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Australian academy of Technological sciences and engineering (ATSE)
Number 156
June/July 2009
Innovation
ARE WE GETTING IT RIGHT?
Contributors discuss the Federal Budget
impact on innovation and commercialisation,
the focus on picking winners and
how Australia can do it better
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contents 3
Jun/jul 09
Focus
5
Commercialisation gets
a Budget boost
By Rowan Gilmore
7
Innovation – have we
got it right yet?
NICTA’s Smart Transport and Roads (STaR) project – page 7.
13 The march of (technological) progress
By Ron Johnston 18 Budget energy and innovation initiatives
10
welcome
19 Eight visionary Australian innovators honoured
23 STELR boosted by Federal funding
25 ESE: a great recipe for hands-on science
Picking winners is
government’s real task 26 We need a scientifically literate nation
By Michael Vitale 30 ATSE helping develop tomorrow’s scientists
and engineers
30 Energy White Paper: more strategic
technology planning needed
AustrAliAn AcAdemy of technologicAl sciences And engineering (Atse)
number 156
June/July 2009
32 ATSE hosts Taiwan workshop on water and
energy issues
32 Water and climate collaboration key to
national benefit
InnovatIon 39 ATSE in Focus
ARE WE GETTING IT RIGHT?
Contributors discuss the Federal Budget impact
on innovation and commercialisation, the focus
on picking winners and how Australia can do it
better Front cover: Enduring image of innovation – the Sydney Opera House. Photo: Brad Collis, Coretext
ATSE is an independent body of eminent Australian engineers and scientists established
to promote the application of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes.
ATSE Focus is produced to serve this goal.
Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors, and do not necessarily
reflect the views of ATSE. Material published in Focus may be reproduced provided
appropriate acknowledgement is given to the author and the Academy.
ATSE Focus is produced to stimulate discussion and CEO: Dr Margaret Hartley
Editor: Bill Mackey
public policy initiatives on key topics of interest to the Technical Consultant: Dr Vaughan Beck FTSE
Academy and the nation. Many articles are contributed Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE)
by ATSE Fellows with expertise in these areas. Opinion
Address: Level 1, 1 Bowen Crescent, Melbourne
pieces on topics of national interest, particularly Postal Address: GPO Box 4055, Melbourne Victoria 3001
the Academy’s key interest areas – climate change,
Telephone: 03 9864 0900
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publication. Items between 800 and 1500 words are Email: editor@atse.org.au
preferred. Please address comments, suggested topics ACN 008 520 394
and article for publication to editor@atse.org.au. ABN 58 008 520 394
Print Post Publication No 341403/0025
Deadline for the receipt of copy for next edition of Focus is ISSN 1326-8708
31 July 2009 Design and production: Coretext 03 9670 1168 www.coretext.com.au
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innovation 5
jun/jul 09
www.atse.org.au Focus
Commercialisation gets
a Budget boost
The view that pumping more money into research does not automatically increase
innovation within an economy seems finally to have become respectable thinking in politics
By Rowan Gilmore
rowan.gilmore@ausicom.com
O
ne of the unexpected announcements in the Aus- ment risk, governments should not necessarily step in. The
tralian Government’s 2009-10 Budget was the al- Commission argued that government intervention could
location of nearly $200 million in seed funding to be justified only when there were costs that had to be borne
establish the Commonwealth Commercialisation by a market leader that would benefit other followers (that
Institute, and ongoing funding of $85 million per year. is, spillover effects), and when there was additionality (that
With such a commitment, commercialisation, particularly is, the firm would not have invested in commercialisation
of publicly funded research, looks set to accelerate once without government incentives).
more. Of course, that was 2007 and the world view of the fi-
As noted by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Sci- nance sector and some economists has since changed. In Pumping
ence and Research, Senator Kim Carr, on Budget night, all sectors of the economy, we observe much more stimula- more money
the challenge will be to leverage capital from industry, and tory activity on the demand side, rather than solely on the into research
particularly the superannuation funds, to co-invest in tech- supply side. does not
nological innovation and, through that, to help shape the What seems to be obvious to most of us involved with automatically
Australian economy for the future. commercialisation – that pumping more money into re- increase
However, with an Australian culture that prefers in- search does not automatically increase innovation within innovation.
vestment in real estate and the occasional
flutter on penny mining stocks, this could
prove difficult. Indeed, most Australian
venture capital funds investing in new
knowledge-based industry have achieved
historically poor returns.
As measured by their cumulative per-
formance since inception, such funds es-
tablished between 1985 and 2007 had a
pooled return at the end of June 2008 of
–1.4 per cent, although that rises to 3.9 per
cent measured over a five-year horizon.
The return of the government to invest
in pre-seed, seed and early-stage compa-
nies is not only welcome – it is a brave de-
cision as well.
Even when confronted by the venture
capital data above, many economists deny
there is market failure with early-stage
commercialisation.
For example, in 2007 the Productivity
Commission argued that just because the
private sector would not take the invest-
6 innovation
jun/jul 09
Focus www.atse.org.au
an economy – seems finally to have become respectable good track-records for picking winners, particularly with
thinking in politics. Measures to stimulate the many new pre-revenue, early-stage companies. It is simply impossible
value chains that could be created from this research are to know from the multiplicity of seeds that are sown which
back in favour around the world. will become thriving plants.
Furthermore, by helping early-stage companies com- What is critical is to ensure that the well-known suc-
mercialise products and services, government has recog- cess factors for growth are in place, and to judiciously re-
nised that, as well as yielding demonstrable economic duce both the technical and market risks as the firm pro-
benefits by growing emerging industries, positive environ- gresses. Equally important is tolerance for the losers that
mental and social outcomes result in many cases as well. wither, recognising that in cultures such as Silicon Valley,
The infusion of government-funded stimulus into the it is by learning from their earlier mistakes that ‘losers’ be-
clean-energy sector is a good example where the outcomes come ‘winners’ when they try again.
will benefit the nation along multiple dimensions. Perhaps cognisant of this, the government will want to
However, there are undoubtedly many who still believe ensure that it is not capital alone that it provides, but also
that government should not co-invest in companies that the commercialisation expertise of organisations like the
commercialise publicly funded research. Their first posi- AIC to provide additional skills in developing collabora-
tion is to deny that market failure exists. tions, and in implementing commercialisation strategies.
Yet the amount of venture capital invested in Austra- Although funding and resourcing might be the big-
lia in genuine early-stage research is so low that markets gest challenges in commercialising research, establishing
in early-stage IP or pre-revenue companies barely exist. the collaborations necessary to develop a new product or
The evidence of the past 18 months in the biotech sector, service and delivering it into new markets are also essential.
where the commercialisation chasm is well documented, is With the lowest collaboration rate between the uni-
that private capital has essentially dried up totally. versity sector and industry in the developed world, this
In 2008, only $10 million was committed in Austra- problem must be tackled on a number of levels.:
lia specifically for seed-stage investment, compared with ¢ researchers need to be motivated to collaborate more
$6.3 billion for all private equity investment. Not only is with industry, perhaps through the grants process;
there market failure, there is almost no market! ¢ market research needs to become much more wide-
The second criticism will be to blindly recite the man- spread to ensure the value proposition is both unique
tra that ‘governments can’t pick winners’. My view is that and has value to a customer; and
this claim needs closer observation. ¢ boards of companies need to recognise the imperative
First, the bailout of banks around the world would to collaborate and embrace open innovation, rather
suggest that even the highest-paid and smartest analysts than do it all alone, if they are to prosper as the world
within industry have done an exceedingly poor job of pick- economy recovers.
ing winners or, at the very least, in undertaking proper due With a 25 per cent increase in support in the May Bud-
diligence. One could argue that the due diligence required get, innovation is again high on the national agenda.
to receive a $2 million injection of funding from a venture ‘Front-ended’ by big increases in science and back-end-
capitalist (or a government grant for that matter) is much ed by the R&D tax credit, direct support for commerciali-
higher than that which preceded the numerous multi- sation itself and programs on collaboration promise new
billion dollar investments by many investment banks into life for Australia’s emerging technological industries. t
their repackaged derivatives.
Further, at least in Australia when allocating innova- Dr Rowan Gilmore has been CEO of the Australian Institute
tion grants, it is not ‘government’ that makes the decision. for Commercialisation (AIC) since 2003. He is responsible for
Typically a panel of research peers or an industry advisory leading the organisation in its mission to provide innovation
board will review the applications and sort the wheat from and collaboration services that help businesses grow. Prior to
the chaff before advising the relevant minister. The probity his role at AIC, he was based in London and Geneva from 1998
standards are exceedingly high and generally well managed. as Vice President of Network Services (Europe) for the airline IT
Finally, the number of Australian companies that have company SITA, now part of France Telecom. He is an engineering
suffered lapses in governance with shocking consequences graduate of the University of Queensland and earned his doctorate
for their investors recently (for instance, in timber schemes from Washington University in St. Louis. He also holds adjunct
or childcare centres) would seem to indicate that perhaps in- professorships in both the School of Business and School of
dustry is not as good at ‘picking winners’ as it might believe. Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at the U
The truth is, neither government nor industry have niversity of Queensland.
innovation 7
jun/jul 09
www.atse.org.au Focus
NICTA’s Smart
Transport and
Roads (STaR) project
will enable traffic
managers and road
users to predict and
respond to traffic
conditions.
Photo: NICTA
Innovation: have we got it right yet?
Minister Carr may have to shoulder the additional challenge of reform to the
public service to achieve his vision of an innovative Australia, powering ideas
By Ron Johnston
rj@netserv.eng.usyd.edu.au
M
uch has been written about innovation in Aus- So this time, it’s fair to ask the question: have we got
tralia. Since the Australian Centre for Innova- it right?
tion was established in 1992 there has been a The evidence presented in the Cutler review indicates
major review of innovation on average almost that, more than ever, getting innovation right is a press-
every two years, and many more reports in which innova- ing matter for the future of the Australian economy. It as-
tion is central. sembles a range of indicators which show that Australia’s
Consider this quote: innovation-related performance has declined over the past
“The picture that is emerging suggests a nation needs to have: decade relative to many comparable OECD countries:
¢
world-class firms capable of introducing innovations; “Australia has slipped from fifth to eighteenth in the World
¢
a system capable of quickly diffusing expertise and Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index. Our multi-
technology throughout the economy; factor productivity grew 1.4 per cent a year on average
¢
competence at commercialising significant discoveries between 1982-83 and 1995-96. Growth has averaged only
and major technological advances; and 0.9 per cent a year since then.”
¢ the capacity to generate its own innovations.” It points to declining government investment as the
Sound familiar? Terry Cutler’s review Venturous Aus- key cause of this decline:
tralia or the ‘Powering Ideas’ White Paper? Well, no. This “Commonwealth spending on science and innovation has
quote is actually to be found in The Innovation Framework: fallen 22 per cent as a share of GDP since 1993-94.”
Recent Findings released by the Department of Industry Hence, the substantial increase in investment in re-
Technology and Commerce in 1993! search and innovation by 25 per cent over the 2008-09
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innovation 9
jun/jul 09
www.atse.org.au Focus
Budget to $8.58 billion must be welcomed, particularly
given the deficit being faced. In Australia government is certainly a significant
But the key questions are whether and how this invest- funder and promoter of innovation. But
ment will enhance Australia’s innovation performance. the vision of government departments and
First, there is a significant restructuring of the archi- agencies as beacons of innovative achievement,
tecture of governance of the innovation system. A consid- leading in the development and adoption of
erably strengthened Chief Scientist and Prime Minister’s innovations in meeting social challenges and
Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) delivering public services, is nowhere to be seen.
will be charged with introducing a greater foresighting ca-
pacity to innovation policy.
A series of Innovation Councils have been established But the 25 per cent increase would only raise the Aus-
to provide advice and intelligence on industry and inno- tralian proportion of innovation firms to 37.5 per cent,
vation system needs. Enterprise Connect has the role of still well behind our competitors. Nor is it clear how Enter-
developing and delivering services to firms. In addition, prise Connect and the Clean Energy Initiative will deliver
the establishment of the Commonwealth Commercialisa- it. What may be needed are even more demanding targets,
tion Institute, presumably to replace the axed Commercial and mechanisms to drive their achievement.
Ready scheme, has been announced. Perhaps the biggest gap in the White Paper, particular-
Much of the success in promoting innovation in coun- ly when compared with a recent similar report in the UK,
tries such as Finland and Sweden has been attributed to is the role that is charted for government in empowering
the strength of their intermediary organisations linking innovation. In Australia government is certainly a signifi-
the worlds of research and commerce. Hence much will cant funder and promoter of innovation. But the vision
depend on the performance of the new intermediary or- of government departments and agencies as beacons of
ganisations in Australia. innovative achievement, leading in the development and
Second, seven Innovation Priorities have been identi- adoption of innovations in meeting social challenges and
fied to focus the production, diffusion and application of delivering public services, is nowhere to be seen.
new knowledge. This is a significant step towards elevat- Indeed, there is reason to speculate that this and pre-
ing the place of innovation in national performance, but vious reports on innovation have not achieved their in-
their generality, as in ‘supporting high-quality research tended effect at least partly because the procedures and
that addresses national challenges’, ‘a strong base of skilled practices of modern public management, with their appro-
researchers’, ‘fostering industries of the future’ and ‘more priate emphasis on accountability, risk management and
effective dissemination of new technologies’, will pose large outcomes, have created an ethos that has great difficulty in
challenges for implementation and assessment. encompassing the new, the different, the unexpected.
Third, most of the new funding addresses major con- Minister Carr may have to shoulder the additional
straints in the public research sector. challenge of reform to the public service to achieve his vi-
While appropriate, strengthening Australia’s supply- sion of an Innovative Australia, powering ideas. t
side inputs to innovation appears to be largely a continua-
tion of past policy and what we know how to do best. The These views were nourished by fruitful discussions with my
approaches to the more difficult challenge of promoting colleague Don Scott-Kemmis
an enterprise-based culture of innovation, which lies at the
heart of the Cutler analysis, are less well developed. Professor Ron Johnston FTSE, founder and Executive
The significant exception is the replacement of the Director of the Australian Centre for Innovation at the University
R&D tax concession by tax credits, which would appear of Sydney, has worked for more than 25 years in pioneering better
to be far more supportive of the many small and medium- understanding of the ways that science and technology contribute
sized enterprises that perform the great majority of the in- to economic and social development, of the possibilities for
dustrial R&D and innovation in Australia. managing research and technology more effectively, and of the
An apparently bold target is announced: to increase processes and culture of innovation. He is also one of Australia’s
the proportion of businesses engaging in innovation by leading thinkers about the future. He led the major national
25 per cent over the next decade. Latest OECD data shows foresight study ‘Matching Science and Technology to Future Needs’
that currently less than 30 per cent of Australian firms re- by ASTEC. Over the past eight years he has conducted more than
port a product innovation in the past two years, whereas in 100 futures projects for private and public sector organisations in
most other countries the figure is around 50 per cent. Australia, Asia, Europe and the Pacific.
10 innovation
jun/jul 09
Focus www.atse.org.au
Picking winners is
government’s real task
Objections to picking winners are generally either philosophical or practical – both lack
factual support and fly in the face of actual government practice
By Michael Vitale
michael.vitale@swc.monash.edu.au
T
he goal of government support for commercial funds directly, without the competitive proposal processes
R&D is to encourage projects with large social typical of many grant programs.
benefits but inadequate returns to private investors, For example, Healthy Futures, the 2006 Victorian Gov-
and around the world many governments offer ernment statement on the life sciences, included $50 mil-
such support. lion to support the expansion of the Walter and Eliza Hall
There have been relatively few rigorous attempts to Institute, $16 million to facilitate the merger of the Austin
demonstrate the benefits of such support, and there is an Research Institute and the Burnet Institute, and $35 mil-
ongoing dispute about ‘picking winners’ – although theo- lion to create a new Australian Regenerative Medicine In-
retical objections to that approach rarely seem to stand in stitute at Monash University. The statement contains no
the way of accepting cash when it is offered, even if not all justification for the choice of these particular institutions
the companies shall have prizes. to receive government support, nor any indication of how
Objections to picking winners are generally either the success of these investments will be judged. The exer-
philosophical – the government should not be making cise must be seen as a clear instance of picking winners.
choices among competing demands – or practical – the In the commercial sector, the Victorian Govern-
government is not able to make such choices successfully. ment VicStart program awards funds to assist companies
Both sorts of objections lack factual support and fly in the to utilise and exploit science and technology for export,
face of actual government practice. growth and profit – another instance of picking winners.
Taking the philosophical question first, governments The point of these examples, and the many others that
are constantly making choices – that is, they are constantly could be given, is that governments are already in the busi-
picking winners – and there is no reason that this behav- ness of selecting the individuals and organisations that they
iour should not extend to selecting recipients of support believe to be the most worthy recipients of citizens’ money.
for R&D. There is no other sensible way for many government
Grant programs, for example those run by the Austra- programs to function, and there is no reluctance on the
lian Research Council and the National Health and Medi- part of many governments to dispense funds to winners
cal Research Council, are exactly exercises in picking win- chosen by processes that are neither revealed nor measured
ners. How else could they be run – as lotteries? – just reluctance to admit that that is what they are doing.
It might be argued that the government itself is not The practical objections to government attempts to
directly picking winners in these cases, but surely working pick winners often exhume examples such as the Victorian
through proxy peer-review committees chosen by govern- Economic Development Corporation, a venture capital
ment does not change the essence of the situation. fund that lost $110 million before it collapsed due to poor
Moreover, in many cases, government does dispense management and a lack of accountability. (It is not often
noted that VEDC’s $15 million investment in AMRAD
Grant programs, for example those run by eventually earned back almost half of its losses, nor that its
the Australian Research Council and the investment in Biota kept licensing revenues from the flu
National Health and Medical Research Council, drug Relenza in Australian hands.)
are exactly exercises in picking winners. How There is no question that investment decisions must be
else could they be run – as lotteries? made in a careful and transparent manner. The fact that
things are sometimes not done properly is not proof thatinnovation 11
Jun/jul 09
www.atse.org.au Focus
they cannot be done properly, or indeed proof that they are Further reading
not usually done properly. ¢
Den Butter, Frank A G, and Seung-gyu Jo, ‘Pros and Cons of
In fact, published peer-reviewed studies show that ‘Backing Winners’ in Innovation Policy’, Tinbergen Institute
governments have been, and can be, effective at selecting Discussion Paper 09-012/3, February 2009, http://papers.ssrn.
commercial R&D projects to receive support. It is impor- com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1345748
tant, of course, to design appropriate selection procedures ¢
Hollinger, Peggy, ‘France bets all on picking winners’, Financial
and to measure the outcomes, but these are what citizens Times, 24 June 2005, 13
would expect of any program that disburses public funds. ¢
Klette, Tor Jacob, Jarle Moen, and Zvi Grilliches, ‘Do subsidies
It should also be noted that, in general, performance to commercial R&D reduce market failures? Microeconometric
shortfalls are only rarely taken as an indication that gov- evaluation studies’, Research Policy, 29 (2000), 471 – 495
ernment should not be involved in a particular area. From
transport and health to bushfires and swine flu, govern- Professor Michael Vitale teaches, researches, and consults in
ment bodies have recently performed less than adequately. the areas of commercialisation and innovation. He is the Director,
However, in many such cases government does not even Commercialisation, of the Asia–Pacific Centre for Science and Wealth
admit to the existence of problems, much less propose that Creation at Monash University, and is a member of the University’s
it not be involved in the future. Commercialisation and Intellectual Property Advisory Committee.
Yet the failure of some admittedly high-risk invest- Professor Vitale also teaches at the Melbourne Business School,
ments in R&D seems to frighten the horses and raise con- Macquarie University and the Australia and New Zealand School
cerns about ‘backing winners’. of Government, as well as in executive programs in the public
Given that neither the philosophical nor the practical and private sectors. He is chairman of the Australian Centre for
objections to ‘picking winners’ hold up, what is behind the Posttraumatic Mental Health and a director of Australian Science
concerns that continue to be expressed? Innovations Inc. He is president of the Harvard Club of Australia
From the government side, it may simply be an unwill- – Victoria and a member of the Victorian Branch Committee of
ingness to make a commitment that will be measured by AusBiotech.
the objective and unambiguous terms of the marketplace.
Picking individual winners for research grants or or-
ganisational winners for uncontested funds has an advan-
tage for government: the winners are not going to com-
plain, and neither are the losers, who hope to get in on the
next round. Moreover, the success criteria are generally suf-
ficiently vague as to make retrospective analysis unlikely.
Picking winners in the commercial realm is subject
to much clearer outcome measures, and may therefore be
avoided via an appeal to philosophy and practicality.
From the commercial side, objections to picking win-
ners often seem to boil down to objections to the picking
of other winners.
In essence, the reluctance of government to pick win-
ners and the objections from some elements of the private
sector to having the government pick winners may boil
down to a reluctance to compete on a level playing field
and a reluctance to be measured.
While these are understandable human emotions, they
must not be allowed to stand in the way of effective govern-
ment support for commercial research and development.
Logically, private sector executives who object to gov- Picking
ernments picking winners should refuse government mon- winners –
ey when their organisation is chosen and, equally logically, governments
responsible government employees who have a principled are constantly
reluctance to make choices and be evaluated on the out- making
comes should find another line of work. t choices.32nD Atse nAtionAl sYMPosiuM BRisBane, 16-17 novemBeR 2009 Future - ProoFing AustrAliA Rising to the Challenge of Climate Change sPonsorsHiP oPPortunities AVAilABle The academy welcomes participation by sponsors to support this influential symposium. sponsors will benefit from exposure to many key decision makers in industry, government, academic and research communities – both during the symposium and through the symposium Report distributed widely afterwards. The 2009 symposium will continue the academy’s long, successful and distinguished tradition of providing forums for: discussing issues relevant to the formulation of public policies; conveying expert advice to Governments and the community; and promoting the application of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes. The 2009 symposium will examine the issues of climate changes that threaten our economic and ecological sustainability and our lifestyle – and the daunting challenges of meeting the targets that are being debated for emissions reduction over the period to 2050. The symposium will focus on the practical potential of current and future low emission technologies and other greenhouse gas abatement strategies. Four large emissions sectors will be addressed – electricity generation, transport, the minerals industry and land management. The academy has arranged symposium technical sessions, an open forum and broad community participation to help clarify positive paths forward for australia. To take advantage of sponsor benefits please contact aTse now. Dr Margaret Hartley Professor John simmons Atse Ceo 2009 symposium Convenor (03) 9340 1207 (07) 3365 3595 margaret.hartley@atse.org.au j.simmons@uq.edu.au
innovation 13
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The march of
(technological) progress
Technology sometimes moves more quickly than our ability to absorb the changes –
even in such simple devices like remote controls and mobile phones
By Ziggy Switkowski
ziggy@switkowski.com
O
ur forebears 100 years ago could not have dreamt an ambitious plan to build a national high speed, 100Mbs
of the emergence of television, computers, satel- broadband network.
lites, lasers, iPods, or Google and Facebook. Nor In 1996, wireless text messaging was not available in
of a global population (then approaching 2 bil- Australia – at all. Today more than a billion SMS messag-
lion) trending towards 10 billion people 150 years later in es are sent each month, a volume to be further increased
2060. Or that a 21st century challenge would be an ageing by the number of tweets being broadcast by the Twitter
population, not a prematurely dying one. message service. Subscription television had just been
The defining technologies of the 21st century may not launched on the back of a controversial dual cable rollout,
yet have taken form, but we can be certain that society’s but plasma and LCD screens were yet to appear.
challenges, our way of life, and our standard of living will The past two decades have seen an evolution from
be reshaped and improved by inventions and system leaps analogue products (think vinyl records, black telephones
yet ahead. tethered to wall sockets, photographic film, 26-inch boxy
Looking at the recent past, when Paul Keating handed televisions) to an all-digital ecosystem largely shaped by
government to John Howard in March 1996, none of am- advances in the broad categories of IT, communications
azon.com, eBay, Google or Yahoo! were yet a significant and the internet. The last industry to convert to a digital
public enterprise. base is free-to-air network television, which will belatedly
All subsequently listed in the following three years and join the 21st century by 2013 according to the Govern-
helped propel the dot.com era. ment’s timetable.
In 1996, one in five Australians owned a mobile phone. Spending on information technology has lifted to
The phones were mainly analogue and in the hands of about half of many firm’s capital budget with large invest-
commercial and tradespeople. The mobile phone had just ments still ahead to address remaining legacy issues and
arrived as an important productivity tool. Today, there are new opportunities.
more phones than people and all are digital with features Ubiquitous communications have given meaning to
far beyond simple voice calls. And they resemble mobile the concept of 24/7. Technology sometimes moves more
video handsets more than telephones. No business – or quickly than our ability to absorb the changes – even
teenager – can operate without one. in such simple devices like remote controls and mobile
Although the personal computer had appeared in the phones.
early 1980s, by 1996 only one in three Australian homes
owned a computer and fewer than one in 20 had internet Where are we heading?
access. Today, more than three-quarters of homes and all The CEO of IBM, Sam Palmisano, recently offered his
businesses have a PC, and almost all of them also have perspective about a world becoming smarter as intelli-
some form of internet access. gence is incorporated into more environments, which are
In 1996 domestic internet access speeds were just increasingly linked.
14.4 kilobits a second. Content was text-only – no video, He pointed to the following:
let alone YouTube. Outside of engineering and technology ¢ two billion people (out of a global population of seven
firms and universities, email was just appearing in the more billion) will be on the web in 2011. At the same time,
progressive businesses. Today, almost all enterprises have we are heading toward one trillion connected objects –
internet access, with the Government recently announcing cars, appliances, cameras, roadways, pipelines;14 innovation
jun/jul 09
Focus www.atse.org.au
¢ one in two people globally now own a mobile handset more complex market than our currently damaged debt
– 3.4 billion; markets;
¢ an estimated two billion Radio Frequency Identification ¢ food distribution – addressing supply-chain inefficien-
(RFID) tags were sold in 2007, embedded in products, cies, reduction in ‘food miles’ (the distance travelled
passports, buildings, toll-road sensors – even animals. by food from farm to your kitchen) and ensuring the
This number should rise to 30 billion by next year; and integrity of the food and minimisation of food-borne
¢ massively powerful computers can be affordably applied infections;
to processing, modelling, forecasting and analysing just ¢ healthcare – online access to a patient’s health history
about any workload or task. And to monitoring the in- and records would cut administrative costs, reduce
teractions between these trillion connected objects. medical error rates and improve patient outcomes; and
For the first time in history, almost anything can be- ¢ traffic systems – congested roadways, imperfect se-
come digitally aware and interconnected – and it will be. quencing of lights and searching for parking spots
He goes on to list modern society’s key processes and how probably cost us billions of dollars annually in lost
they will be transformed and made safer and more effi- hours, petrol costs and polluting exhaust emissions.
cient. For example: He goes on to cover air travel (1400 new international
¢ energy – where homes and individual appliances will airports by 2050), weather forecasting, oil field manage-
be continuously monitored, and an intelligent electric- ment and water systems. His point is that information
ity grid balanced to reduce energy costs to users; technology from, say, 1996 couldn’t even have begun to
¢ financial systems – even the most sophisticated systems seize the opportunities and attack these problems. Neither
designed and deployed just a decade ago were built could you have done it four years ago – IT was too expen-
for a different world. He says that given the complex- sive, too hardwired and too underutilised, with too many
ity, speed, and scale of today’s financial markets, those distributed parts in an unconnected world.
systems are as antiquated as the horse and buggy. For Now there is the potential in 2030, when computers are
instance, in the global currency market, US$10 trillion expected to rival the capacity of the human brain, to suggest
can be traded on a single day. This is a far bigger and unimaginable opportunities ahead. One well-known global
Getting the best for industry using these highly competitive facilities to
quite different levels.
from R&D infrastructure Meanwhile, although the capabilities now
exist in Australia, and while similar facilities are
The Australasian Industrial Research Group’s NCRIS and the MNRF program before it, the being used overseas by industrial competitors,
(AIRG) winter conference in Canberra Synchrotron, the new nuclear reactor at some major Australian companies (or even
will examine how the nation’s research ANSTO and lots of other instrument-driven industry sectors) might not be fully aware of
infrastructure can impact the R&D and capabilities in universities and CSIRO, all of what could be available locally and how it
innovation activities in various industrial sectors. which are capital-intensive. might then impact upon research productivity
This focus is driven by a belief that It is recognised that many of these and outcomes.
heavy investment in major government pieces of major equipment, and the skilled The meeting will explore the impact of
and university research infrastructure is not people who work with them, have significant industry usage and consequent measurable
bringing optimal results for industry. potential to accelerate the progress of economic impact on the economy. Several
Titled ‘The importance of Australian Australian industrial R&D, although their other key issues potentially impacting the
national research infrastructure to industry and present use by industry appears to be less consideration of Australian industrial R&D
the economy’, the conference will discuss this than optimal. staff relative to its use of this national research
disparity and the economic impact of better Therefore, it seems timely for the AIRG to infrastructure will also be considered.
access to and usage of this new infrastructure sponsor an assessment of how the nation’s The conference will be held at Parliament
by industry. research infrastructure can impact on various House on 20 August, preceded on 19 August by
The conference program notes that both industrial sectors’ R&D and innovation activities. a dinner with key Opposition Parliamentarians.
Australia and New Zealand have invested A brief informal survey conducted by
heavily in major research infrastructure – some AIRG members has suggested that More information: airg@atse.org.au, or
examples of which (in Australia) include various Australian industry sectors may be Meg Caffin, 03 9864 0913innovation 15
Jun/jul 09
www.atse.org.au Focus
company’s mission statement ‘To digitise all the world’s in- location-based products and services and appliances to
formation’ no longer sounds like corporate hubris. proliferate. Low, earth-orbiting satellites will provide de-
Still, to help you recover your composure about such tailed views of all surface-based features – as Google Earth
upcoming technology intrusions into our ordered lives, hints at today.
let me note that many interesting innovations of recent Continually increasing affordable computer process-
years mostly arise from technologies and systems that have ing power, bandwidth and data storage, friendlier user in-
evolved in a leisurely fashion, sometimes over decades. terfaces, coupled with proliferating devices (Blackberries,
The concept of machine-readable barcodes was patent- iPods, motor vehicles) will most assuredly push personal
ed in 1952, but the Universal Product Code that helped and corporate productivity to record levels, while raising a
revolutionise supply-chain management became ubiqui- number of public policy issues such as privacy.
tous only in the past decade. But predictions can also misjudge the uptake of seem-
The fax machine – a basic business tool from the 1980s ingly appealing products and processes.
– facilitated development of home-based businesses when In the recent past the promise of video telephony/
affordable models led to accelerated use in the mid-1990s conferencing, voice activation technology, smart cards,
and drove the installation of a second phone line in many HDTV, telecommuting, virtual reality and artificial in-
Australian homes. Of course, it is heading for extinction. telligence have fallen short to various degrees, although it
Since some productivity-enhancing innovations often may well be just a timing issue.
emerge in prior periods, it should be possible to predict
some of the technology forces that might shape this gen- Systemic changes ahead
eration’s experiences. For example, smaller more powerful During the 1970s France showed how a national strat-
batteries will increase portability and underpin wireless in- egy obsessively followed could build a better future for its
teractivity of … everything. citizens. Traumatised by the impact of the first oil shock
The Global Positioning System, available for civilian in 1973-74, which saw interruptions to their key energy
use since 1983, together with continuing microminia-
turisation of componentry (such as cameras), will enable
mContext (a NICTA Project)
enables mobile devices to
compress large amounts
of data – in particular,
XML, text and multimedia
information – while
maintaining low access
and update costs for all
desired operations, which
is essential for devices with
limited resources such as
mobile phones.
Photo: NICTAThe NSW Office for Science and Medical Research www.osmr.nsw.gov.au Promotes growth, innovation and the public profile of science and medical research to achieve better outcomes for the people of NSW through: • Funding to foster and build NSW research capabilities • Legislative, regulatory and policy advice • Creation of research networks and hubs • Science communication and public engagement • Forums, workshops, conferences and promotions • Strategic investments in areas of State strength Contact NSW Office for Science and Medical Research T: 02 9338 6700 E: info@osmr.nsw.gov.au
innovation 17
jun/jul 09
www.atse.org.au Focus
fuel – Middle Eastern oil – and massive price hikes, a ernment leadership makes an emphatic difference and ac-
coalition of industry, trade unions (communist) and the celerated progress follows.
government agreed to introduce nuclear power to achieve
national energy security and independence. Technology-friendly culture
In the next 15 years, 57 nuclear reactors were built Many factors influence a nation’s productivity, competi-
(now 59), which now generate about 80 per cent of tiveness and wellbeing: education, work practices, quality
France’s electricity while supporting ‘non-nuclear’ nations of infrastructure, regulatory framework and so on. The
such as Denmark and Italy with exported nuclear power. role of technology and innovation is especially important,
France is a country three times ours in population and although the near-term connections are sometimes hard to
GDP but with a smaller greenhouse gas footprint! quantify.
Australia does not yet see its industrial processes under The modern economy runs on brainpower and skills.
similar threat, although the GFC may yet come close to Initially, the new digital economy was owned by the
having such an impact. But with considerable vision and young. Beginning in 1996, most high-school graduates
conviction, the government is putting in place key tech- were internet trained. By 2016, 20 years later, half the Aus-
nology policies with principles around which our industry tralian workforce will be of the internet generation, where
and society will organise. web usage, and search and networking dexterity will be
First, the commitment to clean energy, while still hotly core skills – albeit in the hands of young people where only
debated in some quarters, will inevitably see dramatic in- 35 per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds will have a bachelor-level
creases in efforts directed at new energy platforms and qualification.
solutions that prevent GHG emissions from fossil fuels And mobile computing devices will be the ubiquitous
reaching the atmosphere. tool of trade.
ATSE has published a number of authoritative techni- Technically competent people will be needed – to help
cal reviews in this area which I have no doubt will grow in allocate increasingly scarce capital to the best investment
consequence. There appear to be few truly objective com- alternative, to manage large and small engineering projects,
mentators on the subject of global warming and climate to inform and drive public debate and policy and to make
change. Of course, ATSE’s members cover the spectrum of reasoned judgments about new technologies, which are
public opinion on this subject, but the Academy’s techni- not always free from controversy and concern and some-
cal judgments are supported by the wide and deep exper- times push us out of our comfort zones.
tise of its members leading to scholarly, well researched Realising the potential within our technically enabled
and authoritative studies to date. society will not happen automatically. There is an impor-
The second strategic initiative is the commitment to tant technology leadership role – for our universities,
building a high-speed national broadband network. Few CSIRO, our national and industrial R&D laboratories,
government or individual industry strategies will have as our great Academies, our governments – which could also
wide-ranging and important an effect on our economy as deliver community understanding and support.
the availability of affordable internet access with world- And it seems to me that ATSE, through forums such as
class bandwidth by all Australians. this evening, is leading the way in illuminating the central
This policy is an example of informed government role of science and technology in modern society and in
leadership and will lead to an environment within which celebrating our technology heroes. t
many exciting and unforeseen applications and businesses
will emerge even as the details of NBN execution poten- This is an edited version of Dr Switkowski’s address to the
tially lead down unexpected paths. ATSE Clunies Ross Awards dinner in Sydney in May.
On the topic of technology, there are certain laws that
can be relied upon to produce breakthroughs as well as Dr Ziggy Switkowski FTSE is chair of the Australian Nuclear
continuous change – like experience curves and Moore’s Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). In 2006 he chaired
Law. These often underpin our confidence in claiming that the Prime Minister’s Review of Uranium Mining, Processing and
no matter the (technical) problem, a solution will most Nuclear Energy, whose report re-introduced nuclear power into
certainly be found. The only points of dispute might be in Australia’s energy debate. He is a former chief executive of Telstra,
the time estimated or the emergence of social issues such as Optus and Kodak (Australasia). Presently he is a non-executive
ethical considerations and privacy. director of Suncorp, Tabcorp and Healthscope, and Chair of
But when a nation agrees on its priorities, especially Opera Australia. Dr Switkowski is a graduate of the University of
when reinforced by a real and visible urgency, strong gov- Melbourne with a PhD in nuclear physics.18 innovation
jun/jul 09
Focus www.atse.org.au
Budget energy and innovation initiatives welcome
The Academy welcomes a number of the 2009 and innovation increased from $6.9 billion in from the corporate tax rate and thereby
Federal Budget initiatives, particularly in the 2008-09 to $8.9 billion in 2009-10 – an increase create greater certainty in the level of
area of energy and innovation. of 25 per cent, the largest increase on record. assistance.
ATSE applauds the Government’s Budget The 2009-10 Budget allocation to science “ATSE particularly welcomes the four-year
decision to invest $4.5 billion to support the and innovation is 0.73 per cent of GDP, which funding extension of $185.5 million to National
growth of clean energy generation and new returns expenditure to levels that existed in ICT Australia (NICTA) to ensure the long-
technologies, and to reduce carbon emissions the mid-1990s. term viability of this vital centre of research
and stimulate economic activity through the “The Academy continually argues its belief excellence, which is a key asset in Australia’s
Clean Energy Initiative. that enhanced RD&D in our key science and innovation system,” Professor Batterham said.
ATSE sees this as a strong response to technology fields is a key to a technology-led ATSE acknowledges a number of other
its recent call for an investment of $6 billion recovery from the global financial crisis – and Budget initiatives and its increased focus on
by 2020 on RD&D in new power generation to successfully addressing the challenges science and innovation.
technologies (made in ATSE’s December 2008 of climate change, rising health costs and ATSE also welcomes the Government’s
report Energy Technology for Climate Change: increasing global economic competition,” response to the Review of Australian Higher
Accelerating the Technological Response). Professor Batterham said. Education, Transforming Australia’s Higher
It supports the Government’s proposed ATSE has been calling for a greater Education System, and its allocation of some
investment of up to $100 million in recognition for research collaboration $2.6 billion over four years.
partnership with the energy sector for the with industry in the allocation of funding Some of its key features include:
development of a new National Energy to universities, given that Australia ranks a demand-driven, student-centred model;
¢
Efficiency Initiative – using 21st century last in the 26 OECD countries on rates of funding provided for each student eligible
¢
technology to assist transition to a low carbon collaboration between firms and universities. for a university place;
economy by encouraging a smarter and more The Government has the aim of doubling increased participation, targeting a lift from
¢
efficient energy network, using smart grid the level of collaboration. 32 per cent (now) to 40 per cent (2025)
technology and smart meters in homes. Several Budget initiatives were relevant in of the 25 to 34-year age group holding a
ATSE also commends the commitment supporting collaboration – the Joint Research bachelor degree or higher;
to invest $4.1 million over three years to fund Engagement Exercise, Collaborative Research an extra 50,000 commencing tertiary
¢
a strategic approach to the nation’s energy Networks, new research infrastructure, students by 2013; and
security. This reflects the importance of ATSE’s the Commonwealth Commercialisation infrastructure funding through the
¢
April communiqué calling for a major increase Institute, the renewal of the CRC program Education Investment Fund. t
in base-load electric power generation and the proposed improvement in Enterprise
capacity and the urgent introduction of new Connects’ services to firms.
energy technologies to meet the expected ATSE notes that, while these initiatives
growth in demand to provide the energy are valuable, there is a need for a more
security Australia requires (communiqué strategic approach to achieve coordination
from ATSE International Workshop, April 2008 of the multiple programs that are currently
titled Electricity Generation: Accelerating supporting collaboration.
Technological Change). It welcomes other Budget initiatives,
“These Budget measures accord with the including:
Academy’s focus over the past year on clean, Sustainable Research Excellence – funding
¢
adequate, reliable and affordable energy for the indirect costs of research will more
as a fundamental for Australia’s economic than double over time, with the aim of
prosperity,” said ATSE President, Professor Robin raising the average level of support to 50
Batterham, in a media release. cents in the dollar of direct competitive
“We also welcome the innovation focus funding by 2014; and
in Powering Ideas: An Innovation Agenda for R&D Taxation – for several years ATSE has
¢
the 21st Century, supported by a proposed been calling for a revision of the taxation Energy Technology for Climate Change:
$3.1 billion boost in funding over the next four treatment of R&D. The Government will Accelerating the Technological Response called for
years,” he said. replace the tax concession and introduce an investment of $6 billion by 2020 on RD&D in
The Commonwealth spend on science a refundable tax credit that is decoupled new power generation technologiesinnovation 19
jun/jul 09
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Eight visionary Australian
innovators honoured
Robotics systems
Hugh Durrant-Whyte Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte FTSE, Research
Director, Australian Centre for Field Robotics, Faculty
of Engineering and IT, University of Sydney
Hugh Durrant-Whyte is a leading national and international
figure in the research, development and commercial
exploitation of robotics systems in applications including cargo-
handling, mining and defence.
He has made substantial contributions in both research and
commercial applications of robotics technologies, especially in
large-scale field applications of key importance to the Australian
economy. His vision of robotics science and application, and
T
the passion with which he articulates this vision, have played
he winners of the prestigious 2009 ATSE Clunies a critical role in raising the visibility of Australian robotics in
Ross Awards are eight leading Australian innova- government, industry, academia and the community.
tors impacting global development in fields such as Professor Durrant-Whyte is an Australian Research Council
robotics, remote renewable energy, mobile phone (ARC) Federation Fellow. He leads the ARC Centre of Excellence
technology, health and mining. for Autonomous Systems and is also the Research Director of
The awards recognise Australia’s pre-eminent scientists the Rio Tinto Centre for Mine Automation, the BAE Systems
and technologists who have bridged the gap between re- Strategic Partnership for Autonomous Systems and the DSTO
search and the marketplace. Centre of Expertise in Unmanned and Autonomous Systems –
Winners are honoured for having persisted with their all based at the University of Sydney.
ideas, often against the odds, to the point that their inno- His research contributions have focused on two main areas:
vations are making a real difference to the economic, social autonomous vehicle navigation and multi-sensor data fusion. He
or environmental benefit of Australia. pioneered the field of autonomous navigation, particularly the
The 2009 awardees follow in the footsteps of past development and application of probabilistic methods, critical
luminary winners such as: Dr Fiona Wood, inventor of for robust commercial application of large outdoor robots. He
spray-on skin; Professor Ian Frazer, inventor of the cervi- was also the originator of Simultaneous Location and Mapping
cal cancer vaccine; Professor Graeme Clark, inventor of (SLAM) method. This allows a robot vehicle to be ‘dropped’ into an
the bionic ear; and Nobel laureate Dr Barry Marshall, who unknown environment and to incrementally map the environment
discovered the bacteria that cause stomach ulcers. and use that map to navigate the environment – perhaps the
“It is safe to say that the 2009 ATSE Clunies Ross single most important step in achieving robot autonomy.
Award winners have touched all our lives and are playing a He pioneered work in Decentralised Data Fusion (DDF)
significant role in enhancing Australia’s international rep- in which information from a network of sensors is
utation for innovation,” said Mr Bruce Kean AM FTSE, put together to produce a single coherent picture
Chairman of the ATSE Clunies Ross Foundation. of an environment. He built some of the very first Chris Nicol
Mr Kean was speaking at the ATSE Clunies Ross sensor networks, in applications such as surveillance,
Award presentation dinner in Sydney attended by more demonstrating key DDF features such as modularity,
than 350 eminent entrepreneurs, decision makers, govern- scaleability and fault-tolerance.
ment officials, researchers, academics and business leaders.
It was the first timer the awards had been made in Sydney. Mobile phone technology
Key speakers were Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Chairman of Dr Chris Nicol FTSE, Chief Technology Officer,
the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisa- Embedded Systems at NICTA, Sydney
tion, and Professor Penny Sackett, Australia’s Chief Scien- Chris Nicol is a key figure in how Australians use their
tist, who also presented the Lifetime Achievement Award. 10 million mobile phones, having had a hand in a
The 2009 ATSE Clunies Ross Award winners are: number of the key technologies that have led to anYou can also read
