Edition No 2

Hills Innovation Centre News

September 2014

The latest Hills Pitch Day is officially open to a fresh round of applicants.

Blood, sweat, tears, ideas: get funding for your start-upAustralian innovators and entrepreneurs are invited to submit their proposals for ideas, projects and start-ups that can be funded, developed and commercialised in the Hills Innovation Centre in Adelaide.

Pitch Day opens to a fresh round of applicantsHills Chief Technology Officer, Leica Ison, said the Hills Innovation Centre Pitch Day would help identify the best talent and brightest ideas and bring their products or services to market.

“Start-ups will be able to access funding, business assistance and the use of our Innovation Centre in Adelaide to accelerate the development of their products and services.

“Ultimately, what we want to do is help foster a really vibrant start-up culture and grow a pipeline of technology-driven products and services.”

Innovation Minister Susan Close said support for home-grown entrepreneurs in the early stages of developing their ideas is essential for growing a new generation of businesses.

Hills has always passionately believed and backed Australia’s innovation potential. Through Pitch Day, we are looking to identify and support the very best talent that Australia has to offer

“The State Government’s support for the Hills Innovation Centre is about creating a platform for South Australians to pitch their ideas so they can take them to the next level of development,” she said.

The Innovation Centre is already supporting its first major project – a new nurse call handset for the growing number of hospital patients and aged care residents living with arthritis, with a further three projects in the pipeline this year.

Applications for the Hills Innovation Centre Pitch Day opened on Monday 8 September and close on 17 October 2014.

Hills is targeting its support towards projects that fit into the following priority areas:

Health & aged care or assisted living

Lifestyle & well-being (wearable devices)

Security & safety

Data analytics

Automation & smart home

Communications & mobility

Hills Innovation Centre TourIf you are interested in having a look around the Hills Innovation Centre and talking to the staff about how you can get involved in the next Pitch Day round, please contact Alison Gill on 08 8301 3256 or alison.gill@hills.com.au.

The Hills Innovation Centre in Adelaide comprises the Lance Hill Design Centre and the D-Shop.

The Lance Hill Design Centre focuses on a user-centred design approach to develop innovative solutions that meet the core needs and wants of the end user. The following equipment is available for use by project teams in the Hills Innovation Centre prototyping workshop:

3D printer - Objet260 Connex

3D printer - Makerbot Replicator 2

3D scanner - Artec Spider

Roland CNC milling machine – MDX-540

The D-Shop has an emphasis on discovering and commercialising digital innovation, and where appropriate funds development projects and pilots as well as supporting early stage start-ups in the areas of health and well-being, safety and security.Hills CEO Ted Pretty takes former Hills Chairman Bob-Hill Ling on a tour of the Innovation Centre

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend the Hills Pitch Day in Adelaide on 12 November 2014, where they will be given the opportunity to present their ideas in front of a panel of commercial and academic experts.

For further information on how to apply please visit http://www.hills.com.au/innovation-centres/apply.

Hills Innovation Centre – Lance Hill Design Centre & Hills D-ShopHills, 159 Port Road, Hindmarsh SA 5007, (08) 8301 3256, lancehilldesign@hills.com.au

www.hills.com.au/innovation-centres

Innovation Centre Project – Hills Health Solutions Arthritis Handset The Innovation Centre is supporting its first major project – the design and development of a new handset for the growing number of aged care residents and hospital patients living with arthritis. Industrial design graduates Robert White and Daniel Weiss, together with design lecturers Dr Peter Schumacher and Sandy Walker, are heading up the UniSA project team.

The team commenced work on the project in early July, and learnt a huge amount in the four weeks of Stage 2 by visiting a number of aged care facilities and organisations where they gained a significant insight into the debilitating nature of arthritis, and the environment where the arthritis handset will be used.

Stage 3 of the project saw the team do some serious brainstorming and transferring their ideas on to paper, and then turning them in to 3D physical objects using the 3D printer.

The team have recently commenced Stage 4 of the project focusing on refining and testing the proof-of-concept prototypes created in Stage 3. They’ll be able to validate their ideas by putting their designs into the hands of people living with arthritis in this stage.

If anyone living with arthritis would like to take part in a focus group, they should contact the Hills Innovation Centre on 08 8301 3256.

An update on this project will be featured in the next edition of the Hills Innovation Centre newsletter.

Robert and Daniel using the Objet260 Connex 3D printer in the Innovation Centre