The brightest minds from Western Australia’s universities are competing in the ‘Heavy Vehicle Hackathon’, aimed at delivering cost effective safety and productivity solutions for the heavy vehicle industry.
The Heavy Vehicle Hackathon began last week at Curtin University’s Internet of Everything Innovation Centre, with nine teams across four WA universities competing for a $10,000 prize. The participants include Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia.
“We want to harness the brightest minds from our WA universities to generate ideas and information to assess the viability of digitising heavy vehicle number plates,” said WA Transport and Innovation Minister, Bill Marmion.
“A digitised ‘smart plate’ could be made available to heavy vehicle users seeking to increase their vehicle size and/or load capacity to improve efficiency, productivity and profitability.
“Part of the increased profits generated by this initiative could then form a contribution to the continued development, improvement and modification of heavy vehicle routes and services.
“Less heavy vehicle trips delivering the same or greater capacity will not only improve the safety of all road users, but less wear and tear on vehicles and the road network also means reduced maintenance costs.”
The Minister said the Hackathon aligned with the objectives of the recently released Western Australian Innovation Strategy. “This is about bringing together different people and talents, and providing opportunities for learning, networking, mentoring and collaboration to foster creativity and innovation,” Marmion said.
“This Government is committed to creating and developing innovative solutions and services for the heavy vehicle industry.”
According to the State Government, if a successful ‘smart plate’ design and functionality is presented at the Hackathon, local road authority Main Roads Western Australia will then proceed to a prototype and testing of the design.
The winning Hackathon team will be announced at an award night to be held on Friday December 16, 2016