Cisco and a large group of partners have launched Innovation Central, an effort to develop start-ups based on connected devices.
The partnership – including Data61, University of NSW, the NSW Farmers Association, National Farmers Federation start-up incubator ATP Innovations – will focus on agriculture and smart cities.
"The potential applications are astounding," said Mark Hoffman, UNSW dean of engineering, at the launch, according to Fairfax.
"If you add computer chips, sensors and networking to anything – fridges, cars, bus stops, traffic lights, pacemakers – they can communicate with you via smartphones and computers. The car can tell you the oil is low, or your fridge can order milk online."
ARN reports that Cisco will invest $15 million over five years in the centre and another in Perth at Curtin University. The software has eight other similar centres globally, in Rio De Janeiro, Toronto, Songdo, Berlin, Barcelona, Tokyo, London and Paris.
Cisco predicts that there will be 50 billion connected devices globally by 2020.