Smart Docklands Call for Pilots 2024: Winners

Smart Docklands is delighted to announce the winners of its first Call for Pilots

The Call for Pilots aims to tackle key community priorities identified through a community survey that was carried out in late 2023 and early 2024 where insights were gathered from over 300 responses. Smart Docklands ensures that smart tech is not just being deployed for ‘tech’s sake’, the programme works to engage directly with the community who live in, work in or visit the Docklands. This is done through in-person events and innovative approaches to community surveys.

After extensive community engagement, followed by a Call for Pilots four projects have now been selected out of 41 applications that were submitted to receive seed funding, with €12,500 allocated to each project. The winning pilots will tackle pressing challenges across environmental monitoring, community development, and antisocial behaviour, aiming to create a more sustainable, inclusive, and enjoyable Docklands for all.

Jamie Cudden, Smart City Lead on announcing the pilot winners at an event in the Dublin City Council Innovation Hub in the CHQ said:

“These pilot projects highlight how technology can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. By directly engaging with the community, we’ve chosen initiatives to address the Docklands’ community concerns around sustainability, youth engagement and environmental concerns. We are super excited to be working with such an amazing group of innovators and entrepreneurs who all want to make a difference for the Docklands community!”.

Professor Dan Kilper, Director CONNECT Centre, Trinity College Dublin said:

“The CONNECT Centre is proud to partner with Smart Docklands on the Pilot Projects, which play an important role in demonstrating the transformative impact technology can have when guided by community needs. These initiatives create solutions that address real challenges and pave the way for a smarter, more sustainable future. The pilot winners’ projects highlight this important work—congratulations to them and to our colleagues at Smart Docklands.”

The four pilot winners are:

UTS Technologies – River Liffey Water Sensors: This project introduces a network of sensors along the River Liffey to deliver real-time data on water behaviour, supporting a diverse range of users including kayaking and boating. The aim of this initiative is to bring an improved understanding and actionable insights for users of the river and to support more sustainable river management.

“Our pilot uses technology which will monitor flow rates, tidal height and water temperature at various recreational user points along the River Liffey. Supported by our App based monitoring system this enables the recreational users of the waterway to make better informed real-time decisions, whilst at the same time creating historical mapping and trending for use in profiling environmental changes along the Liffey. We are excited about the opportunity afforded to us by Smart Docklands Call for Pilots to share our smart city solutions with the users of the River Liffey.” – Olivia D’Arcy, Chief Operating Officer, River Liffey Water Sensors, UTS Technologies

UCD – Count Docklands: Deploying a network of citizen science traffic monitoring, low-cost, camera-based traffic counters across the Docklands. This will empower citizen scientists to gather crucial data, supporting Dublin’s transport goals improving community engagement in urban mobility planning and traffic monitoring.

“Low-cost traffic sensors are an amazing opportunity for the Docklands area. They can measure more than just cars, they also count bikes and pedestrians. And they can be installed in locations that really matter to the local community.” – Dr. Anna Molter, Count Docklands, UCD

UCD – Craft My Street: Highly innovative youth engagement leveraging open-source geospatial data and Minecraft for crowd mapping through interactive multiplayers gaming. This pilot aims to support young people to actively participate in shaping policies and projects that affect their communities.

“This call for pilots was a perfect opportunity for us to present our project’s potential on integrating children and young people in the discussion of complex issues related to their local communities. Additionally, it is an opportunity to validate our model and scale what has been developed so far to other projects and applications. With this pilot we expect to create a sense of ownership among children and young people by providing them a space to communicate their needs and view about their city in a playful way, while collaboratively creating a map of Dublin in Minecraft.” – Dr. Ítalo de Sena, Craft My Street, UCD

HoloGen – Immersive Graffiti: Leveraging AR/VR technology to teach young people about street art, this project turns illegal tagging into an opportunity for learning and expressing art in a safe virtual space. The aim of which is to reduce illegal graffiti and a boost in creative urban expression.

“The Immersive Graffiti pilot is bringing the art of graffiti into the digital age, using VR to engage Docklands young people in schools and youth settings. This immersive project offers a creative platform to explore graffiti in a safe and innovative way, fostering self-expression and reimagining street art as a positive force. By connecting technology and creativity, the initiative aims to inspire new solutions for nurturing graffiti as a meaningful and celebrated art form.” – Barry Haughey, Artist and Educator, Immersive Graffiti, HoloGen

Thank You:

Smart Docklands’ first Call for Pilots represents a milestone in creating a connected, innovative, and engaged urban environment. By addressing key challenges through collaboration, education, and smart technology, these pilot projects highlight the benefit of what smart districts can achieve.

“Engagement isn’t just for the sake of it – it’s about making real change happen. Thanks to the Community Survey we shaped our Call for Pilots around what really matters to the community: environmental monitoring, community development, and safety. It’s all about creating smarter solutions that are truly beneficial for everyone.” – Karolina Anielska, Smart Docklands Project and Engagement Manager

Smart Docklands extend thanks to Accenture, An Post, IPB Insurance, and National College Ireland for their support in evaluating applications. Their expertise and collaboration have been crucial to ensuring a fair and thorough process, highlighting the power of collective effort.