PM goes virtual as tech firms take centre stage
Prime Minister Bill English played his part in kicking off Techweek’17 nationally when he tried on a pair of Corvecto virtual reality goggles at the Enterprise Precinct Innovation Centre in Christchurch.
Techweek runs until Sunday and includes more than 150 events in 24 towns and cities around the country, showcasing New Zealand technology innovation.
English visited several companies including Corvecto, which develops virtual reality goggles.
While many, if not most, virtual reality companies focus on entertainment, Corvecto creates software video scenarios or simulations for businesses and other organisations.
For example, an X-ray technician or doctor can practice and see the results without damaging anyone if they make a mistake, Corvecto chief executive Henry Lane said.
Corvecto’s products were being used by just about every industry from forestry to car painting, airline training, construction and forestry – ‘‘any industry where you could die or get hurt’’.
Part of Techweek includes a series of 10-minute presentations from tech company representatives about their challenges, mistakes and successes.
Game developer Cerebralfix was another company showing its efforts off to the prime minister, including its work for the Walt Disney Company and Dreamworks.
English also spoke with SLI Systems, which provides e-commerce software for retailers around the world.
SLI operate on five continents, in 20 languages and across more than 1000 websites, and is the most-chosen cloud-based site search provider to US Internet Retailer Top 1000 retailers.
Techweek national director Jennifer Clamp said the purpose of the event was to demonstrate the world-class work New Zealanders were doing to answer some of the biggest questions about using and developing new technologies.
The events were relevant to the agri-tech sector, augmented reality or wearable tech, drone development and sport, and encouraging children into science, technology, engineering and maths.
Fairfax Media is the media partner for Techweek’17, a week of events bringing New Zealand’s brightest technology and innovation talent together to tackle global issues with local ingenuity from May 6-14. Visit techweek.co.nz.