Wireless To Earn Irish Future - EI

Enterprise Ireland Highlights Opportunity for Ireland in Emerging Wireless Sensor Industry

Enterprise Ireland CEO Frank Ryan has highlighted the massive opportunity for Ireland to develop indigenous companies in the emerging wireless sensing industry, which is set for huge growth in coming years. Ryan told a conference this week  on Wireless Sensing hosted by Dublin start-up Shimmer Research that wireless start-ups  have the potential to lead us out of the economic downturn.

"Enterprise Ireland sees enormous opportunities for wireless sensing  technology to be applied  in the areas of Healthcare, Marine, Bio Technology, and the Built Environment. All of these areas are so relevant to the wireless sensor industry," Ryan told the Conference, which focused on the current research and developments being conducted in Wireless Sensing all over the island of Ireland.

Shimmer Research was hailed  an excellent example of a SME that has continued to grow in the current economic climate by stimulating innovation, and by developing new markets in the smart economy. Its growth has been achieved through export led sales, with product  shipping to 35 countries since its inception in 2008.

Opening the event, Ryan noted that "the growth of Ireland's economy going forward now depends on the performance of Indigenous Industry ... and the enormous role academia has to play in driving industry forward"

Ryan continued: "Close collaboration by Research Institutes with indigenous SME's, MNC's and the development of bright new start-ups is now the key to earning Ireland's future.

He stressed the responsibility of the research community to take technologies developed in the lab and ensure they were commercialised and produce economies, and to do so before others countries capitalised on the emerging applications and markets.

Prof. Dermot Diamond, Vice President for Research at DCU commented that "we are acutely aware in the Academic world that we have to show success with industry and get commercialisation happening via fostering new start ups and joint ventures with industry partners".

Shimmer Research was highlighted as an excellent example of a company that has managed to develop and realise the potential of new technologies in conjunction with both Research and MNC's.Shimmer is a wireless sensor platform that can easily integrate and interact with existing technologies, and can capture and transmit a range of sensed data.

New Technologies on Display

 a number of wireless sensing technologies currently being developed were on display at the conference, including  an Alertness Cushion developed by the Intel- funded TRIL centre (Technology Research for Independent Living).

The cushion utilises a Shimmer GSR (Galvanic Skin Response) Sensor to indicate and record levels of alertness by the user. It is aimed at improving the attention and alertness of older people, which is seen to have a significant effect on how well they function at home and in their communities, and ultimately on their ability to live independently.

A Cloud Computing System that supports the real-time streaming of sensor data from Shimmer by Vivid Spectrum Technologies based at NUIM was also on display. The system runs as a web application in a standard web browser, with only adobe flash player required to view the data.

This is combined with full duplex video and audio communication associated with the standard web camera video calls. The system allows users from any location to capture and display sensed data via Shimmer, whilst being able to engage and discuss the information in realtime with each other. The system uses technologies that are common to most consumers such as a standard web browser, laptop, or android phone, and web cam.

As a division of Realtime Technologies, the company originally licensed Shimmer, a wearable sensor platform, from Intel in 2008. Shimmer Research continued  to develop the platform in close collaboration with Research Institutes in both Ireland and the US and  now ships products  to over 35 countries world wide. It was recently reported as one of the ‘inventive tech firms getting a head start in Ireland's economic recovery'.

The company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and has offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts where  its R&D and North American Sales and Marketing teams are based.

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