PM experiences super high speed research network

Media Release

27 March 2007

PM experiences super high speed research network

New Zealand’s super high speed research and education network, KAREN, attracted high level attention in Seattle last week when Prime Minister Helen Clark visited the University of Washington’s Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HIT Lab UW) and linked by video conference to the HIT Lab NZ at the University of Canterbury.

At the University of Washington Lab, Ms Clark and the president of the University of Washington, Mark Emmert, were able to talk with HIT Lab NZ director Dr Mark Billinghurst and Lab international director Professor Tom Furness who were sitting in the HIT Lab NZ in Christchurch. The near broadcast quality high definition link is possible using video conferencing equipment supplied by LifeSize and run over KAREN.

“Communication of this type is critical for New Zealand to stand on the international stage and contribute to important international research collaborations,” says Mark Billinghurst director of the HIT Lab NZ. The HIT Lab NZ has several ongoing research collaborations with the Seattle-based lab where KAREN will now enable the delivery of this work.

Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network’s (KAREN) launch last year included a live link between the University of Auckland and the HIT Lab NZ at the University of Canterbury demonstrating the quality of real time collaboration. KAREN can carry huge amounts of data at 10 gigabits a second, 200,000 times faster than dial-up internet and 10,000 times faster than a household broadband connection. It is an important tool for collaborative research, communication and sharing large data sets.

About HIT Lab NZ – www.hitlabnz.org
The Human Interface Technology Laboratory New Zealand (HIT Lab NZ) is a human-computer interface research centre hosted at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. The lab is a partner of the world-leading HIT Lab US based at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The HIT Lab NZ is revolutionising the way people interact with computers, by creating cutting-edge interfaces to:

- enhance human capabilities
- vanquish human limitations
- increase the flexibility and utility of industry's existing products

The HIT Lab's multi-disciplinary approach to research and education facilitates an entrepreneurial climate, which fosters a wealth of innovative ideas. Currently the lab is working on a range of projects in collaboration with industry and academia.

ENDS

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