The Mallow Systems Innovation Centre

A Centre for Co-development, Validation and Trialling of Networked Systems and Applications

Mallow – ‘The Small Smart City’

Introduction

The Mallow Systems Innovation Centre (MSIC) is a unique collaboration between a local community and a Third Level Institution, which creates a research and innovation resource promising far reaching technological, economic and educational dividends for Mallow.

A critical mass of technology-related activity in the North Cork town is being created by the collaboration between the Centre and local companies and educational facilities. Funded by the largest single grant made by Cork County Council’s Economic Development Fund and by funding from Mallow Town Council, the Centre is an initiative of the Mallow Development Partnership.

The initiative is being led by CIT’s Nimbus Centre, Ireland’s only research centre dedicated to embedded systems. Mallow is positioned as a test-bed where wireless, medical and other technology is trialed before city-scale roll-out. Support for all types of technological innovation is fostered and supported.

The Need for an off-campus site for field trial purposes

The devices we all use are becoming part of an increasingly networked world. For new, technical products, complex systems behaviour is expected, and the services provided need to work seamlessly and automatically all of the time. Creating and commercialising these networked systems is becoming significantly more complex and in many cases the only way to effectively determine the likely success of these systems is to trial them in real-world environments. A significant part of this evaluation is how user-friendly these products and services are in themselves and in how they integrate with other existing and emerging services. In this context the customers and end-users often become part of the co-creation process in building successful products and services. The Centre was launched to support this process.

The Solution

The Centre creates the conditions through which further industry innovation projects can be trialled in Mallow and move more quickly to commercialisation. Various technological solutions from projects are deployed and trialled in Mallow as part of an overall technological infrastructure for the town at large.

The MSIC develops the opportunities for innovative companies to come to Mallow for the testing and commercialisation phases of their new products and services.

The innovation centre is part of an overall community drive to maximise the resources of the town through the application of new technologies and skillsets. Mallow Development Partnership is building a culture of innovation.

The Centre fosters a pro-technology “image” for Mallow, which will be positive in terms of FDI attraction. It integrates:

Nimbus expertise
Mallow town council
Local industry
Technology companies

Critical Success Factors

The MSIC has created a unique working dynamic between diverse backgrounds of stakeholders all of which share a common interest in new technology and research. This research centre is the first of its type in the country and has secured €1 million of funding for projects to be deployed live in the town.

Benefits of engagement

There are benefits to the various partners in the project such as:

Mallow is set to benefit directly from some of the research projects, for example, energy saving systems, smart heritage tours and smart lighting solutions
Active facilitation and encouragement of collaborative innovation and co-development with local companies; access to resources and structures not previously available
Support and enhancement of other regional and national programmes that are designed to encourage innovation and promote job creation
Skills programme that sustains continuous professional development for businesses
Programmes of engagement with local education and training centres

Some of the current projects are listed below.

Current Deployment Projects

Open Museum & Smart Heritage trail

Wireless location tracking solution for low cost hand-held audio guide product

Direct funded contract with HPSU In Hand Guides Ltd to create a novel product for international market by 2013

Three further technology partner companies engaged

Interactive remote monitoring platform

Novel Visualisation Tools and Applications to Monitor Systems, Sensors & Networks

Optimised for use as a public exhibit and a development platform at CIT’s Blackrock Castle Observatory

Under development for deployment in Mallow .

River based water monitoring system – in conjunction with the Water Systems and Services Innovation Centre (Partnership between CIT, Cork County and Cork City Council)

A catalyst to transform water infrastructure in Cork and Ireland into a modern best-in-class water network

Over €155K of projects have been initiated with local businesses since August 2013, over €80K of this coming from direct industry funding.