Analytics firm SAS and networking technology giant Cisco have joined forces to launch an Internet of Things research lab in Sydney, Australia.
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has become the first academic institution to benefit from a research partnership between the two connected technology firms.
Called the UTS-SAS-Cisco IoT Innovation Lab, the new centre will combine SAS analytics, Cisco hardware, and UTS data engineering techniques into a three-tier research programme.
Researchers will explore ways that businesses can gather, store, and analyse data to help them improve decision-making and build organisational capacity, according to a joint announcement from the three partners.
The researchers will have access to the Cisco SAS Edge-to-Enterprise IoT Analytics Platform, which combines event stream processing technology from SAS with Cisco hardware.
Combining expertise
Academics, students, and industry partners will be able to work with SAS, Cisco, and UTS to develop solutions that can “address the complex challenges of an exponentially connected world”, said the announcement.
In particular, they will work towards building new data processing models using machine learning and artificial intelligence. In time, these solutions will be used to support specific projects that are being undertaken by industry clients.
Early research projects will focus on areas such as advanced manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare.
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The lab’s technologists are already analysing data generated by a network of 3,000 IoT sensors installed throughout the faculty’s new, state-of-the-art building.
Dr Gengfa Fang, director of UTS-SAS-Cisco IoT Innovation Lab, said, “[The project will] deliver positive technological impacts on the environment, society, people, governments and industries. The volume of data already being generated will only increase, but its value to society can only be fully realised if we are able to use it productively.”
Exciting partnership
Reg Johnson, general manager of education at Cisco Australia & New Zealand, believes that the project will “accelerate short-term innovation” and “help develop Australia’s capability in solving large, complex industry problems”.
He said: “This exciting project with UTS is a leading-edge research and innovation initiative that is looking to make the energy sector more sustainable by creating a real-time Internet of Things energy brokerage.”
David Bowie, VP for Australia and New Zealand at SAS, added: “SAS has a long history of support for the education sector and we are delighted to be involved with UTS in this exciting initiative.
“The value of edge data is at its greatest when analysed in transit, and this is what our trailblazing global partnership with Cisco makes possible. The initiative is the first global deployment using the Cisco and SAS Edge-To-Enterprise IoT Analytics Platform, which is underpinned by the Cisco Kinetic IoT Data Fabric.”
Internet of Business says
2018 has seen a number of new partnerships between universities, cities, and vendor-built research labs, with many IT companies now seeing the value in donating technology to academic institutions to not only forge innovation, but hothouse the customers of the future.
Here are some of our recent reports in this and related areas:
Blue Prism launches academic partnership programme for RPA
HCL opens Microsoft Cortana AI Lab for Azure development
LPWAN vendor Actility to open IoT research labs in Paris, worldwide
Sensors for all! Exclusive Q&A with Alison Mitchell of Sensor City
Bristol looks for partner in smart city initiative
Dublin City University, Talent Garden team up for IoT campus