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| Photos: Hugh O'Brien |
High-tech tracking equipment developed in Queensland by SnowSports Interactive is helping to improve the safety and performance of skiers and snowboarders in Canada.
Twenty-six-year-old Steve Kenny is one of the new breed of Queensland entrepreneurs. Based at the Queensland Government’s technology incubator i.lab in Brisbane, Steve and his young team are tackling the lucrative North American and European snow sports market with a tracking solution that allows ski resorts to track people and assets moving about their snowfields in real-time.
What began as tracking the speed and location of friends at a ski resort has snowballed into a commercial product which tracks all items of value at a ski resort.
Steve’s GPS-based product is being used at Sun Peaks Resort in British Columbia, Canada to track groomers, the $400,000 vehicles used to groom enormous amounts of terrain to provide a better experience for resort guests.
"Using our tracking technology, resorts can improve efficiency and reporting procedures, allowing the fleet to groom a greater amount of terrain within a given period of time," Steve said.
The technology is also being used by ski patrols to improve safety. "By tracking each patroller and viewing their location visually, ski patrol dispatch can improve accident response times, leading to more effective management of on-slope problems," Steve said.
The technology allows instructors to keep tabs on students undertaking downhill skiing, cross-country skiing or snowboarding lessons and it can be used to provide performance analysis of more competitively-minded snow sport enthusiasts.
Steve, who has a background in technology and aerospace start-up companies, said that selling a snowfield product made in a place where it virtually never snows has been a good way to break the ice.
"The reason we’re in Brisbane is because of the people and given that great people are the only reason this company will continue to grow, then we’ll continue to base ourselves in places where we can find great people," Steve said.
The SnowSports Interactive team also includes Vice President of Business Development Stuart Aldred and Vice President of Product Management Erik Nahnsen. Stuart is a former member of the Australian moguls ski team with 16 years’ experience working in the ski industry in Australia, North America and Europe while Erik previously developed software startup programs for the New York Stock Exchange.
Steve said that i.lab had greatly assisted SnowSports Interactive in growing rapidly by connecting the company to a wide range of supportive people and organisations.
"i.lab’s greatest strength lies in its management and mentors and the active support that they provide for start-up companies," Steve said.
http://www.snowsportsinteractive.com
http://www.ilab.com.au
Last reviewed 3 April 2007