Inspired strokes

Computer analysis of a golf game; an in-depth way to reduce fuel costs; using light to kill germs; and maps sent to your mobile

A personalised sports coach

WHEN JOHN McGuire was studying at the University of Limerick he played for its freshers' football team.

Before every match he would have the majority of the team in his house lying on the floor with their eyes closed, visualising different game scenarios. The team won an All-Ireland that year.

"While in college I was studying IT and telecoms, unknown to myself I had a natural ability with regards to the mental aspect of sports performance. The lads thought I was mad at the start but once they started seeing us destroying teams there was more and more before every match."

McGuire worked as a software developer for Nortel for nine years and while there retrained in the area of sports performance and sports psychology. In 2004, he established a sports performance clinic called Activemind.

"The clinic got so busy that I realised there was no way I could keep doing this" and thought if he could produce a product it might lessen the workload.

He has developed two products, IMEE Golf and IMEE Coach, with IMEE standing for improvement made even easier.

IMEE Golf captures a player's entire golf game, from the number of shots per hole, the distance achieved and the clubs used.

"When you are finished your game the system transfers all that data to imeegolf.com where you can map out your golf game. It shows you a visualisation of your game. It will show you areas where you need to improve and how to do so."

The second system is for golf coaches to help them manage their roster of clients. "Our products are to help coaches improve what they do with golfers and to help golfers improve their game."

McGuire did much of the initial work at a concept desk in the GMIT centre before being awarded Cord (Commercialisation of Research and Development) funding by Enterprise Ireland (EI) to develop the concept.

The business model is based around licencing fees and subscription for access to the website and McGuire says the vision is to be "a world leader in golf tracking and performance. There are competitors out there for IMEE Coach but not for IMEE Golf. We see that as unique."

McGuire said the company has "traction" in Ireland and is in discussions with large golf academies in Asia and the UK.

Cutting fleets' fuel usage

WHEN JASON Byrne and his colleagues at Eagledge in Galway began marketing a product to help haulage companies improve their scheduling of orders, almost every firm they met asked if they had anything that could cut their fuel bills.

At the time they didn't but decided this was what the market was looking for because fuel was the biggest cost for all transport firms. "And this was in 2006, before the oil price spikes of last year," he added.

Byrne says the team all had experience of different areas of logistics problems. "That was our background as researchers in NUI Galway. Coming up with the product was a tough one problem to solve but it was doable."

Three years later, the company is marketing its FuelGauge management system which it claims can cut fuel usage in large fleets by up to 18 per cent.

The technology collates an array of data from the vehicle's engine and translates this into a colour coded screen, showing where and when excess fuel is being used, such as overly high revs.

"There is plenty of data coming from the vehicle but it is low level. We use hardware that we have designed to read this data and turn it into a colour code that can be easily understood and used to change driver habits."

According to Byrne, any changes required are small and borne out of a better understanding of how the vehicle operates efficiently.

When working with a company Eagledge installs its equipment and gathers three to four weeks of data to establish a baseline. It then starts to compare and contrast drivers, paying particular attention to the problem areas identified by the technology.

Although the software is protected by copyright, Byrne says it plans to stay ahead of competitors by continually improving the product and launched a new version in October of this year - not great timing, he admits.

Enterprise Ireland's commercialisation fund contributed to the development of the technology and Eagledge is now talking to haulage firms in the UK.

Bright idea for bacteria battle

RESEARCHERS AT Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) have developed a material that can be painted onto surfaces and destroys bacteria like MRSA at the flick of a switch.

The development is a strand of research into photocatalysis - the study of surfaces and chemicals that react to light. To date, most catalysts in this process required UV light, which was why existing uses of the technology, such as cleaning water, had been based outdoors.

About three year ago, Dr Suresh Pillai, a researcher based at DIT's Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology (Crest), started looking at this area in the belief the technology could be useful in the fight against bacteria in hospitals.

The challenge was to develop a material that could be activated by any form of light.

The material that he and the other Crest researchers developed is painted onto surfaces like operating tables and forms. This forms an acid surface when light falls on it which breaks down all organic matter, including bacteria.

John Colreavy, Crest director, says one benefit of the technology is it does not elute any chemicals, unlike other hygiene-control methods, and it is harmless for patients and staff.

"The beauty of this technology is it is a non-eluting technology that is effective against the worst of the bacterium that we are dealing with, particularly in our hospitals."

He said the material is applied to existing surfaces, with CO2 and water the only by-products of the process.

The technology will be spun out later this year into a start-up called Radical. The project has received two rounds of funding from Enterprise Ireland and the team is talking to potential clients and venture capital funds about the next stage of development.

Colreavy says Radical will target the Irish, US and Indian markets. He believes demand for an alternative hygiene product is likely to increase as pending European directives lead to a reduction in the use of eluting chemicals for hygiene control.

Replacing the humble map

RESEARCHERS FROM the University of Limerick Wireless Access Research Centre have developed a free technology that sends an exact location for a hotel or business to a smart phone.

PinPoints uses smartphone mapping software in conjunction with GPS systems that will download a map to your phone showing your destination.

Co-founder Ronan Skehill says: "Technology must be simple to use in order for it to be useful. If you can find or see an address online, we can pinpoint it on your smartphone mapping software. No typing on your phone, no cables, no Bluetooth, no synchronising."

The technology comes from a research project run by Skehill and co-founder Ian Rice since 2007. The development was part-funded by Enterprise Ireland and they are in the process of spinning out the technology into a start-up called Cauwill Technologies.

Rice says the technology will change how people identify and navigate to their destination. It was launched earlier this year and is being used by people in 23 countries on iPhones, BlackBerrys and other smartphones.

Skehill says revenues will come from partnerships from companies like hotels and restaurants in hard-to-find locations. It can also deal with more generic requests. If you need a petrol station or a bank, it will show you the location of one nearby based on your location.

Skehill says Cauwill is also talking to several companies and mobile operators interested in using technology as a value-add component to existing services.