C&MS STUDENT AWARD

Team Ahurei from the School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences at AUT University were placed second in the 2009 Microsoft Imagine Cup for their project fire notification system based on mobile phones. CoLab resourced this initiative by providing SunSPOT sensors. The sensors were remotely deployed around a defined area sending signals to a central software program based on changes in temperature. The program processes the signals and sends an early detection warning to the appropriate agencies via mobile and software channels. The team envisions this system deployed in bushfire prone regions around the world. A field of 88 teams from around New Zealand entered the Imagine Cup, narrowed through regional competitions judged in conjunction with strategic partner organisations Intergen, Provoke, NextSpace, New Zealand Computing Society TechNZ and Fronde.