The tyranny of distance in Australia is being challenged by a business in Armidale that has blended four state-of-the-art technologies to create an innovative green solution.
Using sensors, powerful wireless connectivity, solar panels and cloud computing, RMTeK Pty Ltd has created RMCam, a green, cost-effective solution to monitor sites or assets through photography or telemetry data anywhere in Australia that has Telstra Next G network coverage.
“The scope of what can be achieved with these four elements is massive. It can free people from so many mundane tasks. Essentially, what we are offering is a remote, easy-to-operate brain in the field,” says Brendan Doyle, founder and managing director.
Reduced travel and power
In environmental terms, this means reduced travel for people needing to check sites, no need for power or grid connections on site because of the solar panels, and no need for communications cables thanks to the wireless broadband. All RMcams and data are also accessed through the cloud, meaning less need for the duplication of servers and other hardware on the client side.
One company using this technology is the Australian Rail Track Corporation, which has installed remote cameras, attached to motion sensors, on sections of its track to check for rock falls.
A businessman who is building apartments in Narrabri has set up a remote camera on an eight-foot pole to monitor the building site and a table for the workers to lay the plans out so he can discuss them from his office on the mobile phone, saving him a six-hour round trip. Gosford Council uses RMCam monitor to the quality of the local water flows and weather conditions, with MSS or email alerts if the sensors are triggered.
“All the technology we are using is going to improve exponentially in the coming years. For a sunburnt, low-density country like Australia, the possibilities are endless,” says Doyle.
Bamboo makes packaging kinder
An IT company that has been big on working greener for many years now is Dell. At the end of last year it started packing some of its netbooks in packaging made from bamboo. The highly renewable material serves as a great alternative to moulded paper pulp, foams and corrugate often used in packaging. Dell is using the material for the product cushions cradling its Inspiron Mini inside an outer box made from 25 percent post-consumer materials. The company plans to expand its use of bamboo packaging to more products this year.
This innovation is the latest expression of Dell’s commitment to minimising its impact on the planet. Beyond the material itself, Dell is working with bamboo packaging supplier Unisource Global Solutions (UGS) to ensure all processes associated with the bamboo’s production meet the highest standards. The company sources its raw bamboo from a forest that follows Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) principles and criteria. The bamboo forest is located in China’s Jiangxi Provence, far away from pandas’ known habitats. Dell is also working with UGS to secure FSC certification for the bamboo’s full chain of custody, from the forest to the manufacturing facilities.
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