The habits and behaviour of Dunedin's marine life will be shared with the world through a new GigCity Community project that will livestream footage from underwater webcams in aquarium tanks and off the wharf at the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre in Portobello.
A $32,000 GigCity Community Fund grant, part of the final $45,000 left from the $500,000 given to the city by Chorus for winning its Gigatown competition, was awarded for the 'Fishy Webcam' project, which seeks to deliver a window into Dunedin's unique local marine life.
Chorus NZ's Dunedin Liaison Manager Kim Stewart says, "The fishy webcam project showcases how technology can open your world, by assessing the behaviour of Dunedin's marine life over time, the project team will be able to gauge the changing environment, while the public will be able to get an insight into the diversity of Dunedin's underwater world.
A second project, 'The Elder Gateway', from Presbyterian Support Otago was given $13,000 to develop an app which acts as a central resource for information for older people in Dunedin.
The platform will deliver a single location supplying information on local events, activities, resources and services of interest to older members of the Dunedin community.
Digital Community trust chairman John Gallaher says, "A total of $500,000 has been given to Dunedin's community organisations to help develop a diverse range of tech projects that will assist residents in various ways.
"It's been exciting to help build a strong community foundation to ensure the benefits of the Gigatown win continue well into Dunedin's future.
"From coding classes for youth or VR learning programmes through to public digital art projects, the GigCity Community Fund has established a community legacy for Dunedin.
While this is the final round of funding, it is only the beginning of the advancements for Dunedin on its journey to becoming a Smart City of the future.
Gallaher says the most recently funded projects are a fantastic addition to an extensive list of community assets in the technology space.
