Smart Docklands Announces €50,000 For Biodiversity, Accessibility, Community Innovation

Following the success of previous inaugural Call for Pilots, Smart Docklands is proud to announce the winners of its second Call for Pilots 2025/2026 — a new cohort of innovators tackling some of the Docklands’ urban challenges.

Four projects have been selected out of 53 applications to receive seed funding, with €12,500 allocated to each project. This year’s winning pilots span an impressive range of disciplines — from radar-based biodiversity monitoring and augmented reality heritage trails, to inclusive wayfinding for neurodiverse visitors and tangible tools for community participation in urban planning.

Smart Docklands grants For Biodiversity, Accessibility, Community Innovation

The four pilot winners are:

WingSense, Trinity College Dublin – Biodiversity/Urban Greening: Low-power mmWave radar sensors detect insect and pollinator activity continuously, day or night and in all weather conditions, without capturing images or audio. Machine learning transforms this data into actionable, privacy-safe biodiversity insights for cities.
ScannAR, Solasine – Digital Tools/Tech Access: A web-based AR experience delivered via QR codes — no app needed. Scanning unlocks 3D experiences with audio narration and local storytelling, fully accessible to blind, visually impaired, deaf, and hard-of-hearing users.

ARROW, The Convention Centre Dublin – Accessibility/Inclusive Design: An inclusive wayfinding layer co-designed with neurodiverse users, combining ‘what to expect’ guides, typical and real time sensory environment indicators into one coherent, place-based service.

Raytown Roundtable, Codema – Dublin’s Energy Agency – Accessibility/Inclusive Design & Digital Tools/Tech Access: A touch-based interactive table piloted at the Raytown Energy Dock in Ringsend/Irishtown, giving residents a hands-on way to explore their neighbourhood and shape local decisions — no digital skills needed.
Smart Docklands is one of Dublin’s flagship smart districts – a unique collaboration across academia, industry and local government to advocate for and pilot community centred technology innovations.

The programme that supports the adoption of new and emerging technologies in cities is delivered in partnership between Dublin City Council and the CONNECT Research Ireland Centre for Future Networks headquartered at Trinity College Dublin.

This second round of pilots reflects the breadth and ambition of what community-led innovation can look like. Building on the learnings from our first Call for Pilots, these projects were again shaped by a community survey’s outcomes and wider engagement. Smart Docklands is committed to ensuring that smart technology is deployed with purpose — addressing real needs, identified by real people.

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Ray McAdam said:

“Dublin’s Docklands area has long been a hub of innovation and creativity, placing the city in a strong position to enhance public services through technology-enabled solutions. The Smart Docklands Pilot Programme helps to ensure that innovation is community-led, focused on real needs, and delivering measurable impact. The four selected pilot projects demonstrate Dublin’s ambitions to be more inclusive and forward-thinking, and will make our city work better for everyone. I’m proud to see it happening right here in the Docklands.”

Nicola Graham, Smart Cities Programme Manager, Dublin City Council said:
“Pilots like these are how we deliver meaningful change within the council. They let us trial new approaches in real-world settings, learn fast, and build the evidence needed to scale what works. The strong number of applications this year reflects a clear commitment to developing solutions to the challenges identified by the Docklands community.”

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

“These pilots are not just proof-of-concept experiments — they are live research environments that generate insights no laboratory can replicate. Bridging that gap between academic innovation and lived experience is precisely what the CONNECT Centre exists to do, and Smart Docklands gives us the ideal platform to make it happen.”

Dr Karolina Anielska, Smart Docklands Programme Manager said:

“I am incredibly proud of what this second round represents. When we launched the first Call for Pilots, we set out to put the community at the heart of smart city innovation — and the response has been overwhelming. To see that grow into 53 applications and four outstanding winners spanning biodiversity, accessibility, and digital inclusion is a moment to truly celebrate. This is exactly what Smart Docklands was built to do.”

About Smart Docklands

The Smart Docklands programme, established in 2017, has built a strong track record of bringing academia, local government, industry, and residents together to address urban challenges through the deployment of new and emerging technologies. Each Call for Pilots strengthens that legacy, demonstrating that the most effective smart city solutions grow from the ground up.

After the success of the first Call for Pilots, this second edition reinforces Smart Docklands’ role in creating a connected, innovative, and engaged urban environment. The diversity of this year’s cohort — spanning ecology, heritage, inclusion, and civic participation — is proof that smart technology, in the right hands, can address the full spectrum of a community’s needs.

Smart Docklands extends its thanks to multiple DCC departments, IFAC, An Post, IPB Insurance, UTS  Technologies and National College Ireland for their continued support in evaluating applications. Their expertise and collaboration have been crucial to ensuring a fair and thorough process, and their commitment to this programme is a powerful example of what collective effort can achieve.
For more information about Smart Docklands and its initiatives, visit https://smartdocklands.ie/

About Smart Docklands

Smart Docklands is an award-winning programme that supports the adoption of new and emerging technologies in cities. The programme fast tracks innovation that addresses local and global challenges through collaboration, testing, learning, and education. It was established in 2017 as a test-bed for innovation and has delivered the following projects, including, but not limited to: connectivity experimentation – Dublin’s first 5G test-bed, Internet of Things in the city – Big Belly Bins, Ring Buoy Sensors and Gully Monitoring Sensors, engagement programmes including Academy of the Near Future for Youth and Local Authority Staff, and Innovation Tours including Smart Cities Urban Quest to over 1000 people.

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