A quiet boy, Epifanio Pereira is often seen participating in church activities as a member of the youth in the Queensland Church. However, leave him alone with his laptop and technology and Epifanio is a pro when it comes to designing. He was recently awarded the Australian Good Design Award in the Next Gen category for his project, ‘Overwatch’ – Roadway to Surgical Autonomy.
Designed and commissioned by Epifanio, he worked on his project minutely. As technology advances in medicine and gets incorporated into the operation theatres, they present the potential to add higher levels of cognitive load to medical staff. The Overwatch framework targets future orthopaedic workflows and tackles emerging issues lowering error rates through the use of collaborative robotics and AI. The Australian Good Design Award accolades are among the most respected and recognised international design endorsement symbols in the industry. These registered trademarks are visible indicators of good design principles and a project’s commitment to design excellence.
“Overwatch acknowledged the strain the medical industry is constantly under, an issue made prevalent during Covid. During my internship with idealworks and BMW Group in 2020, I witnessed Nvidia’s ground-breaking research into Digital twins and context-aware AI firsthand. This inspired me to converge these two streams of research in the hopes of using emerging technology to suggest alternative solutions to issues outlined in the medical vein. I feel happy to have had the opportunity to collaborate with some amazing designers and researchers on an innovative approach to solving cognitive load issues within the medical domain further. To have the project recognised on an international scale is an honour,” says Epifanio Pereira from Australia.
Epifanio is the son of extremely proud parents, Edwin and Anna, and the elder brother of Edan, all living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Edwin traces their roots to Goa and their journey to Australia, “I was born in Tanzania, but my late father, Epifanio was from Arpora and mother, Maria was from Saligao. After immigrating back to Goa in December 1967, we settled in Gaura Vaddo, Calangute, in 1969. We moved to New Zealand in 2002 and finally settled in Brisbane, Australia, in 2010. We like the boys to maintain their Goan roots, and they do. So we try to make it to Goa almost every year, bar the two years prior due to Covid.”
Epifanio, who is named after his grandfather, is also known as Epi. He completed his primary education at St Mark’s Primary, Pakuranga, Auckland, and then Mansfield State School. He went on to complete his honours Bachelor in Industrial Design at Queensland University in Technology
in 2021 with an outstanding GPA of 7 out of 7. He also received The Dean Award for each semester of study. His younger brother, Edan, is a physiotherapist from Australian Catholic University (ACU) and currently working for Queensland Health.
Epifanio is a visualisation-focused designer interested in exploring digital innovation within areas of user experience, product design, and applied AI. “I enjoy creating multi-modal digital experiences and leverage 3D simulation, photorealism techniques, and motion graphics workflows in my practice. I enjoy experimenting with new technologies and strive to push the boundaries of my craft through self-led projects that are shared on Instagram,” says Epifanio, the youngest to receive the award.
He did his internship with BMW in Munich in 2020. Prior to that in 2019, his university sent him on a study trip to Hong Kong, China and Japan. However, he could not make it to Hong Kong and China due to the political trouble there but went to Japan instead. In 2021, he entered an international design competition in Korea and their team won. Again due to Covid, he could not travel there. Currently he works for the BMW Academy based in his university in Brisbane. Sharing his experience with BMW, Epifanio says, “I was selected as a design intern for BMW Group (Munich) in 2020 where I was pivotal in projects that led to the foundation of Idealworks (BMW Group’s newest fully owned subsidiary company). I am now working at the BMW Group Qut Design Academy within the Special Projects Program at the academy as it supports the internship program as well.”
When not designing or involved with work, Epifanio is an important member of the youth group in his parish. He also enjoys hiking and practices art, both painting and digital art. “I hope to continue pursuing the criteria for good design both at a local and international level and wish to leave a positive and meaningful impact on the world,” says Epifanio, aiming for success in the future.