NICTA Announces ERTOS Comercialization to be Spun Out - Open Kernel Labs

June 01, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Sydney, Australia, May 31, 2006—National ICT Australia (NICTA), Australia’s ICT Centre of Excellence, today announced, at its technology showcase Techfest 2006, the first round of commercial initiatives it is pursuing as a result of its research success.  Speaking to several hundred representatives from industry, government and research at the technology showcase, NICTA’s Chairman, Mr Neville Stevens AO, highlighted the rapid progress NICTA has made over its three and a half years of operation. “We are now an organization of around 400 staff, over 200 NICTA-endorsed PhD students, 55 research projects, five research laboratories and has a portfolio of over 30 patent applications.  ”NICTA has made significant progress in turning research into viable commercial opportunities,“ said Mr Stevens.  ’NICTA is committed to the commercialization of its research. We have a rigorous commercialization evaluation process. Once we believe there is strong commercial potential for a project we provide seed funding for activities, such as the development of prototypes and marketing programs,“ said Mr Stevens.  “NICTA has four research projects ready for commercialization in 2006. Some of these projects already have revenue streams and strong commercial interest, whilst others have received some seed funding from NICTA,” continued Mr Stevens.  Open Kernel Labs formed out of the Embedded, Real-time and Operating Systems Program based at the ‘Neville Roach Laboratory’ in Kensington, NSW has already generated revenue from its service-based operating systems business. The research team has developed ways to make embedded systems more secure and reliable, thereby reducing the risk of attack by hackers or viruses. Open Kernel Labs is due for spin out later this year.  Terracept is a wireless monitoring and productivity enhancement solutions business which emerged from NICTA’s Victorian Laboratory. Terracept’s hardware and software solutions enable users to better manage and monitor critical assets, processes and infrastructure through the collection and analysis of operational and environmental data.  Terracept has developed NICTORTM, a wireless sensor network system for monitoring and controlling critical infrastructure, especially the management of water resources. The technology is undergoing field trials in agricultural water management in Australia and the United States. NICTOR has already received significant commercial interest from farmers, irrigators and water utilities across Australia and internationally.  Audinate was formed from NICTA’s Digital Audio Networking Project in Sydney. It has developed a networked solution for transporting digital audio based on standard hardware and data networking protocols such as Ethernet and TCP/IP. Applications for this unique technology include professional recording studios, PA and live playback equipment, home entertainment systems and musical instruments.  Audinate recently undertook a successful international marketing visit to the United States where it discussed commercial opportunities with interested parties.  7-ip has grown from research in the Network and Pervasive Computing Program at NICTA’s ATP Laboratory. 7-ip has developed an instant office solution called 7-PrO which allows users with limited IT experience to set up and configure a satellite voice and data communications system in a couple of minutes. This technology is especially applicable to businesses or individuals that need to set up an office in an area with limited telecommunications services, such as those involved in the mining or oil and gas exploration industries.  7-ip is engaged in a number of commercial trials with potential domestic and international distributors and expects its first commercial release of 7-PrO by the end of the year.  “The level of interest in Techfest 2006 demonstrates that Australian industry and business see the value in NICTA’s research and are looking for opportunities to collaborate in these exciting new areas,” said Mr Stevens.  Techfest featured the work of more than 200 NICTA researchers and students from across Australia, including more than 20 live demonstrations of some of NICTA’s most exciting new research.  In addition to the many commercial activities, NICTA also showcased its world-class research in areas including open source solutions, software architecture, robust wireless systems and advanced vision systems.

About

NICTA is a national research institute with a charter to build Australia’s pre-eminent Centre of Excellence for information and communications technology (ICT). NICTA is building capabilities in ICT research, research training and commercialization in the ICT sector for the generation of national benefit.  NICTA is funded by the Australian Government as represented by the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and the Australian Research Council through Backing Australia’s Ability and the ICT Center of Excellence program.  NICTA was established and is supported by its members: The Australian Capital Territory Government; The Australian National University; NSW Department of State and Regional Development; and The University of New South Wales. NICTA is also supported by its partners: the University of Sydney; University of Melbourne; the Victorian Government; the Queensland Government; Griffith University; Queensland University of Technology; and Queensland University.

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