Established seven years ago, NICTA is Australia’s ICT Research Centre of Excellence. It aims to become one of the world’s top ten ICT research centres by 2020. With a focus on ‘use-inspired research’, NICTA is already turning cutting-edge ideas into commercial success stories.

Getting great ideas out of the laboratory and turning them into commercial success stories is a challenge faced by research organisations around the world. History is littered with examples of cutting-edge discoveries that, while technically brilliant, failed to make the transition to business triumph.

National ICT Australia (NICTA) aims to bridge that gap with a strong commercialisation pipeline and a team committed to developing the commercial potential of each research project. Th e majority of NICTA’s funding comes from the Australian Government, with state governments and universities also contributing. NICTA selects and supports those research projects that will be of greatest national benefit. If the nation is to successfully compete in international markets, it is vital to ensure that technological breakthroughs are identified and nurtured.

With this in mind, NICTA was established in 2002 to provide a focal point for the country’s information and communications technology (ICT) research. It was charged with providing a supportive environment for Australian researchers as well as attracting the best research talent from around the world.

Since then, the organisation has grown to the point where it has fi ve research laboratories in four cities: Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane.

Use-inspired research

One of NICTA’s key diff erentiating features is its focus on what it terms ‘useinspired’ research. Th is means that all projects undertaken by the organisation must have a basis in a real-world problem or challenge.

While this policy does not preclude ‘blue-sky research’, it does serve to ensure that the eff orts of researchers remain focused on producing outcomes that have the potential to become commercially successful.

Research is gathered under four themes: embedded systems; networked systems; making sense of data; and managing complexity.

Embedded systems are the technical ‘smarts’ that form part of everything from mobile phones to cars. NICTA researchers are working on ways to make embedded systems more powerful and reliable.

Networked systems are technologies that connect the building blocks of embedded systems to form smart networks. In this area, research teams are focused on developing methods of improving network performance and management.

Making sense of vast stores of data is a growing challenge for businesses and governments around the world. NICTA teams are working on tools that can help users fi lter and search data in ways that make it valuable to them.

Meanwhile, the increasing complexity of IT systems is also posing challenges for organisations. Whether they are trying to eff ectively manage a distributed computing infrastructure or tie together multiple systems, doing the job eff ectively can be difficult. NICTA researchers are working on fundamental advances in the way complex systems are constructed and managed.

Gigabit Wireless (GiFi)

Project One of NICTA’s most widely recognised projects has been in the area of ultrahigh- speed wireless delivery technologies. Th e Gigabit Wireless (GiFi) Project has developed a world-fi rst 60GHz chip that delivers ten times the data rate of today’s wireless systems at one-tenth of the cost.

Fast wireless connections for the home could spell an end to those unsightly, cumbersome bundles of cables. Th e problem is that high definition (HD) video requires transmission speeds that are generally only available from fixed connections – around 4 gigabits per second. Th is far exceeds the transmission speeds available on existing consumer-level home wireless networks.

The answer is high-frequency wireless technology, operating in the 60 GHz spectrum. Th is can deliver multiple gigabitper- second links over short distances. Both the size and cost of fast wireless systems must be dramatically reduced to place them within reach of most householders.

NICTA’s team, based out of its Victoria and Sydney research labs, has focused on finding ways to miniaturise transmission and reception components. The team developed a method that placed all required radio frequency transmission components on a single chip. The first of its type in the world, the chip uses the common CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) process.

NICTA’s wireless transceiver operates at a transmission frequency in the millimetre wave band, which provides ten-times higher frequency than existing wireless network devices. Th is technology will permit users – primarily consumers living in ordinary households – to wirelessly transmit data at very high speed.

It has two main applications: in the home, where data between audio-visual equipment and high defi nition displays will be transmitted wirelessly, removing the need for expensive cables; and in the office environment, where PCs and laptops will be connected to displays wirelessly.

Small enough to embed in consumer electronic devices, the GiFi chip can also be produced using low-cost production techniques. This means once volume production begins, the cost of the chip is expected to drop below $10 per unit. Th e GiFi chip is an integrated transceiver built on standard bulk CMOS operating in the 57-64 GHz frequencies.

“All projects undertaken by the organisation must have a basis in a real-world problem or challenge.”

Spin-offs

Despite having started operations just six years ago, NICTA has already spun out four new companies as a result of work completed by its research teams. One of these is Monitoring Division Inc (mdi), spun out last year and already operating successfully in global markets.

mdi’s products are designed to improve the performance of global computer networks. Th e company recently received $2 million in second tranche, Series-A funding and opened a corporate operations centre in Melbourne. It also has an offi ce in California.

mdi has discovered new ways to measure the signal-to-noise ratio in optical networks and detect impairments, using the novel approach of bringing together people with optical networking and machine learning skills. Th e rationale was that, if they could capture large amounts of data about network performance and then extract meaning from it, an accurate management tool could be created.

The company has now commenced shipping its unique optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) monitors. NICTA’s first spin-out company, Open Kernel Labs (OKL), has also found global success, securing $US7.6 million in venture funding this year alone. The investment cemented the company’s status as one of the world’s leading suppliers of embedded virtualisation software for mobile phones and broadband consumer-electronics devices.

Backed by a large, independent team of microkernel developers, the OKL4 embedded hypervisor is now deployed on more than 250 million mobile phones worldwide. Chipset suppliers, handset OEMs, and mobile network operators depend on OK Labs to deliver high-performance solutions that decrease BOM cost, reduce complexity and speed time-to-market.

By continuing to focus on use-inspired research that presents opportunities for realworld outcomes, NICTA plans to cement its position as Australia’s leading centre for ICT research and become one of the world’s top ten ICT research centres by 2020.

Website: http://nicta.com.au

republished from Australian Innovation 2009 – the print publication