Software for hard problems on show
[Tuesday, 27 October 2009]

SOFTWARE FOR HARD PROBLEMS ON SHOW

What do at risk high school students, elite cyclists and radar communication systems have in common? They are all the subjects of innovative software solutions and projects aimed at solving industry problems and on display at The Australian National University today.

The ‘Software Engineering Showcase’ is a unique event in Canberra which provides an opportunity for local industry and government to learn about projects ANU software engineering students have been working on throughout the year as well as facilitating ongoing interaction between the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science, local industry and government.

“The showcase is the culmination of an academic course bringing together fourth year students as leaders for a team of third year students. These teams have worked on a real world problem for industry and government clients,” explained showcase organiser and course convenor Dr Shayne Flint.

“Students are exposed to many of the real-world issues associated with completing a software engineering project. Specifically, they learn through experience that software engineering is not just about technology - it is a people business - people working with people to solve problems for people.”

Today’s exhibitions encompass the work of the best students and include a project to manage bicycle data for elite cyclists at the Australian Institute for Sport (AIS).

The AIS was after individualised and accurate bicycle set up is paramount for the success of AIS competitive cyclists. The ANU project streamlined the updating of cyclists, mechanics and sport scientists knowledge of the current and past states of bike set up for a particular athlete then uses this information to assist in tuning and optimising the setup.

“This project has been so successful that the AIS plan to use this software during the ‘Tour Down Under’ in 2010,” said Dr Flint.

Other notable projects on display include an online learning management system for Volunteers ACT designed to help students who are at risk of leaving school before completing year 10 as well as an improved interface for managing the configuration of RADAR and communication systems at CEA Technologies.