FoyleHov

Company background

Foylehov is an activity centre owned by Ian Mark which specialises in hovercrafts, power-turn off road buggies, laser combat, laser tag, laser clay pigeon shooting, archery and football golf. Foylehov caters for corporate team building events, family fun days, youth groups, school trips, community groups, birthdays, hen and stag parties. The company is situated on the Carrowclare Road, Limavady, along the Causeway Coastal Route and was recently voted Lonely Planet’s number 1 place to visit in 2018.

Challenge

The technical challenge was to create a wireless monitoring control system which FoyleHov instructors could use to control hovercrafts in a range of 200 meters. This was a real challenge for the company because they wanted to transmit signals within a range of 200 meters; however they lacked the necessary skills to develop such a product.

Solution

In order to overcome this obstacle, FoyleHov made contact with North West Regional College’s Business Support Centre, who supported them through the Innovate US programme which is funded by the Department for Economy.This equated to 60 hours of mentoring support from Cathal Ferry, Technical Consultant, Electronic Engineering to help develop and deliver an innovative solution. One member of FoyleHov, Jamie Mark, undertook specific up-skill training in electronic design, programming and wireless technology.

Impact

On completion of the project, FoyleHov was able to successfully use a wireless monitoring control system which allows them to control hovercrafts in a range of 200 meters thus increasing safety and capacity.