Drone Consultants Ireland have won a valuable Business Incubation package worth €62,000 in the Galileo Masters 2018 SatNav Competition at the Space Oscars which took place last week during EU Space Week in Marseille, France. The prize, funded by the European Commission provides a range of tailored business, technical and product development supports over the next 12 months.
Drone Consultants Ireland are Galileo Masters Ireland Region 2018 Winners for their Jack-In-The-Box concept and so went forward to compete against the best of Europe in the finals, held during European Space Week in the grandeur of the Pharo Palace on 4 December.
Jack-In-The-Box, the self-sustaining, drone system that can be aircraft-deployed into adverse or remote locations, will provide 500 hours flying endurance compared to a standard drone’s 25 minutes. It has immediate applications in search & rescue, environmental, humanitarian and disaster situations.
The tethered UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) is equipped with an optical zoom and thermal camera to survey 300sq km of terrain from a fixed position (Dublin City is 115sq km), and can live stream visual data via satellite to Emergency Control Centres or rescue teams, while simultaneously transmitting high accuracy location data of assets, people or rapidly evolving situations. It can also provide Wi-Fi or radio communications services to connect persons in danger.
Bruce Hannah, CTO National Space Centre Ltd and head of the Irish judging panel said “We congratulate Drone Consultants on their performance on the international stage and wish them every success in the coming year. Irish companies are continuing to develop new concepts in this innovative arena and we hope the support and bootcamp the Accelerator prize award delivers enables Drone Consultants to successfully bring this concept to the market.”
Peter Downey and Ian Kiely founded the company in 2016 to provide consultation and support to Emergency Response services, Government organisations and private clients, as well as creating and hosting the Drone & Tech Expo industry showcase at the RDS. The company recently welcomed Keith Tracey to their development team as CTO. Keith brings a wealth of design and manufacturing experience with him. The team plan to explore other concepts in the future.