Sir Ian Taylor, of Dunedin, KNZM, for services to broadcasting, business and the community
Sir Ian Taylor was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2012 for his services to television and business.
Sir Ian’s business Animation Research Ltd is in its 30th year and continues to be a global leader in technology development, having pioneered and been a world leader in real-time 3D visualisation for major sports broadcasts.
Animation Research received the award for ‘outstanding new approaches in sports broadcasting’ at the 2015 Sports Emmy Awards for their development of the America’s Cup mobile application. He was named the 2019 New Zealand Innovator of the Year.
He is currently focused on an initiative called ‘Tech for Good’, which is developing technology tools for use in education and healthcare. He has played a key role in a collaboration between Dunedin Methodist Church and Animation Research to create virtual learning environments for prison inmates.
For the Tuia 250 commemorations, he developed digital simulations of the re-created ancestral voyages undertaken for the commemoration, made freely available online.
He has been involved with the Dunedin Waterfront Vision project since 2018, providing a visualisation through Animation Research and promoting sustainability and environmental research.
He has been a Board member of Māori Television, New Zealand On-Air, the New Zealand Film Commission, IT Professionals New Zealand, Dodd-Walls Centre, and Callaghan Innovation.
Sir Ian is a member of Ngā Kuitūhono, the Māori Advisory Group to NZQA.