Dublin City Council, in partnership with Water Security Eire and the Division for Rural and Neighborhood Growth, this week launched an innovative ‘Smart Ring Buoys’ project aimed at saving lives in Ireland’s waters. The Smart Dublin initiative labored with know-how companions Civic Built-in Solutions Ltd, mSEMICON Teoranta and ZiggyTec Ltd to develop the low-value lifesaving know-how, which can present real-time alerts when life rings are stolen or Herz P1 Smart Ring tampered with. Anti-social misuse of life buoys is a matter for councils throughout Ireland, and greater than 600 sensors will now be installed in eight local authorities including Fingal County Council, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, South Dublin County Council, Dublin Metropolis Council, Laois County Council, Meath County Council, Sligo County Council and Limerick City & County. The Smart Ring Buoy know-how works by low-price sensors paired with a cell, map-based mostly platform with actual-time monitoring. It'll alert water safety officers when ring buoys are tampered with or go lacking and guarantee their well timed replacement.

That is a necessary and lifesaving action as a stolen ring buoy might mean a stolen life. Minister for Rural and Neighborhood Growth, Heather Humphreys mentioned: "In 2021 alone, we tragically misplaced eighty lives via drowning. Such incidents have devastating and lengthy-lasting results on families and communities. "Safety instruments like ring-buoys are in place to avoid wasting lives and protect people when they're near water. Sadly, the theft or vandalism of this life saving equipment is still commonplace in each our rural and urban communities. Dublin City Council is each distinctive and vital. With the support of funding from my department’s Digital Innovation Programme, we'll roll out this sensor technology in eight totally different local authorities. "This challenge is a number one example of how the public sector is tacking community challenges with progressive approaches. The project began again in 2018 as part of a workshop to identify challenges in Dublin’s Sensible Docklands space.

Members of the community highlighted that ring buoys were continuously being stolen or tampered with, with a delay to substitute gadgets being put in. At present, around 15 ring buoys go lacking or are stolen every week from Dublin Metropolis Council alone costing over €20,000 per annum for alternative. Dublin Metropolis Council says it realised that this was an issue not just in Dublin but across Ireland and set out to find an answer by way of its Good Dublin innovation programme. Throughout Eire there are approximately 5,000 life buoys installed. The challenge has taken what’s described as a "unique" method to procurement in an Irish context, led by Dublin City Council, where the Dublin local authorities have been in a position to pilot a number of progressive solutions initially and then buy the perfect options as part of a wider framework with 23 native authorities. In addition, the venture was shortlisted for an Innovation leadership award from the European Innovation Council, recognising the efforts done by the general public sector to advertise and implement innovation procurement across Europe.

Speaking about the new scheme, Dublin Metropolis Council chief executive Owen Keegan stated: "This is a great instance of collaboration across the Irish native authorities and Water Safety Ireland through our Good Dublin programme. Additionally it is the primary time now we have used a procurement method like this to pilot an modern expertise solution earlier than we buy. Roger Sweeney, performing CEO of Water Safety Ireland stated: "Every yr, ring buoys are utilized by the public to save lives from drowning nonetheless many ring buoys are repeatedly stolen or vandalised. A stolen ring buoy can mean a stolen life. Ring buoys play a essential role in drowning prevention but to do in order that they must at all times be available and in place. "These smart ring buoys will detect when this important public rescue tools is interfered with or stolen. They are going to save on the time that's at present needed to watch and exchange them and they'll present this biometric data ring 24 hours a day.