NDRC announces €2m funding technology projects

The National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) has announced €2 million in funding for six new projects; from using mobile technology to better manage chronic illness to using special sensors to identify human postures.

'HealthPhone' is a web-based system to support the management of chronic illnesses, using mobile technology in the home to measure and report on vital patient data including blood pressure, weight and medication levels. The project will allow medical professionals to get real-time information on patients, presenting the prospect of more timely intervention.

Another project, 'WellSense', will develop special high tech sensors to measure human body postures which will have applications in sport, dance, yoga, and computer gaming.

The project will allow a variety of user groups (from sports trainers to games developers) to build digital representations of body postures using novel wearable sensors and rapidly use this information to provide feedback to the user and to control video games.

'FreeGaming' is a mobile phone-based game in which players have to physically move and interact, using their mobile handset, in order to achieve the game's goals. This will take advantage of the current global growth of 'exer-gaming', such as the Nintendo Wii and further help tackle obesity in children.

Continuing on the mobile theme, 'Viking Ghost Hunt' will capitalise on location-based gaming. The interactive game will require the user to travel around Dublin city to advance the game, incorporating physical exercise into traditional gaming, and experiencing new combinations of storyline and game play activities.

The final project, LiDAR, will look at new methods of representing, modeling, interpreting, and data mining remotely sensed imagery and LiDAR point clouds for a new generation of engineering-enabled city modelling.

'These innovative projects seek to solve significant problems through translating lab-based technology to address imminent end-user needs,' said Ben Hurley, CEO, NDRC. 'We are excited to fund these projects which have both commercial and societal benefits for Ireland and show how vital such research will be for our economy.'