With Tech & Innovation, Music, Screen and Gaming streams now all in full swing, Day 4 of SXSW Sydney was buzzing with excitement as people continued to come together to share ideas and be filled with inspiration. Yesterday saw the opening of the SXSW Tech & Innovation expo so it was top of my list today to explore and see what was on offer.
Are flying cars, virtual & mixed reality the way of the future?
Venturing to Level 4 of the ICC Sydney, the Tech & Innovation expo brings together groundbreaking innovation & ideas to for “where tomorrow meets today”. As you walk through the doors, you are immediately presented with what looks to be a flying car. Yes, you read that correctly, an actual flying car. The XPENG X2 is a cutting-edge flying car designed to revolutionise transportation in the future. While the technology and subsequent infrastructure and laws are still many years away from being actualised, the technology is something to marvel at, and it even makes you wonder if Doc & McFly were onto something…
Shifting gears to technology which is probably closer to becoming applicable in daily life and I was fascinated by the technology presented by Real Response in their ‘BlueRoom’. BlueRoom is a state-of-the-art mixed reality (MR) simulation platform which eliminates the need for VR controllers and allows people to enter a virtual environment where they can interact with real-world objects. In a brief discussion with Major Zoe Griffyn from the Australian Defence Force, this technology is currently being utilised in defence force training where different scenarios are able to be built into the platform. Settings based on intensity can also be programmed into the mixed reality scenario, to train people up to a high intensity scenario rather than dropping straight into the deep end of a real-life highly intensive situation which would often be associated with higher rates of trauma and PTSD.
Applications of this technology could move beyond defence with Griffyn flagging interest from mining/rigging sectors and applicable uses in nursing/medical degrees at universities.
Moving across to the Discovery Stage and it would be remiss of me not to mention the inspiring presentation of Nedd Brockmann’s recent efforts to run 1000 miles in 12 days. With representatives from Nedd’s team, as well as homelessness charities We are Mobilise and Youth Projects, the panel showcased the power of social media and creativity, with Nedd’s recent run delivering over 60 million social video views and over 480,000 website visits in a completely organic campaign.
Excitingly, those in the audience were the first to hear the amazing news that Nedd’s fundraising efforts have now crossed over $3 million for We Are Mobilise, with all funding going directly to aiming to end homelessness in Australia. You can learn more about Nedd’s challenge here.
SXSW Flying Car
Lessons from Bunnings on trust
In a fireside chat between the managing director of Bunnings, Michael Schneider, and Nadine Parkington of Think Nimble, Schneider shared some of the secrets to Bunnings success in remaining such a trusted brand in Australia. Reflecting on his own personal approach to leadership and trust, Schneider shared his “4 H’s” to leadership: honesty (doing little things well, consistently), humility (being grounded & team-oriented), helpfulness (paying it forward to others) and happiness (personal fulfilment through doing what you love).
Schneider emphasised that true trust is earned by meeting community needs, as seen in Bunnings’ longstanding commitment to low prices, an extensive product range, and a great customer experience without over promising or creating hype – “If we can just execute consistently with quality, then that’s a good bedrock for trust.”
Reflecting on Bunnings recent ‘Bunnings Rave’, Schneider noted that one of the reasons it was so successful was because “while we [Bunnings] were doing something different, we stuck to things that were consistent…we raised money using our traditional ways, and engaged people at the party the way we engage in stores, so lots of face-painting.”
Will Gen AI Lead to more time with our pets?
In a panel which included representatives from Telstra (Dayle Stevens), Unilever (Nicky Sparshott) & Qantas (Catherine Walsh), Generative AI was yet again put in the spotlight, however, this time from the perspective of how it is transforming workplaces and workflows. Applications of AI varied across the panel from Telstra’s deployment of ChatGPT-powered assistants tailored to customer queries through to Unilever’s use of Generative AI in assisting environmentally friendly product development.
With so much time saved, Nicky Sparshott shared details surrounding Unilever’s experiment with a four-day work week in Australia and New Zealand. The experiment, while having its own set of challenges, demonstrated that a reduction in workdays, supported by AI-driven efficiencies, can yield excellent results. “People feel they can thrive both professionally and personally—whether that’s spending more time with family or even just having a chance to walk the dog. It’s been incredibly energizing.” This experiment suggests that AI’s real beneficiaries might just be those who get to enjoy a more balanced life—our four-legged companions!
See also:
• SXSW Blog Day 1: Sessions with Canva’s Melanie Perkins and Meta AI guru Manohar Paluri
• SXSW Blog Day 3: Labelium Group takeover, QMS and Amplified Intelligence, Steve Vamos on change