Today The Duke of York visited Substation33, a social enterprise based in the Logan suburb of Kingston, Brisbane. Substation 33 opened in January 2013 as an electronic waste recycling centre, providing a workplace where volunteers and employees could gain confidence and skills for the transition to sustainable employment. More recently, Substation33 has started an Innovation Lab and has designed and developed a number of products for commercial, social and educational purposes.
Later that day, HRH, Patron of the English National Ballet, visited the Queensland Ballet at the Thomas Dixon Centre in Brisbane. The Duke of York was briefed on the centre before meeting a number of dancers and watching a video tour of the new Queensland Ballet Building. Afterwards, HRH was invited to watch the Nutcracker rehearsal and meet with the dancers.
That afternoon, The Duke of York visited Queensland University of Technology and was taken on a tour of the campus. HRH viewed The Cube, one of the world’s biggest interactive display screens, along with high-school students who were attending a science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) Experience Day program.
The Duke of York was briefed on some of the latest robotics projects underway at the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision headquartered at QUT while PhD researcher Andrew Razjigaev demonstrated the medical robot, ‘Snakebot’. The Snakebot robotics project has seen surgeons and roboticists join forces to explore how autonomous and semi-autonomous robots could be used in surgery, using keyhole surgery in the knee as a way to explore the technology.
HRH was also shown QUT’s RangerBot, the multi-purpose marine monitoring and reef management robot before moving to QUT’s eSports Arena where he was given an overview of their research into gaming and the structured programs in place to help eSports athletes progress from amateur to professional status. QUT is the first university in Australia to provide scholarships to students accepted to study at QUT that are based on their gaming abilities.
The last stop on the tour of QUT was a visit to The Foundry where The Duke of York witnessed demonstrations of key products including from QUT Young Alumnus of the Year Dr Chris Jeffery whose medical device company Field Orthopedics is creating devices to improve surgical reliability while QUT student Liam Norris demonstrated the world’s first flexible beanie helmet that hardens when hit with force.
Later that day, HRH visited Montrose Therapy & Respite Services to hear more about technology and innovation in the disability sector. During the visit, The Duke of York was given a presentation on the history and current directions of Montrose and accessible housing. HRH was then invited to view a series of Assistive Technology Demonstrations, showcasing examples of the latest technologies that can help people with a disability.Jazzy feature updates to make The Dots better for you!
