The Australian Government's Innovation Report

Building on ICT strengths
Advanced Networks Programme
The $60 million Advanced Networks Programme (ANP) helps develop advanced network infrastructure in
Australia such as the national advanced backbone network and 3G (Third Generation) mobile telephone
development. The programme helps develop, trial and demonstrate advanced communications networks,
experimental networks and test beds.
Three projects are funded under ANP. Centre for Network Technologies for the Information Economy
(CeNTIE) and GrangeNet provide very high capacity (up to 10 gigabits a second) networks linking Perth,
Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane. These networks enable research into, and commercialisation of,
network technologies and emerging high-speed broadband applications. m.Net is an advanced wireless
network, which enables research into, and development and commercialisation of, wireless network
technologies, applications and content.
Under these projects, a number of advanced networking applications and technologies have been patented.
In 2006, CeNTIE entered an agreement with Telstra to licence its Virtual Critical Care Unit as a managed
service for use in hospitals across Australia. CeNTIE and the Melbourne University also have an agreement
with Medic Vision to license the Haptic workbench technology (a networked technology that simulates feel)
to train surgeons in temporal bone drilling.
GrangeNet has provided the Australian research community with access to a gigabit optical network, which
enables a framework for the development of grid services, the opportunity to test-drive high speed networks
and the incentive to explore novel techniques and forge new collaborations. GrangeNet is supporting research
projects in instrument grid and tele-science, computational grids, access grid, data grid, collaborative working
and grid middleware/security.
The implementation of 3G mobile telephone services by commercial carriers following m.Net’s pioneering of the
technology in Australia is also a major achievement. Examples of content development supported by m.Net include
mini-series and short films in multi-episode format designed for delivery to advanced mobile telephones.
ANP projects have also generated national and international collaborative projects with industry, public funded
agencies, universities and research centres, resulting in new applications for a range of business sectors including
health, finance, sport and the post-production film industry, as well as academic research.
The ANP will undergo an independent evaluation conducted after the programme is completed at the end of 2006-07.
Virtual surgery
A trainee surgeon can soon be guided through a simulated temporal bone drilling operation by a surgeon on
the other side of the country thanks to a virtual surgical training environment.
The virtual surgical training environment was developed by Melbourne University and the Centre for Network
Technologies for the Information Economy (CeNTIE), which is jointly funded by the CSIRO Information
Communication Technology Centre and the Department of Communications, Information Technology
and the Arts. The virtual environment uses Haptic Workbench technology to simulate the feel of the operation.
Temporal bone surgery is most common when the ear becomes diseased or a cochlear implant is required.
This involves drilling through the portion of the skull that houses delicate internal infrastructure, which means
surgeons must rely on knowledge and skill to know where to drill.
The virtual environment will allow trainee surgeons to develop their knowledge and skill before practicing
on cadavers or operating on real patients. It also means experienced surgeons can practice rarely performed
procedures or learn new techniques.
Melbourne University and CeNTIE have entered into an agreement with Medic Vision to licence the technology.
This will enable the production of a commercial virtual surgical training environment.
64 Backing Australia’s Ability