NEWSROOM

Robot scissors snip ribbon at tech hub launch

9 November 2022

The Business School officially unleashed the 5G-powered technology hub Te Ahi Hangarau at an event celebrating a successful semester’s worth of beta testing of innovative curricular and co-curricular programme delivery. From the start of next semester, 5G-enabled technology education will become a regular part of the Business School’s education offering.

Te Ahi Hangarau was developed in partnership with Vodafone and Nokia to provide Business School students and staff access to cutting-edge technologies for educational and research purposes. Te Ahi Hangarau is also activated through free extra-curricular and co-curricular workshops and equipment training, run by the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). Workshops are free and open to all students and staff of the University of Auckland, no matter what they are studying.

At the launch of cutting-edge 5G technology hub Te Ahi Hangarau it was fitting that a pair of voice-activated, 5G-connected robot scissors cut the ceremonial ribbon. The robot scissors were built by CIE Maker Space Coordinator Hayden Moore.

When the magic words – “Alexa, open the technology hub,” were spoken, Hayden says a smart home device picked them up, a message was then sent to the internet over Vodafone’s 5G network and on to the Internet of Things (IoT) robot scissors before a motor was activated enabling the scissors to snip the ribbon – sans finger power.

The build, which took around ten hours, utilised emerging tech, including 3D modelling and printing, a custom smart-home routine, and finally, lots of testing, says Hayden. The unique ceremony was just a small demonstration of the impact 5G can have.

Before the cutting-edge ribbon-cutting ceremony, Business School dean Susan Watson, Vodafone’s Chief Technology Officer Tony Baird and commerce student Isabella Bouwer shared their thoughts on the value of the future-focused tech hub.

Isabella told those gathered that when she put on a Virtual Reality (VR) headset in the hub for the first time, she knew it wouldn’t be her last.

The Bachelor of Commerce student said she was stoked to explore the power of the metaverse and VR during her Business School studies.

“Within the Business 202 ‘Future of Work’ module, we were assigned a task to create a virtual office space using the platform Spatial. Spatial is a software app that enables people to build their own spaces in the metaverse, both for personal and business reasons,” she said.

“My parents often ask me what I’m up to at uni, so when I told them I was creating a business space in the metaverse, they said – when did you get a job at Facebook?

“When they asked me to explain the metaverse, I initially struggled to find the words. I believe the clearest way to tell someone about the metaverse is to think about what it isn’t – it’s not a new technology, app, or tool; it’s a way of thinking about combining many technologies to experience how we use tech and interact with it across our lives in an entirely new way.

“It’s likely the metaverse and the utilisation of VR technologies will soon transform the workplace as we know it.”

Along with expansive virtual experiences, Te Ahi Hangarau offers students across the University the chance to utilise 3d-printing technology and the IoT.

“By engaging with these emerging technologies now, our students can develop the skills they need to succeed in the future,” Business School dean Susan Watson said at the launch event on 2 November.

“We are immensely proud to be the first business school in Aotearoa offering our students access to 5G and all the benefits that come with it.

“Te Ahi Hangarau – the Māori name gifted to the tech hub, symbolises our vision for this innovative teaching space. Ahi means fire, and hangarau translates to technology. This name encapsulates our goal of empowering our students through technology and helping them to ignite their potential as future change makers.”

Te Ahi Hangarau is already meeting its potential as a hub of inspiration and collaboration – over 800 students have explored the business potential of the metaverse, while students from across campus have participated in a week-long sustainability innovation sprint, and hundreds of students have participated in CIE equipment training lessons – learning about 5G, IoT, VR and more.

Vodafone (soon to be One New Zealand) CTO Tony Baird spoke on the night about his experience travelling to the UK after he finished his degree at the University of Auckland and working with the first iterations of the technology we now know as 5G and the Internet of Things.

Tony implored users of Te Ahi Hangarau to build innovation at home in Aotearoa. Instead of having to head to the UK to experience the best in tech, he said the new hub would help to enable future generations of changemakers to create impact from their own backyard.