11 September 2015
The launch of a new app and a graduate position at leading defence and security innovator, Saab Australia are the outcomes of a project which Information Technology and Mathematical Sciences graduate Daniel Furnell started to work on during his studies at UniSA.
MilSyms is the name of the Android app which Furnell has helped create. It is designed to enable people to understand and learn more about 2525C common warfighting symbology.
Saab – which creates products and services within the military defence and civil security sector launched the app this month and it is expected to be used by the general public and military personnel for learning about military symbols used on modern combat displays.
Furnell, who graduated with a Bachelor of Information Technology and is skilled in programming and networking 3D animation, describes working on the project as a “lucky break”.
“It was part of my ICT project; the prototype went well and it continued to be developed to the position it is at now. From that project I was offered a position at Saab in South Australia,” Furnell says.
“For military and tactical situations many symbols appear on maps and these maps help define what certain objects are – whether they are an aircraft, tank or naval unit and also whether they are friendly, hostile or neutral.
“This app is designed to help people quickly identify and understand what these things are on a map. We’ve added a hierarchy system to help assist and teach people how the symbols work and fit in with each other and we have developed a quiz which helps users to go through and memorise the symbols.
“The MIL-STD-2525 symbology standard is more robust, it could be taken in emergency management situations or facility operations. Our application supports 4,000 different symbols.”
Furnell says the course he studied at UniSA gave him a well rounded amount of information; with software engineering being a clear area which has enabled him to progress in his career.
“It is an ever growing market and UniSA gave me those tools to continue in that area and expand that knowledge; new ideas and concepts and the ability to apply them today with modern technology.”
Dr Ross Smith, Senior Lecturer: School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences supervised the project team and says Daniel’s achievements were well deserved.
“I am very proud to see Daniel start his career with a graduate position that resulted from his final year major project. It demonstrates his professional approach towards the project, high standard of his work and the value of his degree.”
“The positive outcomes from this project highlight the importance of working closely with industry as part of our graduate degree programs. The MilSyms app deployed through Saab required rigorous standards to be followed and further exhibits the high quality software engineered solutions our graduates can deliver.”
“The tools our students employ within our IT and software engineering degrees are at the forefront of the industry and provide graduates a competitive edge within industry.”
“Daniel and I now have an ongoing collaboration allowing current graduates to benefit from collaborative projects with Saab Systems. Working with Alumni is particularly rewarding and I look forward to the new ventures we will take.”
Professor Andy Koronios, Head of Information Technology and Mathematical Sciences School, says it is great to see the school’s Digital Innovation Studio support the project and to see that others are benefiting from the innovative project outcomes.
“It’s been rewarding to see successive final year students evolve the app from its early prototype stages to its final release with Saab Australia Software Architect, Jeremy Graham," says Andrew McCauley, Project Manager, Saab Australia
“MilSyms confirms the capability and dedication of the university’s School of Information Technology & Mathematical Sciences students and staff.”
Media contact: Will Venn office (08) 8302 0096 email will.venn@unisa.edu.au
Media contact (SAAB): David Ledger 0421 054 698 email david.ledger@au.saabgroup.com
