Athlone’s Mersus Tech shortlisted for innovation award

Over the pandemic, Ireland’s vibrant Life Science sector continued to grow. Securing the necessary talent is vital to maintain momentum for this valuable sector. From its office in Golden Island, local software company Mersus Technologies is doing its bit as its ‘Avatar Academy’ Virtual Learning Experience Platform has earned a place on this year’s prestigious Irish Times Innovation Award in the Emerging Technology category for a second time.

This is not the Avatar Academy’s first success after being runner-up to Alexion at the 2020 National Manufacturing awards for ‘Best Training and Development’ category. During the lockdown Mersus pivoted from what was a creative animation studio into the software engineering company they are now.

The Avatar Academy VR learning platform sits at the intersection of digital transformation and the new phenomena known as ‘the Metaverse’. This is the next generation of computing that combines multiple elements of technology, including virtual reality, augmented reality and video whereby using head mounted computers, users immerse themselves and meet others in virtual worlds.

In the highly regulated Life Science industry, intensive skills training is required to bring onboard new operators and to meet compliance standards. The speed of technology is an ongoing challenge for all businesses, especially those in Ireland’s multinational sector. Mersus’ solution is simple. Using the same computer gaming technology that young generations entertain themselves on, Mersus mirrors a computer version of each cleanroom, so that the same young people learn their new occupational skills through virtual reality.

According to Brenda Mannion, Chief of Operation: "It is great to get some recognition in the public arena as much of our efforts remain confidential, owing to the nature of what we do. Many now are finding our novel approach interesting which gives us huge leverage when attracting new talent is what is a scarce market."

She continued: "That we now have many new faces during Covid so the future is bright for anyone looking to move into the hot new career arena for 2022 and beyond."

With demand set to surge Mersus is also chairing a consortium to create an Apprenticeship for Immersive Technologies. Looking to the future, Mersus has identified the lack of candidates for this new sector as a potential bottleneck for its continued expansion. This will complement Mersus's own strategy for developing the necessary skills in-house.

Co founder Dermot Condron said: “Working with specialist trainers in Europe, we accelerated our team’s individual skills during Covid. This is now paying off as we lead in ‘hand tracked’ VR software for industrial applications at a global level".

He explained that the Avatar Academy platform uses VR that allows trainees using their own hands within the ‘computer game’ cleanroom, removing the risk and costs involved in training.

Mersus Technologies believes that technology is not all about Silicon Valley and Shenzhen. Per capita Athlone is one of the software capitals of Europe, anchored by the likes of Ericsson and Huawei, it pointed out, also highlighting how companies like Sidero and Zinkworks adding to the region’s reputation.

It said Athlone needs to build right now on these positives by putting in infrastructure here for the next generation of developers.