The iAwards, presented by Australia’s peak industry representative body for innovation technology, the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), are Australia's longest running and most broadly scoped innovation recognition program, promoting excellence in the Australian digital technology ecosystem.
UTS researchers from Food Agility’s Seafood Tracking and Traceability project, have been awarded the ‘Industry Solutions’ category award for their innovative BeFAQT technology. Developed as part of the project, the Blockchain enabled Fish provenance And Quality Tracking (BeFAQT) System is designed to overcome fish supply chain challenges.
At Sydney Fish Market every weekday from 5:30am, the seafood auction begins. Buyers can inspect the produce before deciding what to buy. But as Sydney Fish Market as it moves towards an online trading system how can buyers be confident in their purchases if they can’t touch and smell the fish? Consumers and suppliers alike want verified, trusted information about where their fish was caught, conditions of transportation and ultimately the quality attributes of the product.
That is where the BeFAQT system comes in. BeFAQT combines IoT, Image Processing, E-nose, Blockchain system and mobile Apps in an original and innovative way to address is-sues in the fish supply chain. The technology is currently being trialled at the Sydney Fish Markets as a digital fish provenance and quality tracking system, using snapper as the test species.
The iAwards ceremony took place on 8 October at its first ever fully virtual award ceremony. Entry for the iAwards changed significantly in 2020, with entrants submitting a three-minute pitch along with their entry, for what was called “The Biggest Pitch”. They demonstrated the incredible ways that businesses, government departments, startups and not-for-profit organisations have adapted to a COVID-19 world.
AIIA CEO, Ron Gauci, said: “The calibre of entrants we saw this year was astonishing. We are proud to recognise all our entrants, and in particular, the winners as they are a demonstration of companies who are making a difference in the world and have the potential to create positive change for the community – whether this be at home, in the office or on a global scale. The competition once again, has showcased the innovation technology talent Australia has to offer. With entrants of this calibre, the Australian economy has a bright future.
“Australians have faced many challenges in 2020 but with that comes the opportunity for more innovation and digital transformation as it paves the way to Australia’s economic recovery. There is a need for strong domestic skills and an innovation ecosystem which will allow Australia to compete more competitively on the global scale. Combined with the in-vestments in digital infrastructure and capability and the changes made to R&DTI by the Commonwealth Government in its budget recently, there is a real opportunity right now for innovators in this country. We believe our winners are reflective of what Australia has to offer to the world,” Mr Gauci said.
The NSW iAwards are presented in six categories to showcase the breadth of innovation and technology across multiple sectors.
Each of the NSW Winners will now compete for the coveted National iAwards title which will be announced at the Gala virtual event on 17 November. The AIIA iAwards are support-ed by the New South Wales Government, NBN Co, Dell, Servicenow, Civica and Queensland University. The AIIA thanks them for their commitment to supporting the tech sector.
AIIA is a not-for-profit organisation aimed at supporting and advocating for Australia’s future social and economic prosperity through technology innovation.
Seafood Tracking and Traceability is a Food Agility project led by The University of Technology Sydney and Sydney Fish Market.
