Kiwi IoT companies placing NZ on world innovation stage

Auckland – Despite the recent concerns about Huawei and its role with the 5G roll-out, a technology that will boost the use and spread of the Internet of Things (IoT), New Zealand tech firms are getting on with developing the solutions that will run on multiple networks.

The offerings that can be developed in IoT range from the mundane, such as systems that open and close valves, to opportunities to make the world a better place, New Zealand IoT Alliance executive director Kriv Naicker says.

IoT is being used to monitor and clean up water ways, help the elderly stay healthy and make our cities safer, he says.

“Orion Health and other health software providers are starting to use data captured from wearable IoT devices to help monitor the needs of elderly patients in the community.

A study commissioned by the New Zealand IoT Alliance and MBIE in 2017 found that better use of IoT could create at least $2.2 billion in net economic benefit for New Zealand. This has driven a growth in the development to world leading solutions.

Naicker says Kiwi IoT network and solutions firm, KotahiNet, has been named as one of the 20 finalists for the 10th Innovation World Cup Series, the only finalist outside the US and Europe. The winner will be named in Barcelona on February 26.

“They have developed a self-contained, floating device for continuous monitoring of river water quality. The system is currently running in four sites on the Waikato River and is being installed in Christchurch’s Avon River.

“KotahiNet has placed New Zealand IoT innovation on a world stage and I see this trend continuing to grow throughout 2019.

“KotahiNet has addressed a key Kiwi issue on our water quality and making it safe for all to enjoy our waterways this summer and beyond. IoT innovation can actively provide solutions to everyday NZ concerns.

“Many of the NZ IoT Alliance members are working on smart city initiatives using IoT connections to help traffic flow safer, make parking easier, improve air quality, manage crowds and help maintenance crews in New Zealand’s major cities and regions.

“IoT is a simple technology that is relatively cheap to deploy and provides data that can be used to make the world a better place. Most analysts are predicting more than 30 billion IoT devices in operation by 2020,” Naicker says.

For further information contact Make Lemonade NZ editor-in-chief Kip Brook on 0275 030188.