Research projects include novel approaches to search and rescue, innovative shelter concepts, aeromedical emergency service and the enhancement of our Naval Service Capabilities
Investment designed to deliver a range of benefits for the Defence Forces and wider society
The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Simon Harris TD and the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless, TD today, 5th March, announced €3.2 million in funding to develop new technologies in the Defence Forces.
The funding will assist innovative research projects including proposals to enhance the Naval Service’s capabilities in maritime situational awareness, encourage the use of drones in search and rescue operations, support aeromedical emergency services, develop advanced shelter designs as well as ideas for disruptive/radical technologies.
Announcing the funding, Tánaiste Simon Harris said:
“I am delighted to announce this €3.2 million investment, which will help develop new and innovative technologies in our Defence Forces.
“This funding is not only designed to benefit our Defence Forces personnel, but also wider society as a whole.
“I welcome the fact there are members of the Defence Forces, Civil Defence and the Office of Emergency Planning embedded into each research team.
“This collaboration will foster a deep understanding of both the challenges and the role research can play in addressing them.
“I look forward to seeing the progress the teams make over the coming months.”
Minister James Lawless said:
“Today’s announcement builds on and reinforces the partnerships we have developed between the research community and the Defence Forces, Civil Defence and Office of Emergency Planning. It demonstrates the value and potential of collaborative research in addressing the challenges faced by our Defence Forces and Irish society as a whole.
I congratulate the 10 teams receiving funding and wish them success as they work to develop a deeper understanding of the challenges they are addressing over the coming months.”
Lieutenant General Sean Clancy, Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, said:
“Óglaigh na hÉireann is proud to support the Research Ireland-Defence Innovation Challenge with military subject matter experts. These personnel will provide both operational context and an understanding of the key challenges faced by Defence personnel in an effort to enhance defence capability. Four key challenges were identified by the Defence Forces which were posed to Irish Researchers: Maritime Situational Awareness, Advanced Shelter Concepts, Aeromedical Emergency Service Dispatch and Search & Rescue. The Defence Research, Technology and Innovation Office co-ordinates the programme with Research Ireland and supports the defence subject matter experts during engagement with the research teams.”
Celine Fitzgerald, Interim CEO, Research Ireland, said:
“Challenge-based research funding is a solution-focused approach that encourages researchers to work directly with those most affected by the problems they seek to address. Using this kind of collaborative funding model with agencies such as the Defence Forces ensures that research can help deliver innovative and impactful solutions for significant national challenges.”
Research Ireland-Defence Innovation Challenge 2024
Challenge-based funding is a solution-focused approach to research funding that uses prizes, strict timelines, teamwork and competition to direct research activities at ambitious societal problems. The aim of the Research Ireland-Defence Innovation Challenge is to develop new technologies, aligned with national defence policy, that have strong potential to deliver significant beneficial societal impact for Ireland.
The programme comprises three phases (following application): Concept (3-months), Seed (9-months) and Prize Award (up to 2-years). All successful teams at application stage will be awarded funding of up to €220k. During the Concept Phase, teams will have access of up to €20k of this award. Up to 5 teams will progress to the Seed Phase. These finalist teams will then compete for an overall Prize Award of €1M.
The 2024 programme has two streams: Challenges and Disruptive Ideas. In the Challenges stream, four challenges were identified in collaboration with the Defence Forces and Department of Defence: Advanced Shelter Concepts, Maritime Situational Awareness, Search and Rescue and Aeromedical Emergency Dispatch. The Disruptive Ideas stream included disruptive/radical technologies across the areas of: Medical Technologies, Disaster Relief, Peacekeeping, Climate Change and Sustainability, and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).
Ten research teams will receive funding under the Research Ireland-Defence Innovation Challenge 2024. Members of the Air Corps, Naval Service, Ordnance Corp as well as the Civil Defence and Office of Emergency Planning will be an integral part of each research team, providing organisational, operational and mission context support. This embedded collaboration with Defence personnel will enable the teams to develop their project concepts and compete for further funding to deliver solutions to a number of key challenges identified by them.
Teams receiving funding are as follows:
The Advanced Shelter Concepts Challenge seeks to develop novel, modular, multipurpose shelter structure systems. Teams (alphabetically by lead researcher):
Prof. Guangbo Hao, University College Cork; co-lead Dr Kevin Cronin, University College Cork: Ori-Can Shelter – Large-scale modular shelter for rapid deployment.
Dr Daniel McCrum, University College Dublin; co-lead Dr Elizabeth Shotton, University College Dublin: MASH – Mobile Adaptable SHelter.
The Maritime Situational Awareness Challenge seeks to develop solutions that significantly enhance the Irish Naval Service’s capabilities in Maritime Situational Awareness. Teams (alphabetically by lead researcher):
Dr Indrakshi Dey, South East Technological University; co-lead Dr Lizy Abraham, South East Technological University: MARSDEN – Adaptive maritime guardianship.
Prof. Gerard Dooly, University of Limerick; co-lead Dr Alex Vakaloudis, Munster Technological University: OVERSIGHT – Innovative detection system for maritime awareness.
Prof. Marco Ruffini, Trinity College Dublin; co-lead Dr John Kennedy, Trinty College Dublin: Sea-Scan – Vessel identification for maritime awareness.
Prof. Daniel J F Toal, University of Limerick; co-lead Dr Edin Omerdic, University of Limerick: SeaDOM – Sea-surface and subsea object detection.
The Search and Rescue Challenge seeks to develop solutions that minimises the amount of time to deliver critical assistance to a person in distress either on land or sea, in a range of weather conditions, as part of a SAR operation.
Dr Boris Galkin, Tyndall National Institute; co-lead Dr Lester Ho, Tyndall National Institute: PLANE – Precise Location Aerial Navigation and Estimation.
The Aeromedical Emergency Dispatch Challenge seeks to develop solutions that support rapid, reliable dispatch decisions for aeromedical services and enables intelligent monitoring to support situational adaptiveness.
Dr Mohammadjavad Zeinali, University College Dublin; co-lead Dr Pezhman Ghadimi, University College Dublin: ADMS – Aeromedical Dispatch Management Software – A Technology Hub.
Disruptive Ideas – ideas for disruptive/radical technologies. Teams (alphabetically by lead researcher):
Dr Karen Neville, University College Cork; co-lead Dr Nora McCarthy, University College Cork: P²REDICT – Predicting & Preparing for Risk of Emergencies.
Dr Silas O’Toole, University College Dublin; co-lead Prof. Dominic Zerulla, University College Dublin: Advanced Imaging Technologies through Electronically Tuneable Lenses.