Machine Eye, a Newry-based ag-tech company, won the award for best safety innovation at this year’s Innovation Arena, run by Enterprise Ireland in conjunction with the Irish Farmers Journal.

Machine Eye has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) safety system for tractors, plant and heavy machinery that recognises human behaviour and movement around the machine and takes control of the machine to pre-emptively isolate or halt the machine to prevent accidental contact of by-standers with the machine.

Listen to "Brendan Digney, winner of the safety award at the Innovation Awards" on Spreaker.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, co-founder of Machine Eye Brendan Digney said the product started out life as a research project by a group of electrical and electronic engineers in Queen’s University Belfast.

While the product is in the final stages of development, Digney is hopeful the product will be a standard feature on all heavy machinery in future years and help to reduce farm accidents.