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The Marine Institute’s SmartBay system - a network of surface
and sub-surface buoys, cables and communications systems designed
to provide real-time information about the environment in
Galway Bay and to support and stimulate the environmental
technology industry sector in Ireland - has been selected
as one of the first collaborative projects to be undertaken
at the new IBM Centre of Excellence for Water Management.
The new €7m IBM facility, which was opened in Dublin
(16th June) by the Minister for Finance Mr. Brian Lenihan
TD, is a partnership between the computer giant and the Industrial
Development Agency of Ireland (IDA Ireland). The facility,
which will create 18 jobs, will focus on research and development
of products and services for monitoring, managing and forecasting
environmental issues, such as the movement of pollutants in
fresh water, coastal areas and oceans.
IBM's involvement in water management is part of its 'Big
Green Innovations' initiative dedicated to energy
and environmental issues. SmartBay is currently under development
at the Marine Institute’s Galway Bay research facility.
Speaking at the launch, the Minister said - “Choosing Ireland
as the preferred location for this global research centre
is a significant strategic win for IBM Ireland and IDA Ireland.
It enhances Ireland’s reputation globally as a research and
development location for emerging 'Green Technology'
investments and is in line with IDA’s strategy of winning
high-value knowledge-based research and development investments
from leading technology companies.
"It also positions IBM Ireland at the centre of IBM’s
emerging business strategy. This investment by IBM is extremely
important for Ireland - ensuring further diversification of
IBM'S Dublin Technology Campus Operations.”
The SmartBay system will develop innovative advanced sensor
technologies and a new intelligent infrastructure for the
sensors in Galway Bay and monitoring locations surrounding
Ireland. SmartBay will provide significant benefits to scientists,
commercial fishing and aquaculture, monitoring agencies and
the public through the provision of real-time information
and advanced analyses of sensor and associated data.
SmartBay establishes an open and extensible foundation and
framework which will support a robust application portfolio
for the Marine Institute and the global marine and coastal
environmental market.
“The Marine Institute’s aim is to create a mind shift in
the way we view our marine sector in terms of economic opportunities,
through the application of knowledge” - said Dr. Peter Heffernan,
CEO of the Marine Institute. “Our collaboration with IBM is
a good example of increasingly sophisticated technology being
applied to marine stewardship and management activities -
the research and development of which offers a significant
new opportunity for Irish industry.
"The novel environmental technologies that will emerge
from the collaborations around the SmartBay platform, will
create new business for Irish technology companies as well
as enhancing the viability of the seafood, shipping and water
monitoring sectors."
The new IBM Centre will also foster collaboration across
Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Government agencies
and key academic collaborators - including Dublin City University,
University College of Dublin and the Tyndall Institute at
University College, Cork - to improve water quality and water
system performance.
IBM Big Green Innovations has concentrated its efforts
on water management, alternative energy and carbon management.
Strategic Objectives of Smartbay
The SmartBay project aims to strategically position Ireland
as a major player in the emerging global market for environmental
technologies. It underpins an up-scaling of Ireland’s ambitions
in this field and will establish a flagship Research, Test
and Demonstration infrastructure to -
- support national and international research in technologies
for the monitoring and management of the aquatic environment;
- act as a catalyst around which a cluster of Irish industry
capabilities can be developed - and
- provide a critical and unique environmental policy support
mechanism for Ireland’s decision-makers in respect to EU
Water Framework and Marine Directives, Climate change, Coastal
zone management and marine spatial planning and Strategic
environmental assessments.
Description of the Smartbay Research & Test Platform
SmartBay is a test and demonstration research infrastructure
comprising a networked deployment of a suite of emerging new
technologies, including:
- A fibre-optic cable from shore to an underwater hub
- A variety of instrument nodes and sensor packages
- An instrumentation test site facility
- Multi-beam digital and geotechnical database for the area
- Deployment of moored and drifting buoys
- Navigation, communication and telemetry infrastructure
- Advanced data processing, integration and presentation
tools.
Together, these are intended to provide a comprehensive set
of the tools and technologies that will be utilised in future
customised solutions for the monitoring of important water
bodies, on a global basis.
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