Telstra used an Aboriginal name, muru-D, for its technology incubator in Sydney. It has continued the theme with its new ‘Innovation Lab’ at head office in Melbourne. The facility will be called Gurrowa, which means ‘interchange’ in the Wurung language.
Telstra describes Gurrowa as an “open innovation environment where Telstra, its enterprise customers, partners, incubators, vendors, research institutes and other members of Telstra’s innovation network can connect and collaborate on cutting-edge technology all under one roof.”
Telstra chief operations officer Kate McKenzie said the lab is an important next step in Telstra’s investment in R&D and a significant contributor to Australia’s innovation agenda.
“Technology is changing at a faster rate than ever before, impacting business models and traditional industry structures, and to stay ahead of the curve we need to be constantly innovating,” she said.
“Gurrowa builds on the Telstra Research Partnership Program we launched last year and is part of our strategy to develop world-class innovation capabilities. This includes extended collaboration with our vast, connected innovation network, and an innovation model that will deliver speed at scale for new and enhanced products and services for our customers.”
|
She said an important area of focus will be the Internet of Things (IoT). “Gurrowa will provide a maker space to design and prototype IoT devices, the network services to connect them, and the software developers to bring the services to life.
“This year we will connect haptic robots to rural ultrasound equipment, design portable systems that can locate lost children in remote areas, and develop sensor applications to predict when equipment or structures may fail.
“Software is the next step of digital transformation for enterprises around the world. The integration of the physical world with the digital is key to enabling the widespread adoption of the IoT and software will deliver the fabric for this evolution.”
Telstra is also announcing a joint venture with US software development company Pivotal and has become member of the Cloud Foundry Foundation (see next article).