critical Ocean Habitats: New Tools for Marine ProtectionEngineering Ecological Resilience in Near Shore and Coastal AreasReducing the Ecological Footprint of Fishing through Smarter GearArresting the Alien Invasion: Combating Invasive SpeciesCombatting the Effects of Ocean AcidificationEnding Marine Wildlife TraffickingReviving Dead Zones: Combating Ocean Deoxygenation and Nutrient Runof

People, place, enterprise: proceedings of the first annual conference on Olympic Legacy 8 and 9 May 2008

The Olympic Legacy: People, Place, Enterprise conference took place at the University of Greenwich in May 2008. The first in a series of annual conferences, it brought together leading academics, policy makers and practitioners to debate the lasting legacy of the games. The conference had four themes: social and cultural regeneration; Olympic tourism; enterprise, including social enterprise and skills development, and education, providing a multi-dimensional perspective on the likely impacts of the forthcoming London Olympics

A comparison of processing techniques for producing prototype injection moulding inserts.

This project involves the investigation of processing techniques for producing low-cost moulding inserts used in the particulate injection moulding (PIM) process. Prototype moulds were made from both additive and subtractive processes as well as a combination of the two. The general motivation for this was to reduce the entry cost of users when considering PIM. PIM cavity inserts were first made by conventional machining from a polymer block using the pocket NC desktop mill. PIM cavity inserts were also made by fused filament deposition modelling using the Tiertime UP plus 3D printer. The injection moulding trials manifested in surface finish and part removal defects. The feedstock was a titanium metal blend which is brittle in comparison to commodity polymers. That in combination with the mesoscale features, small cross-sections and complex geometries were considered the main problems. For both processing methods, fixes were identified and made to test the theory. These consisted of a blended approach that saw a combination of both the additive and subtractive processes being used. The parts produced from the three processing methods are investigated and their respective merits and issues are discussed

Reducing risk in pre-production investigations through undergraduate engineering projects.

This poster is the culmination of final year Bachelor of Engineering Technology (B.Eng.Tech) student projects in 2017 and 2018. The B.Eng.Tech is a level seven qualification that aligns with the Sydney accord for a three-year engineering degree and hence is internationally benchmarked. The enabling mechanism of these projects is the industry connectivity that creates real-world projects and highlights the benefits of the investigation of process at the technologist level. The methodologies we use are basic and transparent, with enough depth of technical knowledge to ensure the industry partners gain from the collaboration process. The process we use minimizes the disconnect between the student and the industry supervisor while maintaining the academic freedom of the student and the commercial sensitivities of the supervisor. The general motivation for this approach is the reduction of the entry cost of the industry to enable consideration of new technologies and thereby reducing risk to core business and shareholder profits. The poster presents several images and interpretive dialogue to explain the positive and negative aspects of the student process

Digital earth:yesterday, today, and tomorrow

The concept of Digital Earth (DE) was formalized by Al Gore in 1998. At that time the technologies needed for its implementation were in an embryonic stage and the concept was quite visionary. Since then digital technologies have progressed significantly and their speed and pervasiveness have generated and are still causing the digital transformation of our society. This creates new opportunities and challenges for the realization of DE. ‘What is DE today?’, ‘What could DE be in the future?’, and ‘What is needed to make DE a reality?’. To answer these questions it is necessary to examine DE considering all the technological, scientific, social, and economic aspects, but also bearing in mind the principles that inspired its formulation. By understanding the lessons learned from the past, it becomes possible to identify the remaining scientific and technological challenges, and the actions needed to achieve the ultimate goal of a ‘Digital Earth for all’. This article reviews the evolution of the DE vision and its multiple definitions, illustrates what has been achieved so far, explains the impact of digital transformation, illustrates the new vision, and concludes with possible future scenarios and recommended actions to facilitate full DE implementation.</p

BIM Innovation Capability Programme: an Irish BIM Study

In 2011 the Royal Institute of Architects Ireland (RIAI) conducted a survey which found that BIM adoption within Ireland was quite low at 16%. Over the last five years these figures have risen significantly, with the 2016 Irish Digital Transition Survey reporting that 76% of respondents possess confidence in their organisation’s BIM skills and knowledge. This represents a significant shift of BIM adoption in Ireland over the last five years. The BIM Innovation Capability Programme (BICP) Irish BIM study, builds on the findings from the BICP Global BIM Study by providing an in depth review of BIM in Ireland with regards to key government publications, BIM champions, existing standards and procurement routes, BIM training programmes, current initiatives and maturity within public and private sector projects