Summer 2014

The tech issueThe best and brightest in computing

contents4 shorts News from around Unitec.

8 cyber security Two years on, and the Cyber Security Research Centre is going from strength to strength.

11 women in tech There’s a distinct lack of women in technology roles – we look at why and what we can do about it.

14 smart room The Smart Room at Unitec is focused on amazing new ideas with sensors and the Internet of Things.

18 research centre A new research centre at Unitec that will work with its Chinese partners to investigate environmental issues.

20 synthetic voice New research that will literally give people their voices back.

23 IBM on campus Unitec’s relationship with IBM is all about education and industry working together.

24 profile We focus on Associate Professor Paul Pang, the hardworking researcher who runs the Cyber Security Research Centre.

26 student research Doctor of Computing Lei Song created an algorithm for NIWA to help them understand their massive air pollution data.

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guest editor Hossein Sarrafzadeh

writers Trudi Caffell, Joe Dawson, Andrea Stills

design Catherine Lawson

photographer Matt Crawford

printing The Image Centre

published by Unitec Institute of Technology Private Bag 92025, Victoria Street West, Auckland 1142, New Zealand ISSN 1176-7391 phone 0800 10 95 10 www.unitec.ac.nz

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This exciting news reflects government support for research that we hope will lead to many more opportunities within the computing research space, including commercialisation in the international marketplace. This success also highlights the importance of collaboration in research – how bringing a number of strong institutions together can provide a compelling case for funding.

This issue of Advance reflects the importance of collaboration – between countries, institutions, as well as industry and academics. New Zealand’s first Cyber Security Research Centre was established at Unitec in 2012 and is an excellent example of collaborative research on an international scale in an area of vital importance to both New Zealand and the rest of the world.

Future projects for the Cyber Security Research Centre include an international industry partnered conference, and the potential for a Cyber Security Innovation Hub on campus. All of this is founded on the strong base of collaboration with industry and tertiary partners.

The newest research centre – the Centre for Computational Intelligence and Environmental Engineering – involves both a Chinese/New Zealand and an industry/academia collaboration that will develop solutions and products to resolve air and

water quality issues. The first project is the development and local deployment of interactive 3D Animated GIS mapping software, combined with Internet of Things connectivity, which may involve partners like the Auckland Council and will allow for a 3D map of Auckland that will show air pollution levels around the city.

The department is also working with industry to address an area of concern internationally – the lack of women involved in IT – by developing multi-pronged initiatives to encourage women to consider IT as an attractive study and employment option.

Unitec will continue to focus on areas of high need in IT. At the heart of our strategy is the development of teacher/researcher teams with high levels of IT expertise who contribute to a range of research projects and educational offerings, and support these specialisations. This will ensure that Unitec is in an excellent position to contribute to the development of a resilient and diverse innovation economy. Through the use of smart technologies and IT systems, we can grow, while at the same time caring for the ecologies, communities and people that make New Zealand so special.

Hossein Sarrafzadeh Head of Computing Department

Collaboration equals research success

If you have any questions about the research articles in this issue of Advance, please contact the Unitec Research and Enterprise Office. We’d love to hear from you. 09 8154321 extn 8574 / email: kjones@unitec.ac.nz

At the time of writing this editorial, Steven Joyce, Minister of Science and

Innovation, announced that the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment is funding a research project led by the University of Waikato for cloud security research, called STRATUS. Our researchers

from the Cyber Security team are involved with the project along with

the University of Auckland and the Cloud Security Alliance.

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New Associate Dean of Research

The latest addition to the Unitec Research and Enterprise Office is Shane Stuart, who took up the role of Associate Dean of Research and Enterprise – Faculty of Creative Industries and Business, in July this year.

Stuart, who comes from a strong background in social science and market research in both New Zealand and the UK, has spent the last five years at the University of Waikato as the Portfolio Manager for the ICT and Manufacturing departments. “I was managing projects and external relationships, as well as finding external research income for the various research projects under my portfolio.”

He believes that industry collaboration with tertiary is vital for the research sector in New Zealand and says that the ITP sector is uniquely placed to work successfully with industry. “I’m excited about the opportunities in the research sector, especially around technology. There are a lot of misconceptions out there, but I think there are also a lot of opportunities for success, and we can make the most of those opportunities here at Unitec. I’m excited about working with staff to develop relationships with external industry partners to ensure collaborative working relationships that benefit both parties.”

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Up in the clouds

The Cyber Security Research Centre has received Unitec’s largest-ever funding allocation as part of their work on a research project led by the University of Waikato: the Security Technologies Returning Accountability, Transparency and User-centric Services in the Cloud (STRATUS) project.

The STRATUS project as a whole received a $10.6 million (excl. GST) grant over six years from the High Value Manufacturing and Services Research Fund, which is administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Unitec’s team will be focused on one part of the overall project; a de-centralised backup system using cloud data backup and recovery – essentially cloud data security. This section of the project will be based in the Cyber Security Research Centre, under the leadership of Associate Professor Paul Pang. “Everything is moving into the cloud so the security of the cloud is important,” he says.

The overall focus of the STRATUS project, which is led by Dr Ryan Ko, Head of the Cyber Security Lab at the University of Waikato, is to

develop a suite of security tools, techniques and capabilities which will return control of cloud-based data to users. The aim is to deliver a platform of software, human capability and technical resources easily accessible by a broad range of New Zealand industry and government organisations.

The project is a collaboration between the University of Waikato, Auckland University, Unitec and the Cloud Security Alliance, a not-for-profit organisation which promotes the use of best practice for providing security within cloud computing.

Unitec Head of Computing Professor Hossein Sarrafzadeh says, “I am obviously extremely proud of my team and slightly overwhelmed by the success of the grant for research into cloud security. I also feel lucky to have collaborators who are internationally recognised researchers. This is the only ICT project funded, and the third largest grant in this round."

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Thriving research culture

This year’s Unitec Research Symposium showed the diverse and thriving nature of Unitec’s research culture, with highly competitive Research with Impact presentations, a fascinating Three Minute Thesis competition and an inspiring undergraduate research prize.

Exciting new research from plumbing and gasfitting Lecturer Garry Cruickshank and his research partner Don Mardle into best-practice for wetbacks in New Zealand has uncovered a number of important breakthroughs. In fact water heating manufacturer Rheem has paused the release of their latest system pending more information and research. Cruickshank outlined their stunning results at the symposium, including some seemingly counterintuitive configurations for the systems that will have a huge effect on the industry. Congratulations on the fantastic work!

Sport Lecturer Trevor Meiklejohn took the audience on a fascinating journey through the changes to professional rugby franchise management in New Zealand, looking at the new wave of private investors in Super Rugby franchises and the changes to the decision-making bodies associated with these new structures. What does it mean for rugby fans in New Zealand? Only time will tell, but this research group will be following the outcomes and reporting them back to us as they happen.

Unitec's computing department has been helping the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) on various projects, and student Jane Zhao spoke about the latest project, which involves using NIWA camera footage to categorise and monitor the number of boats in key boat ramps. The computing team has created an algorithm that can go through the thousands of hours of video images, and assess how many boats have been in and out. It will automate what is currently a labour intensive and potentially subjective procedure. The overall aim is to help NIWA and the Ministry for Primary Industries monitor and manage the fragile fisheries industry in New Zealand, helping to enhance the sustainability of an important New Zealand industry.

Finally, Associate Professor Jonathan Leaver spoke about the Hydrogen Technology Development Committee, based at Unitec, which aims to provide commercially viable renewable hydrogen-based energy solutions. The project includes a zero grid farm incorporating on-site hydrogen storage, and a hydrogen powered quad bike with an exciting new automatic ‘incline correcting’ suspension, designed by a team of staff and

students at Unitec. This project includes internal and external collaboration, and endeavours to provide a sustainable solution to New Zealand energy needs.

The judges had a difficult time, but Chief Executive Rick Ede announced the winner at the special award ceremony later in the day, with Associate Professor Jonathan Leaver taking out the Research with Impact prize, and the work by Garry Cruikshank and Don Mardle being highly commended by the judging panel.

The Three Minute Thesis award went to Osteopathy masters student Daniel Archer, for his standing desk research project. Master of Architecture student Akshay Shah took out second place, as well as the inaugural People’s Choice award, voted for by audience members on the day. His project was around using bamboo as a building material.

Now in its second year, the Undergraduate Research Competition recognises the contributions of students at degree level. This year’s winner was Bachelor of Applied Science student Shanti Morgan from the Department of Natural Sciences.

Over 100 staff and students participated in the Research Symposium from disciplines as diverse at Sport, Accounting and Finance, and Performing Arts. Breakout workshops showcased 35 projects, including collaborations across both Unitec and external partners.

Thanks to everyone involved in organising the day, and congratulations to everyone who took part in another exciting and vibrant Research Symposium.

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Opening up research

Nga Reanga: Youth Development Maori Styles

The Unitec ePress aims to stimulate and facilitate innovation in scholarly communication, by enabling the array of research from around Unitec to reach a greater audience.

Using digital technology, the Unitec ePress is able to explore and enable new modes of publication for researchers and academics, making their work more accessible outside the usual academic realms. They produce peer-reviewed works that showcase a range of research projects in a variety of formats, including conference proceedings, edited compilations, and published books.

The Unitec ePress platform provides publications that are open access and available for use under creative commons copyright, meaning that they are freely accessible online in a digital format. They can also be shared, adapted and republished as long as the work is attributed to the original author, under whichever creative commons copyright has been attributed to it.

This means the ideas and knowledge found within the exciting range of research projects at Unitec is extended far beyond the usual academic circles, enabling their ideas to reach people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Due to their success to date, the ePress is currently expanding the range of publications it produces to include research reports, edited collections of essays, edited volumes, multimedia projects, journal and paper series, and most recently, a regular eJournal and newsletter, which the ePress team is currently planning with the relevant local agencies. The ePress will also be producing the Thesis Review Series, which reviews the top postgraduate research at Unitec. Watch this space for more innovative publications in the digital sphere.

By Josie Teorongonui KeelanBook

Looking at youth development from a New Zealand perspective, and one of the first books from an indigenous world-view, this is a useful guide for teaching Māori youth development. Over a period of 10 years Keelan has developed and written three models of taiohinga Māori development and they are brought together here in one publication. She uses the story of Māui to help readers understand the theory, with analysis of the key messages for better understanding of the subject.

"Maui is an ancestor

hero, a role model of what to do. He was

a change agent; he sought to make a

difference."

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Communication issues in Aotearoa

Edited by Giles Dodson and Evangelia Papoutsaki Research EssaysThis edited volume introduces highlights of the academic interests and research activities of a number of staff at Unitec’s Department of Communication Studies. Through these essays it is clear that communication in Aotearoa remains complex and continually under negotiation. This country continues to be formed and re-formed by processes of cultural encounter, by political and institutional change and by voices seeking to assert, to contest and to claim their presence – to represent and to be represented within contemporary New Zealand.

“Communication in Aotearoa

remains complex and continually under

negotiation.”

The Evocative Object: Why Objects Matter

By Julie Downie

eMedia This new eMedia publication comes from an exhibition that was based on the notion of everyday objects and what they mean to us. It is about considering objects in relation to our emotional lives – how objects can bring together both thought and feeling. It is a discussion about how objects affect the way we live our lives and how they help us locate ourselves within the world.

"Objects often go

unnoticed, framing our lives with such familiarity that we

no longer see them."

Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand Conference Proceedings 2014

The 31st Annual Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) Conference was held at Unitec in July 2014. Contributors were invited to explore the theme of ‘Translation’, which is understood as the conscious transfer of ideas of buildings from one context into another.

"Translation is not simply a

mechanical act of transferring an idea

into a new realm, but a creative

act."

Translation

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It’s been two years since the establishment of the Cyber Security Research Centre at Unitec. The centre has achieved some major milestones along the way, including recent research opportunities with the University of Waikato.

Cyber success

It was a big moment in Unitec’s history when the Cyber Security Research Centre (CSRC) was established in association with Japan’s National Institute of Communications and Information Technology (NICT). “In 2012 we launched New Zealand’s first Cyber Security Research Centre,” says Unitec Head of Computing, and co-director of the centre, Professor Hossein Sarrafzadeh. “Initially the centre offered a cyber security monitoring capability that meant we could collect data, and then run algorithms to extract patterns and knowledge about cyber security.”

According to the centre’s other co-director, Associate Professor Paul Pang, they focus their efforts on applied research. “Cyber security is a big concept – and covers many things – but we are very focused in

our research here,” he says. “Our main research is with NICT, which started in 2012 and runs until 2015.”

The project with NICT is around de-centralised network security, says Pang. “Traditional security is centralised, so one company is protected by one firewall and that's it – if that fails, the company can be attacked. The idea we proposed is that we need to build an integrated system, or a de-centralised security system where you are not relying on one computer or firewall, but a group of computers providing protection.”

Pang says that a de-centralised security system will more effectively support an organisation. “Especially an organisation like Unitec, which has thousands of computers across different campuses.”

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Since starting two years ago, the team has developed a prototype of the concept system, which they are hoping to present at a workshop with NICT later this year. “We are working intensively on the final stage of integration, which is exciting for us. It’s still at the proof of concept stage, but we believe this can be developed further.”

Another significant event for the CSRC was the recent announcement that the centre will be part of a new $10.6 million (excl. GST) project led out of Waikato University and funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. “This is a big project with four tracks,” says Pang. “Unitec is working on the fourth track, which is a de-centralised backup system using cloud data backup and recovery – which is essentially cloud data security.”

An example would be if an earthquake occurred, says Pang. “In a case where cloud data is backed up in a de-centralised way, when you have an incident like the Christchurch earthquake, because you have multiple backups in Auckland and Hamilton you

don't need to worry – you can restore information after the earthquake.”

They’ve also been working on another project that is due to be launched very soon, says Sarrafzadeh. “We’ve built new systems here that we will be offering to the community. In collaboration with our partners we are launching what we are calling a Red Alert System.”

The Red Alert System will help protect any network that is connected and subscribed to the service, by issuing an alert as soon as an intrusion takes place. “Our system, which will be deployed later this year, will detect intrusions, notify the victim, and then provide them with a report which would include a list of experts who can help them with this intrusion.”

The Red Alert System will help protect any network that is connected and subscribed to the service, by issuing an alert as soon as an intrusion takes place.

From top: Unitec CE Dr Rick Ede with

Dr Kazumasa Enami, Vice President of NICT,

signing the MOU. Co-Director Paul Pang.

Dr Enami speaks on the Unitec Marae.

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It’s designed to be the last line of defence, says Sarrafzadeh. “Before something happens, that’s when you use your virus scanner, that’s

when your firewall is important. The Red Alert System comes in after the intruder has passed those and is in your system. It is able to detect intrusions and that’s when we will give our clients details of where it is, what it is, who to go to and perhaps how to sort it

out if it is easy to sort out.”

The team is currently in the planning stages for the Red Alert System, which will be launched either later this year, or in early 2015. “The Red Alert service will initially be available

to a limited group of potential user organisations. At the launch we’ll

have our international partners as well, and New Zealand companies will also be participating.”

With three big projects in place within the centre, Sarrafzadeh

says they’re pleased with their success to date. “The Cyber

Security Research Centre has not only addressed issues of high importance

to New Zealand and the global community, it also has other benefits. One of those has been linking us with industry, government and professional bodies.”

An example is the recent request by the Prime Minister’s Office for Sarrafzadeh to be on what they call their Connect Smart Programme. “I’ve been asked to go down to Wellington to meet with the whole team, as well as the Prime Minister’s Office, and their cyber security office. The CSRC has given us a way of influencing the industry and the government in this particular area.”

Ultimately, their goal is to create an environment that will help their students excel, says Sarrafzadeh. “A recent international study revealed that students select an institution based on three things: excellence in teaching, range of subjects provided, and reputation. So the other benefit of the Cyber Security Research Centre has been the way it has improved our reputation. A good reputation leads to many other things, including more students.”

As well as more students, Sarrafzadeh says they have more linkages internationally through the centre. “I have international bodies contacting me and wanting to collaborate in this area with us or wanting our students. We even had someone from Silicon Valley asking

me to encourage my students to go there and work for them, because there’s a shortage internationally.”

International shortages in this field were one of the reasons for setting up the centre in the first place, says Sarrafzadeh. “Internationally, companies are looking everywhere to see where they can get good computing or technology staff. And a student who has studied in English would be ideal for them.”

The other reason is the way people around the world view New Zealand. “I think New Zealand has an important international asset and that’s the trust that the international community has in us. There are two areas in which trust is very important: one is cyber security and the other is cloud computing. I think our government and local businesses should capitalise on this asset and take full advantage of it. If New Zealand becomes a hub in cyber security then you know it’ll be accepted because the trust is there. With that in mind, we felt that it was very appropriate to build capability in cyber security here at Unitec.”

Added to that high level of trust is the fact that we are now more accessible in New Zealand. “In the global village we have become, we are getting closer and closer to one another. As distance issues fade away, New Zealand gains more and more of an advantage. We need to ensure we make the best use of these advantages.”

Hossein SarrafzadehHead of DepartmentDepartment of Computing

“I think New Zealand has an important international asset and that’s the trust that the international community has in us."

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Mahsa Mohaghegh has always been one of

the minority of women working in computing.

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Women make up just a quarter of the global technology workforce. In a rapidly evolving world where new technologies are changing the way we live, does this mean women will miss their chance to influence the future?

Women in technology

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Encouraging more women into technology-related industries is a hot topic, with everyone from Google to Ebay debating the issue. The stats don’t lie – women make up only 26 per cent of people in the United States IT workforce, and even at Google, which actively promotes gender diversity, only 17 per cent of tech staff are women.

And the number of women in technology is actually on the decline. In 1996 women made up 37 per cent of the IT workforce, making the current numbers a leap backward, whatever way you look at it.

In tertiary education the numbers are even lower. In the US, women earned 18 per cent of undergraduate computer science degrees in 2013, down from a more respectable 37 per cent in 1985. Current New Zealand statistics are strikingly similar, with women comprising around 20 per cent of computing students throughout the country and around 22.7 per cent at Unitec.

But why does it matter that women make up such a small, and seemingly decreasing, part of the technology workforce?

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Firstly, there is a skills shortage facing the science, technology, engineering and

mathematics (STEM) sectors. The National Center for Women &

Information Technology (NCWIT) names IT as one of the fastest

growing sectors in the US economy, with an estimated 1.4 million new job openings projected by 2020. The NCWIT further predicts that over two-thirds of these jobs could go unfilled due to an insufficient number of computing graduates – a

shortage that could be eased by encouraging more women

into the sector.

That’s the argument from Google as well, and part of the reason

the internet giant has implemented new programmes such as the US$50

million ‘Made for Code’ intiative to encourage more high school girls into computing, as well as initiatives such as the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship for women in technology.

But it’s not just about filling increasing demand. If women aren’t involved in the research, design and creation of new products and services, they risk being inundated with products that don’t actually meet their needs. If technological design is exclusively the domain of men, what kind of technology will we end up with?

Unitec Computing Lecturer Mahsa Mohaghegh explains it simply: “If you don’t have a female presence, sooner or later you’re going to end up with a phone that won’t fit in a woman’s pocket, because even that is different to men.”

Catherine Ashcraft, Senior Research Scientist at NCWIT, specialises in research around technology, gender and diversity, and agrees that it is vital that women participate in technology. “You can contribute to what the future of the world will look like,” she says. “Increasingly,

technology permeates every aspect of society, and if you’re not in there, you’re not going to have a chance to influence it.”

The third argument for the promotion of female participation in technology is NCWIT’s research into the gender mix of successful organisations. Companies and teams with greater gender diversity solve complex problems better and faster, and are more likely to experiment, to be creative, to share knowledge, and to complete tasks. Technical work teams have better adherence to project schedules, lower project costs, higher employee performance ratings, and higher bonuses.

These are all compelling reasons why we need more women working, researching and studying across the STEM subjects. The next step, says Mohaghegh, is to figure out how to encourage more women into these sectors, and that comes down to understanding the barriers to women working in technology.

For a start, says Mohaghegh, computing is sometimes seen as a boring career. “Many view it as a field which offers little room for creativity or design, and instead software or technology development is associated with a computer desk and endless lines of code.”

There’s also the idea that women see computers as a means to an end – a machine used to do something else – while men fall in love with the machine itself. More women go into fields where computer science is a component of the wider context, such as web development and data analytics.

Mohaghegh – who has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence – had to overcome the feeling that many of the boys in her undergraduate computing classes knew more than she did. “Many guys spend more of their spare time playing computer games and working or doing research on computers,” she says. “They're often more passionate about it than girls, so they spend more time on computers. So at the start of

26%of people in the United States IT workforce

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Female students need to be encouraged to take up technology from an early age, according to Mohaghegh.

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the course, guys have a better background than girls – but it doesn’t mean that girls can’t learn.”

Others say we condition girls out of being interested in STEM subjects, so that by the time they reach the end of high school, their interests lie elsewhere. This idea is backed up by research in the US which indicates that high school girls achieve higher grades in maths and science than boys on average, but by the time they get to the final year Advanced Placement Computer Science exam, girls comprise only 18 per cent of students who take the test.

Mohaghegh, having been a minority in the computing world since she started her undergraduate degree, now works tirelessly to ensure more girls are exposed to the idea that they can participate in technology. After her second Anita Borg Scholarship win, Mohaghegh became director of Girl Geek Coffee – an organisation for women in technology – and convinced Google, Unitec, and Vodafone to sponsor the group. When she took over, it was a group of about 3–4 women who met occasionally for coffee. “Today we have over 250 members. We’ve had events at Unitec, Vodafone and Orion Health, and have other companies who want to host events, like Westpac and Microsoft. We have room for 60–70 people at every event and are always sold out.”

But even that isn’t enough, says Mohaghegh. “I’ve lectured in computing for over five years, and each semester we only have around 10 per cent of female students on the roll. I think we have to start earlier, so I started SheSharp, a group for girls at high school. It’s our belief that if we can get girls at high school – or even earlier – interested in the opportunities that technology provides, they will see it as a viable career path.”

Unitec’s Department of Computing also recently held a competition aimed at encouraging high school girls into computing. “We asked Year 12 and 13 girls from high schools across the country to design and develop a mobile app over a weekend. The winning prize was free tuition fees for our three-year Bachelor of Computer Systems programme for three of the girls. Next year we’ll have those girls in our department.”

By engaging with more young women and changing their perceptions of computing, Mohaghegh believes computing in general will be more innovative, more creative and take greater leaps forward. “If we can show what a diverse and exciting field science and technology is, and provide inspirational stories of women who are helping shape the future, then we may be able to help girls get involved at the early stages right from school.”

Is it really that important for more women to get into technology? Of course, says Mohaghegh. “Society is in the midst of a period of great change because of digital advances. New ways of living and doing business are being created. Being part of this change and helping shape the future is vital for women – we would all benefit from the thinking, creativity and unique input that women can bring to the game.”

In all, gender-balanced teams function with greater efficiency than exclusively male teams.

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The internet is in the process of change, and the next big move is tipped to be in the direction of the Internet of Things – where everyday physical objects provide data to the internet, instead of people.

Making our spaces smarter

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It’s been described as the internet of the future, but the Internet of Things (IoT) is still an emerging concept. It’s a computing field focused on a future where everyday physical objects like your fridge are connected to the internet and are able to identify themselves to each other and to devices like your mobile phone or tablet.

“The IoT is an area where we are currently expanding our capability. We’ve done this through linking with international partners who are very strong in this field of study, and with the creation of the Unitec Smart Room two years ago,” says Unitec Professor Hossein Sarrafzadeh.

The IoT is a network of internet-enabled, real-world objects, such as consumer electronics, home appliances, sensors, and personal mobile devices that are all interconnected to help make our lives easier and more efficient. It’s already happening – it’s possible to monitor your security alarm, lights and heating systems from your smartphone, and you can purchase a fridge that monitors itself, sending a report to your phone if anything goes wrong. And in the future this will be the norm rather than the exception.

“It’s about making technology accessible to people,” says Sarrafzadeh. “We’re creating technology that people can use wherever they are. Companies like Google are buying up related companies, which means they’re interested in it as well. According to the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE), there will be one trillion objects controlled over the internet by 2017.”

The Unitec Smart Room has translated the IoT concept into a single room filled with sensors that can monitor things like temperature, noise level, and the physical wellbeing of those inside it. Director of the Unitec Smart Room, Lecturer Iman Ardekani, says the ultimate aim is to improve the living conditions of people around the world. “The idea is to have a room equipped with a network of sensors that indicate what’s happening. Based on this we can make decisions to improve the living quality in the room. If someone with medical needs is in the room, the room can monitor them. If something has fallen, the room will sense it. It could even interact with people in the room, providing reminders about taking medication or eating regularly. The room actually helps the occupants to live more easily.”

By 2051, a quarter of the New Zealand population will be older than 60, says Ardekani. “Many will absolutely want to continue to live in their own home, and we think the ideas we are researching in the Smart Room will provide assistance so they can actually do that without needing as much outside help.”

Ardekani says there are many opportunities that fall within the scope of the Smart Room. “The potential here is for research, teaching and staff involvement, as well as creating new technologies for industry, because people from different research backgrounds can participate and collaborate. We have projects that could mean that people who have to whisper will be able to be heard and understood by the room, as well as special systems that can send a beam of speech from the room directly to your ear and you are the only person who can hear it. These are all projects that are part of the Unitec Smart Room. It’s very flexible so we can integrate many technologies into it.”

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From top: Ardekani at work on his equipment. Microphones

provide the anti-noise that cancels the unwanted noise.

Ardekani uses his engineering background to create the device.

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One of the research projects that Ardekani is working on in the Unitec Smart Room is noise cancellation. Not just any noise cancellation – he’s now able to cancel out disruptive noise in an open area. This is very different to other noise cancellation research, which takes place in very controlled environments, or using headphones. “My research creates spatial zones of silence in open space. I’ve found a method for generalising this and creating zones of silence in rooms like living rooms, hospitals and office spaces.”

Noise is generally considered an unwanted sound wave within the environment, says Arkedani. “Noise needs to be considered something harmful for our health, especially really noisy environments. You don’t realise it, but after a while your brain, your body and your health will be in danger. Noise can affect people’s concentration or understanding of what is happening around them. We can help people working in harsh environments or noisy conditions – like builders and factory workers – by removing the noise, while enabling them to hear alarms and other meaningful signals like speech.”

At its heart, Ardekani’s concept is very simple. “The original idea was published in 1850 by a German engineer, but they couldn’t implement it. It’s founded on some basic rules of mechanics, and is about creating another opposite noise, called anti-noise, to cancel out the original noise."

The difficulty occurs when the situation inside the room changes. Movement or other differences in the environment can affect the room's acoustic response and the device making the anti-noise must take this into account. “You cannot reach a constant model for the environment,” says Ardekani. “People are moving in the room, objects can be moved in the room. But in my system, any changes in the room can be included in the model, so the computing part of the system learns the environment, from the signals picked up by microphones. After that it can compensate for the effects of the environment on the anti-noise signal to be generated. It’s what’s known as an

adaptive system because it can adapt itself to the environment and when it gets a new type of noise it can adapt to that noise. It’s very flexible and it can be selective about which noise it cancels out.”

The system cancels out stationary or repetitive noises, such as air conditioning units, whistles, machinery, engines – any noise that is regular or constant in the environment. Speech is non-stationary and more difficult to cancel out, says Ardekani. “The challenge for us is non-stationary sound, like speech. The system can learn an anti-

speech signal but after a short time the system has to learn another sound, and another. This is because speech characteristics change dramatically and quickly. Cancelling speech is going to be the next area of research for us. It is very difficult for the system to follow the sound of speech, but we have made some progress in this area.”

The interest from industry in noise cancellation is very strong, says Ardekani. “There are several companies that are very interested in what we’re

doing here, so my focus is on innovative products with the ability for active noise cancellation. I’ve found good potential in New Zealand, especially health technology companies and commercial furniture manufacturers."

High-end furniture manufacturer IQ Commercial in West Auckland has been closely associated with the project since last year, and Managing Director Blair McKolskey says they’re excited about the prospects. “In the office furniture industry, a technology like this is worth millions. We’ve been watching Iman’s progress closely, and we’re excited about where he’s managed to take it.”

And the potential application of his model is wider than simple noise control, says Ardekani. "You could use it for controlling any mechanical disturbance. Examples include suspension control in your car so the car ride is smoother, or in earthquake control for underneath a building. It has a wide application, and we’re just starting to explore the possibilities.”

What is noise? The definition of noise is negative and often includes the words ‘loud’, ‘unpleasant’, and ‘disturbance’. It’s an unwanted sound that disturbs our everyday lives. Noise cancellation is, at its heart, removing negative noises from our environments. This includes workers in factories with harmful repetitive noises, or other work environments that include loud air conditioning units, road noises, engines, a repetitive siren, bell or whistle, or anything we don’t need to hear, but have no ability to stop.

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Iman Ardekani Director of the Smart Room

Department of Computing

Another project in the Smart Room is focused on creating useful sensing equipment that people will feel comfortable with. Senior Lecturer Chandimal Jayawardena has been working in the field of robotics his entire academic career, but it’s only recently that he thought about changing the way they look. His specialty is Socially Assistive Robots, or robots that help people in their daily lives. “It’s often about helping older or disabled people,” he says. “Around the world there is research in this area, but usually the objective is to build an artificial robotic agent to help people."

Jayawardena says he found a very simple problem with his previous research. “We were working on robots for older people, but when you develop something completely new, it’s very difficult to understand their real usability. These robotic agents are quite new, so they’re strange to people; it’s putting something completely artificial into their environment. You don’t know if the problems are because of the foreign nature of the robot, or if your features aren’t as useful as you think they are.”

So when he started his most recent project, Jayawardena decided to approach it in a completely different way. “I wanted to use an existing assistive device. Something already useful. Something already familiar to people. So I selected the wheelchair since that is something commonly used.”

Essentially, he’s created a companion robotic wheelchair, he says. “I’ve connected the wheelchair to a socially assistive companion robot. It can measure vital signs, offer medication management, help the person talk to friends and family, and also communicate with the person on the chair. The idea is to break down the barriers that are put in place when you add a strange object into a person’s environment.”

The software can be used on other common objects, for example a lazy boy chair, a walker, or a hospital bed, to enable patients to feel more comfortable and to better use the practical features of the technology. “This is something new in the robotic field. I recently presented this research at a conference in Brazil and I got a very good response. I have been working in this field for about 10 years now and we have always tried to build new devices, and then tried to evaluate whether those things are useful to people.

“Now I am thinking differently; I don’t want to build strange creatures. We can embed the same functions into existing devices, and people will be more comfortable with them immediately. I believe these devices will be more useful to people.”

ROBOCHAIR FOR THE FUTURE

Top: The internal workings of the RoboChair. Bottom: Computing lecturer Tony Kuo works on the chair. Inset: Jayawardena and his co-researcher Tony.

» summer 2014 17

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Professor Hossein Sarrafzadeh tells us about the exciting projects planned at Unitec’s newest research venture, the Computational Intelligence and Environmental Engineering Research Centre.

A centre for excellence

The recently established Computational Intelligence and Environmental Engineering (CIEE) Research Centre promises to provide cutting-edge research that will help the Unitec computing department become industry leaders, says Head of Computing, Professor Hossein Sarrafzadeh.

The new centre combines remote sensing and an emerging area of computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), with environmental engineering to develop tools and technology that can be used to address problems such as air and water quality in New Zealand and China, before being extended globally.

The (CIEE) Research Centre includes four main partners: Wuhan University and high tech company LJDY in China; Unitec and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand. There will also be collaboration with other interested organisations and industry partners. “Wuhan University is on China’s top 10 universities list, LJDY is a well-established technology company in China with over 100 technology staff, and NIWA is a high

profile Crown Research Institute in New Zealand – these organisations combine with Unitec to form a highly credible team,” says Sarrafzadeh.

The first big moment in the centre’s existence will happen later this year, when a team of technical experts from China, headed by the chief technology officer of LJDY, will be in New Zealand to set up the software and hardware components. “Then in early 2015, we are planning to have a high-level delegation from China, including the Senior Vice President from Wuhan University and the President of LJDY, to help us launch the research centre along with our CE Dr Rick Ede and NIWA leadership and scientists,” says Sarrafzadeh.

“This tool allows researchers to see the city in 3D, both under and over the ground."

Above: images from the 3D model being

used by the new Research Centre.

» summer 2014 19

“We’re fortunate here at Unitec to have forward-thinking leaders like our CE Dr Rick Ede, Executive Dean Leon Fourie, and the Dean of Research and Enterprise Marcus Williams, who have enabled us to make this collaboration happen.”

The centre has been established in response to several clear signals in the computing research environment. “There has been a shift in China towards environmental management products, which was indicated by Prime Minister John Key in a speech after visiting China recently, where he had held discussions with his Chinese counterpart,” says Sarrafzadeh. “Added to this, the government has indicated four key technology themes vital for the future of the ICT sector in New Zealand. The Internet of Things – which is about the growing number of devices and household appliances that are being connected to the internet – and remote sensing technologies are on that list and our new research centre will focus on both of these technologies.”

Sarrafzadeh says the new research centre and the relationships it will foster with organisations both here and in China is invaluable. “Wuhan University has 27 professors and 80 PhD students in the department we are collaborating with, which will be a major boost to our capability here. And as part of the agreement the centre will also have an office at Wuhan University, which will give us a vital base in China to promote the many benefits of this research.”

The centre will be housed at Unitec, with high-tech equipment to be supplied by LJDY, and staff and other resources to be provided by each of the parties. “The equipment we will have access to includes the licence to use software that can create 3D models of our cities,” says Sarrafzadeh.

“This tool allows researchers to see the city in 3D, both under and over the ground, and will enable us to create real-time visualisations of environmental data. Everyone is very excited about this capability. It will take the air quality research we have been doing in collaboration with NIWA to the next level.”

There are three main aims for the new research centre, says Sarrafzadeh. “The centre will offer education in computational technology and environmental engineering, as well as short courses run by the different partners through Unitec. Secondly we will conduct high-level collaborative research, and finally we will produce intellectual property that will create export opportunities for the New Zealand companies who will be involved in the various projects.”

Sarrafzadeh’s ultimate aim is to be on the cutting edge of the computing industry. “As far as I am aware, this will be New Zealand’s first centre of Internet of Things capability,” he says. “We’re not looking for small gains; we’re looking for big gains, which is what we did with the Cyber Security Centre, and that has been very successful. Our aim is for the CIEE Research Centre to become one of New Zealand’s Centres of Research Excellence with our collaborators.”

But there’s more to this collaboration for Unitec than research excellence, says Sarrafzadeh. “I think this opportunity is not just for the computing department or Unitec, it’s an opportunity for New Zealand as a whole. More importantly, it is a step in the direction that the New Zealand Government wants us to go, which is the creation of export markets for New Zealand companies.”

Hossein SarrafzadehHead of Department

Department of Computing

“As far as I am aware, this will

be New Zealand’s first centre of

Internet of Things capability.”

“Our aim is for the CIEE Research Centre to become

one of New Zealand’s Centres

of Research Excellence.”

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Restoring natural speech to victims of throat diseases sounds like a project for a doctor or medical scientist. But Unitec Computing Lecturer and Researcher Dr Hamid Sharifzadeh says this is just the kind of job he is able to sink his teeth into – using data and technology to solve complex real-world problems.

Sharifzadeh is developing a tool that will greatly improve the ability of those who have undergone a laryngectomy – the removal of the larynx – to speak with a clear and unique voice.

The larynx can be considered the amplifier of the voice, where sound is added to the air that forms speech. Remove it and that power of projection is gone. A person who has had their larynx damaged or removed can still form words and speak, but their voice is often reduced to just a whisper.

This can be a huge loss. As Sharifzadeh says, as long as you have a voice you don’t think much about it. For those who permanently lose the ability to speak beyond a whisper there is a huge adjustment, and it’s not one that everyone can make. Sharifzadeh says voice loss can lead to isolation and withdrawal from the community, especially for older people. “Your voice is a normal thing that everybody has, but even if you have to rest your voice for just a short time you become aware of how important it is,” he says.

Technologies to help laryngectomees – the term used to describe a person who has undergone the surgery – do exist but are limited. The most common is the electro larynx, a device that is usually pressed against the neck and picks up the movement in the throat, transmitting the

vibrations through a buzzing sound. Another option is to replace the larynx with a valve which allows for some sound.

Sharifzadeh says with both options the regenerated voice is robotic and monotonous, and the valve comes with maintenance issues and the threat of infection. “Normally when we talk to each other we change our speech, emphasising some parts and not others. With the electro larynx there is no speech variation, so it does not sound natural.”

But Sharifzadeh has created an algorithm capable of reconstructing the natural sound of speech from whispers. He and his team of researchers are close to finishing a device that can be used by laryngectomees, giving them the ability to communicate with a natural voice after their operation. The intention is to make it so sophisticated that if there is a pre-operation voice sample available, an original speaking voice can be reproduced. “I developed the algorithm, and it has been proved and peer reviewed so we know it can work,” he says.

The gift of speech

Using data and technology to restore the power of

voice is the kind of problem-solving Hamid Sharifzadeh enjoys. And after six years’

work he is on the cusp of completing a project that

will do just that.

A laryngectomy is an operation to remove the larynx, a vital part of the process by which we talk. The operation leaves patients unable to talk above a whisper.

"Your voice is a normalthing that everybody has, but even if you have to rest your voice for just a short time you become aware of how important it is.”

» summer 2014 21

Hamid SharifzadehLecturer Department of Computing

22 » unitec.ac.nz

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The device itself will be a small microphone the user can hold to

their mouth, and a small speaker that can be worn on the

shoulder or hip. The team is also creating a version for

people who need to go through two to three months’ voice rest, and they have plans for a phone app for those who might want to discuss sensitive information on the

phone in a public place. The device will

allow users to whisper into their phones, while

the person on the other end can hear their voice loud

and clear.

Getting to this point is the result of six years’ work for Sharifzadeh, who

focused his PhD and further post-doctoral work on the subject of regenerating speech from whispers. To help bring this work to fruition he is continuing to work with his PhD supervisor Professor Ian McLoughlin, who is based at the University of Science and Technology of China, one of the country’s top universities.

McLoughlin says the project has the potential to radically improve outcomes for those who suffer from these kinds of diseases. “A laryngectomy is surgery which removes part of the voice box so a person can live,” he says. “It’s not very pleasant, and afterwards you cannot speak. What these people can do at best is whisper which takes a lot of effort. For these people to go out in the world they need to have a voice. You can’t attract a shopkeeper’s attention when you can’t shout, or order a coffee in a crowded café if no one can hear what you’re saying. This a technical solution to allow people’s whispery voice to be transformed into a more speech-like voice.”

The next step for Sharifzadeh is to apply his algorithm to real-world data. “I try to regenerate normal speech and have done this, but for a product we need to use real data from real laryngectomy patients, people who have had their larynx removed because of cancer or other diseases.”

To obtain this data the research team has partnered with North Shore Hospital ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Jacqui Allen, who will provide anonymous data from the patients she treats.

Sharifzadeh says that when the new data starts to come in this year, the team will be able to start properly testing the algorithm with real-world information. “We are already working with whisperised data, which is a person with full speech just whispering, but we need real data from people who have actually had their larynxes removed.

“If the output is perfect it will go on to be a new product. If there are some problems we will need to spend some time enhancing and improving the algorithm and tuning it with the new data we have, and then it can go into a final product.”

As well as a medical partner to provide real-world data and expertise, the project needs commercial partners. Sharifzadeh says there are three or four potential partners interested in collaborating with the team to take the project to the next stage. Funding from the Marsden Fund, Callaghan Innovation and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise will also be sought. "I am passionate about helping people; that is the basic motivation for this project," he says.

The device itself will be a small microphone the user can hold to their mouth, and a small speaker that can be worn on the shoulder or hip.

HOW IT WORKS“When we talk to each other, air is extracted from our lungs and passes through our trachea before arriving at our vocal folds and chords, where it generates a buzz. Then it goes up the throat and finally into the mouth, nose and lips and before the voice is extracted,” says Sharifzadeh.

“With laryngectomees, the larynx is removed, but they keep everything else – the lung, the mouth, the vocal tract, nose and lips. The only thing missing is the vocal folds, so they don’t have the ‘buzzer’ that makes the sound of their voice. Our device will take their whispers and make them audible again.”

"You can’t attract a shopkeeper’s attention when you can’t shout, or order a coffee in a crowded café if no one can hear what you’re saying."

» summer 2014 23

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Delivering for industry The IBM Delivery Centre on Unitec’s Mt Albert campus is a prime example of education and industry working together to give exciting new opportunities to students.

Helping Unitec students to become work-ready graduates was one of the main drivers behind the development of the IBM Delivery Centre on Unitec’s Mt Albert campus. “The relationship with IBM goes back to 2009, when our Chief Executive Dr Rick Ede initiated a conversation with IBM around the idea of an industry-tertiary partnership, similar to the one that was already in operation in Ballarat in Australia,” says Professor Hossein Sarrafzadeh, Head of Computing at Unitec.

The IBM Delivery Centre opened in February 2013 and today it provides IT services including application development, application testing, mobile apps and business analysis. “The centre helps to prepare our students for the work environment, both with technical experience, and highly valuable soft skills,” says Sarrafzadeh.

However the benefits of having a world-leading technology company on campus are not simply about the work experience, says Sarrafzadeh. “IBM has had a profound effect on the delivery of our programmes by offering feedback, making resources available – including their expertise – being involved in the teaching of the courses, and supporting our research.

“Our students also gain experience through our courses in seven areas of high importance to the IT industry. These include computer networks and cloud, software engineering, cyber security, data engineering (i.e. data warehousing

and business intelligence), health software development, computer games, and professional practice pathways.”

According to IBM New Zealand Managing Director Rob Lee, IBM has a long history of collaboration with the education sector. “Our partnership with Unitec allows our clients to access highly skilled people who are experienced in advanced technologies such as cloud, big data and analytics, mobile and social. We believe many other employers across New Zealand will also benefit from this investment in creating a diverse, highly skilled, job-ready workforce.

“This opportunity to further bridge the gap between education and commerce ensures that New Zealand’s future workforce continues to integrate with business and be both enabled by technology, and skilled in its application to provide practical benefits for the future economic growth of the country.”

Sarrafzadeh also says it’s a relationship that’s only going to get better. “I believe the model we have here with IBM is already a brilliant one, but I think the full potential is yet to be realised. The relationship has been extremely robust and successful to date – and I would like to acknowledge the great leadership that made this happen – but there is definitely more to come, so watch this space.”

IBM has had a profound effect on the delivery of our programmes by offering feedback and making resources available.

Unitec student Mohammed Azam in the IBM Delivery Centre.

» summer 2014 23

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Digging up big data Associate Professor Paul Pang loves big data – which is great for Unitec, because he’s currently working on several highly significant research projects involving data analysis.

» summer 2014 25

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According to Department of Computing Associate Professor Paul Pang, a large part of what he enjoys about research is the ever-changing nature of his work. “In my life, every year is different. I’m always thinking about what the next thing might be, about what’s new.”

Pang, who is originally from China, moved to New Zealand in 2001 to take up a position with AUT, after doing post-doctoral work in Korea for two years. His original bachelors and masters degrees were in physics and mathematics, says Pang. “It was only at PhD level that I moved into computer science. I did my PhD in intelligent systems, which is similar to the work that I’m doing in my research here at Unitec. But at the base of computing is mathematics, you have to be good at maths to be good at computing.”

He moved to Unitec in 2011, and is now co-director of the Department of Computing’s two research centres, as well as being involved with three major research projects – with more in the pipeline. All of these projects involve external industry collaboration and investment, and Pang says he is able to manage the relationships using one vital ingredient – trust. “The trust in these relationships is more important than anything else. That is how I work. We are honest to people, we are honest to science. We are not afraid to do more than discussed; I am happy to contribute more of my time to a project in order to make the relationship even better.”

The Cyber Security Research Centre was set up in early 2012 in association with the National Institute for Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Japan. Pang’s other projects include data mining projects for the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), and STRATUS, a new cyber security project being led by the University of Waikato.

Each of these projects involves the analysis of big data. “Data is everywhere nowadays,” he says. “Every piece of data involves some sort of problem in real-world application, so we are interested in looking at big data to look at the problem behind it.”

Pang says this area of research has only come to the attention of researchers in the last three years. “Data has been around since the first computer, they’re essentially data collection machines. But the idea of big data is new. It’s about the large amounts of data that is being collected about every aspect of our lives. I’m not sure I can solve every problem that data has but we are absolutely interested in new data and new problems.”

Pang has been working on the analysis and understanding of big data collections in the Cyber Security Research Centre and in other projects such as the team’s air quality work with NIWA, for several years now. “We have quite a deep understanding of big data here at Unitec. It’s an important area of research; it’s going to be important in our future. It’s not just for technical people like me to talk about. Big data is going to change the way we live our lives. It’s going to create a world that’s better.”

Part of the reason for Pang’s success could be the nature of the collaborations he has been involved in. Because he works with industry, Pang says the expectations are much higher than with other funding bodies. “Industry has problems that we can solve, and in return we get research funding. We have to think about real-world, industry problems.”

Pang has worked with companies in the dairy, manufacturing, fisheries and cyber security industries as well as government agencies like NIWA. He says he and his team can turn their skills to any sector and find ways to solve problems. “For example in New Zealand, energy is an important industry. But if we are given a chance to work with this kind of data we will become expert in it in a very short space of time. We will become familar with the energy industry very quickly. We have had discussions with potential partners in this area."

A growing reputation for getting results has seen the Cyber Security Research Centre included in the six-year cloud security project led by the University of Waikato. Pang says this is a good achievement and an endorsement of the work coming out of Unitec.

The project has four tracks, and Pang’s team will work on the fourth track looking at cloud data backup and recovery. "Everything is moving to the cloud so security is important.”

Pang says the scope of the projects he is involved in at Unitec mean there is always something different going on to keep it interesting. “I like the challenge, and I like the excitement involved in research,” he says. “It would be boring if everything was always the same. I don’t want to be quiet and disappear. I want my life to be exciting.”

"I like the challenge, and I like the

excitement involved in research. I don’t

want to be quiet and disappear. I want my

life to be exciting.”

26 » unitec.ac.nz

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Unitec’s newest Doctor of Computing Lei Song may have initially studied computing due to his love of computer gaming, but he has now turned his studies into a career which is benefitting all New Zealanders. “Before coming to Unitec I wanted to be a programmer, but since finishing my study I want to do more analytical work because programming is not challenging for me anymore. With analysis there are a lot of interesting things to discover,” he says.

Song collaborated with National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) air quality scientists, Ian Longley and Gustavo Olivares, and came up with a faster, more efficient way to analyse their air quality data. “People really care about pollution now,” says Song. “We needed a model to predict pollution based on the atmospheric data being collected by NIWA.”

The model Song created was based on incremental learning, or systems that can learn from new data. This means that rather than following only explicitly

programmed instructions, they learn how to incrementally improve the knowledge of the system based on new information they receive from their surroundings. “The incremental learning is based on spatio-temporal modelling and we use that model to make predictions and also to do classification work.”

The data used by Song in his research was historical information collected by NIWA at both their monitoring stations, and also from a special machine designed by NIWA scientists to measure air pollution created by everyday activities in the home. “For environmental analysis you never collect your own data for your research. You can only use data that has already been collected.”

NIWA were so impressed with the results that they have since signed on for further research with the computing department. “We get on well with NIWA, it’s a very good partnership with a top research institute. They provide us with environmental data and expertise and we provide them with the analysis results. It’s a great relationship, we feel lucky to be working with NIWA.”

Song says he has enjoyed studying at Unitec, and is pleased that he moved here to follow his supervisor, Associate Professor Paul Pang. “We’d like more people to study here at masters and doctoral level because we will get more research work from NIWA for students who are interested in this area. We’d welcome more ideas from new students – it’s interesting work because we work on real things related to our lives.”

Predicting pollution Department of Computing graduate Lei Song has created a model which analyses air quality data and enables scientists to predict pollutants in outdoor and indoor environments.

People really care about pollution now. We needed a model to predict pollution based on the atmospheric data being collected by NIWA.

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phone 0800 10 95 10fax +64 9 815 2905web www.unitec.ac.nzaddress Private Bag 92025Victoria St WestAuckland 1142New Zealand

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