If you were given almost infinite materials, tools, and capabilities, what would you build?
Something creative and grand that serves thousands—or even millions? Or something targeted and utilitarian that delivers specific benefits to a specific group?
The possibilities are endless, and that’s part of the excitement that flows through AWS Summit, a series of education events held around the world. At each event, we celebrate customers and partners, and learn about the transformative projects that are built on AWS every day.
At the AWS Summit Sydney, Glenn Gore, worldwide lead solutions architect for AWS talked about how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are driving customer-focused innovation. A highlight was an on-stage discussion between Glenn and Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas, who explained how the Australian airline’s cloud-based flight simulator is saving the company $40 million a year in fuel. The Constellation system, developed in partnership with AWS and Sydney University, is part of an array of data-driven tools that will soon allow Qantas to offer customers non-stop flights to London and New York from Australia’s East Coast.
Lisa Miller, group lead of global acquisition and activation from Australian unicorn Canva, explained how the born-in-the-cloud start-up has grown to support creative people across the globe, while Atlassian futurist Dominic Price shared how the company’s software is helping some of the world’s biggest enterprises prepare for jobs of the future.
But among these well-known and much celebrated success stories were companies and organisations at the beginning of their own tale. For example, New Zealand’s Dexibit, who are using machine learning to predict and analyse millions of datapoints on visitor behaviour and venue performance for the world’s most prestigious cultural institutions. There’s also Earth AI, a web platform for mineral exploration, that is using artificial intelligence to analyse our planet’s surface, to produce concise and detailed geographical data. All are built on AWS, giving equal access to almost infinite computing, analysis, and storage. This capacity, combined with experts in robotics, artificial intelligence machine learning, and beyond, is changing the way we live and do business.
AWS Summit Sydney also showcased how new technology could be used across travel (biometrics, voice, and facial recognition for improved passenger services), retail (virtual reality ‘twin stores’), entertainment (interactive sporting experiences), and smart cities (better urban planning through the internet of things).
The public sector was also represented. The University of Sydney shared how it is applying robotics to agriculture, and Swinburne University of Technology unveiled its plans to work with AWS, to use big data to improve Australian health, wellbeing, and social inclusivity.
To top it off, the world’s first global autonomous racing series, the DeepRacer League, also rolled into town. Using reinforcement learning, teams competed to teach their vehicles how to race around a track without a driver or external controls. The race was won in 08.29 seconds—the second fastest ever—and will see the winning team now compete in Las Vegas.
It was an inspiring three days, giving Australian companies, institutions, and citizens a glimpse of our exciting, digitally-driven future. Build on.
