Meet Nicole, the virtual PA

PERFECT WOMAN: Nicole, the creation of Dr Tom Moir from Massey University, is a glamorous personal assistant who sits on your computer desktop.

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Meet "Nicole". She's a glamorous personal assistant on your desktop, who can help with tasks around the office.

Nicole can play music, turn on the lights, tell the time, read news headlines and search for files on your computer.

She is the brainchild of Dr Tom Moir from Massey University's School of Engineering and Advanced Technology.

Nicole is being showcased at the 15th International Conference on Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice this week.

Other projects on display include the use of robots in surgery and rehabilitation, a chewing machine that can check texture of food and a device to recognise lettuces ready to be harvested in a field full of hundreds.

Dr Moir says Nicole's skills mean she can help disabled people, while her "look", designed by Brazilian company Guile 3D Studio, is like science fiction meeting reality.

Mechatronics is the blending of mechanics, electronics and computer control to create new products.

"Many of these have culminated in practical applications that can change the way we live and work," says Dr Moir.

The conference has attracted delegates from 23 countries, including China, South Africa, Taiwan, Japan and the United Kingdom to Massey's Albany campus.

- © Fairfax NZ News