Thursday, November 18th, 2021
Maptek mentors and University of Adelaide students have worked to fight computer hackers in one of four research projects conducted at the institution this year.
The projects sponsored by the mining technology leader see Maptek staff pair with the next generation of engineers to tackle real world problems.
University of Adelaide students Tze Chung Tai, Harkaranveer Singh, Manraj Singh Dua, Scott Ahern, Thomas Papaemmanouil and Anthony Seager worked on research projects with Maptek mentors.
A group with Harkaranveer Singh, Manraj Singh Dua, Tze Chung Tai and Mitchell Martinez set about implementing cyber security concepts to obfuscate neural networks and infer results using graphics processing unit (GPU) resources.
Delivering the presentation.
‘The goal was to prevent hackers or malicious users from discovering the inner workings of the neural network and stealing intellectual property,’ Harkaranveer says.
‘The project further developed my understanding of several cyber security concepts and gave me a good idea of security threats that need to be considered when deploying a software application in the real world.’
Harkaranveer, who will start an internship with Maptek this month, says following an agile software development approach and having regular meetings and ‘sprint’ sessions with mentors who were open to novel solutions gave his team great experience and insight into industry practices.
‘I am looking forward to working on more exciting projects and learning new skills while working with experienced software engineers.’
The other projects covered Fake Geological Models, 3D Complex Geometry Calculations and Block Model Compression.
Anthony Seager, Scott Ahern and Thomas Papaemmanouil worked on Fake Geological Models with the aim of creating a program that could randomly generate realistic looking block models given a user’s input.
‘As a Software Engineering student I previously had no knowledge about geology, let alone about block models and the structure of ore deposits,’ Anthony says.
‘Throughout the project I learnt all about these things and how to use Maptek Evolution mine scheduling software.
‘Most importantly, I managed to score an internship from participating in the project which is awesome!’
It was the first time Anthony had used Python scripting, a language he now feels confident using and considers his favourite.
Maptek Global Development Strategy Manager Will Reid, who contributed to the projects, says they are a win-win.
‘Students get access to an industry project, and industry professionals, and Maptek gets solutions to problems we haven’t had a chance to look at yet,’ he says.
‘Maptek has long recognised the importance of providing the next generation of engineers with real world experience.
‘The ability for them to see when and how to apply their skills to industry problems is a valuable learning experience.
‘Most of these students will enter the workforce and contribute to the technical advancements being made here and around the world.
‘It’s really powerful to think Maptek can help those students apply and grow their newly learned skills.’
For more than 30 years Maptek has strongly supported universities across the globe by providing educational software licences, hardware donations and technical guidance.
Learn more about Maptek university partnerships here: www.maptek.com/university
