College physicists in Aerospace Challenge
07 Jun 2019
Christ’s College is the only secondary school to be included in a national business incubator programme for the New Zealand Aerospace Challenge 2019.
Christchurch NZ and Airbus have announced the 18 participants selected for the virtual incubator programme, and College is included along with established technology companies, universities, NGOs and startups.
Dr Andrew Taylor wrote the proposal for the boys involved which uses satellite imaging to look at the flow rate of Canterbury rivers, and will compare their findings with Environment Canterbury’s flow data.
“It’s a business development competition. We will produce complementary flow data which will be of use to NIWA and ECan in setting the minimum flow restrictions for these rivers.”
The goal of the Challenge is to seek out innovative ideas of how the agricultural sector can use space technology to be more sustainable. Participants are being asked to design solutions to identify, monitor and measure water or soil pollution using satellite data and unmanned aircraft technology.
Over the next five months all 18 participants will further develop their ideas and create prototypes for a two-day event in October demonstrating the technology at a ‘pitchfest’ and awards event in Christchurch.
