Ten research projects were funded to develop new technologies in the Defence Forces

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 announced €3.2 million in funding to develop new technologies in the Defence Forces.

Ten research teams will receive funding under the Research Ireland-Defence Innovation Challenge 2024, three of which are from UCD.

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, and 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 the 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 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 coordinates the programme with Research Ireland and supports the defence subject matter experts during engagement with the research teams.”

Celine Fitzgerald, Interim CEO, of 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.”

The teams receiving funding are:

The Advanced Shelter Concepts Challenge seeks to develop novel, modular, multipurpose shelter structure systems.

Assoc Prof Daniel McCrum, UCD School of Civil Engineering and co-lead Dr Elizabeth Shotton, UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy: MASH - Mobile Adaptable SHelter.

Prof Guangbo Hao, University College Cork; co-lead Dr Kevin Cronin, University College Cork: Ori-Can Shelter - Large-scale modular shelter for rapid deployment.

The Aeromedical Emergency Dispatch Challenge seeks to develop solutions that support rapid, reliable dispatch decisions for aeromedical services and enable intelligent monitoring to support situational adaptiveness.

Dr Mohammadjavad Zeinali and co-lead Dr Pezhman Ghadimi, UCD School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering ADMS - Aeromedical Dispatch Management Software – A Technology Hub.

Disruptive Ideas - ideas for disruptive/radical technologies.

Dr Silas O'Toole and co-lead Prof Dominic Zerulla, UCD School of Physics: Advanced Imaging Technologies through Electronically Tuneable Lenses.

Dr Karen Neville, University College Cork; co-lead Dr Nora McCarthy, University College Cork: P²REDICT - Predicting & Preparing for Risk of Emergencies.

The Maritime Situational Awareness Challenge seeks to develop solutions that significantly enhance the Irish Naval Service’s capabilities in Maritime Situational Awareness.

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, Trinity 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 minimise the time taken to deliver critical assistance to a person in distress 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.

For more information visit the (opens in a new window)Research Ireland website.