Founded in April 2021, Agri Guardian is a farm safety (safety as a service) app made to practically support farm safety measures. The safety of children on-farm is paramount, and any parent will tell you that while they don’t want to frighten their child away from the farm, they also want to protect them from any potential dangers or accidents. This app was developed in part by co-founder James Power to respond to the rates of farm accidents and fatalities, which have sadly remained more or less similar throughout the years.
“I had been doing my green cert in Kildalton College and myself and [co-founder Kevin O’Flaherty] were both engineers,” he explains.
The app will alert guardians when a child enters a "Danger Zone" on the farm.
“I remember seeing the graph of fatality statistics over the past years and it seemed to stagnate – nothing seemed to be making an impact. We thought the app could be a solution which fits into farming lives – something that is low effort to adapt to.”
Balanced approach
According to their research, James indeed discovered that parents on-farm struggle most with finding the balance of allowing their child independence, letting them help with farm work and keeping them safe. As a result, the Agri Guardian app was developed.
The app works by dividing your farm into sections. For example, there are designated “Safe Zones”, which are the areas where it is safe for children to stay in. These zones get digitally drawn onto a map of the farm by a designated guardian. When a child leaves that zone, the guardian gets an alert which keeps sounding until it is acknowledged.
There are also “Danger Zones”, which are parts of the farm a child should never enter (for example, livestock pens or close to a slurry pit). Similar to the Safe Zones, these are drawn onto a map of the farm by the guardian and if they are breached, the guardian gets a similar alert.
The alerts are extremely loud, meaning even if your phone is in another room or you are operating machinery you will still be able to hear it. To draw out the maps of your farm you use an aerial view and a drawing tool to circle the areas you deem as safe or unsafe.
There is also a proximity feature, which alerts guardians when someone enters into a close range of them. This is especially useful during work with loud noise components – for example, if you are working on machinery and your child approaches without being noticed.
Loud machinery
“From our research, we found that most accidents on-farm with children happen because farmers are working with loud machinery and they don’t hear the children approach,” James says.
Finally, if a guardian brings their child along on a farm job, there is a tethering feature on the app which alerts the guardian if the child wanders too far away. Alerts to guardians can come from unlimited user numbers, which is useful if you have more than one child. Additionally, Agri Guardian can add people onto the app temporarily which is useful during busy farm times when contractors will be on site.
The proximity feature on the app will let the tractor driver know that a child has come into the vicinity.
For older children who have their own smart phones, you simply need to purchase the app and install it on their device as well as your own. For smaller children who do not yet have access to a smart phone, you can purchase a “wearable” (in the form of a smart watch) which the child should wear when they are on the farm.
“If you can make any small dent in the stats, it will be all worth it,” James says.
Agri Guardian has been involved in the Enterprise Ireland Accelerator programme and is now part of its High Potential Start Up programme.
For the 2023 Ploughing, they will be part of the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena in the AgTech Village.
Promotion
Especially for the Ploughing, they will be running a promotion for a one-year subscription. Normally, the app price is €99, but they are offering it at €50.
They will also be taking pre-orders for their wearables (which are Samsung Galaxy Watch 5s). At the stand, attendees can sign up for their mailing list. Those who sign up will be entered into a raffle for prizes ranging from Bluetooth speakers, wireless earbuds, tablets and more.
For more information see agriguardian.farm
Read more
Teagasc to host international farm safety conference
Almost 60% of farmers yet to adopt safe behaviours - Teagasc
Founded in April 2021, Agri Guardian is a farm safety (safety as a service) app made to practically support farm safety measures. The safety of children on-farm is paramount, and any parent will tell you that while they don’t want to frighten their child away from the farm, they also want to protect them from any potential dangers or accidents. This app was developed in part by co-founder James Power to respond to the rates of farm accidents and fatalities, which have sadly remained more or less similar throughout the years.
“I had been doing my green cert in Kildalton College and myself and [co-founder Kevin O’Flaherty] were both engineers,” he explains.
The app will alert guardians when a child enters a "Danger Zone" on the farm.
“I remember seeing the graph of fatality statistics over the past years and it seemed to stagnate – nothing seemed to be making an impact. We thought the app could be a solution which fits into farming lives – something that is low effort to adapt to.”
Balanced approach
According to their research, James indeed discovered that parents on-farm struggle most with finding the balance of allowing their child independence, letting them help with farm work and keeping them safe. As a result, the Agri Guardian app was developed.
The app works by dividing your farm into sections. For example, there are designated “Safe Zones”, which are the areas where it is safe for children to stay in. These zones get digitally drawn onto a map of the farm by a designated guardian. When a child leaves that zone, the guardian gets an alert which keeps sounding until it is acknowledged.
There are also “Danger Zones”, which are parts of the farm a child should never enter (for example, livestock pens or close to a slurry pit). Similar to the Safe Zones, these are drawn onto a map of the farm by the guardian and if they are breached, the guardian gets a similar alert.
The alerts are extremely loud, meaning even if your phone is in another room or you are operating machinery you will still be able to hear it. To draw out the maps of your farm you use an aerial view and a drawing tool to circle the areas you deem as safe or unsafe.
There is also a proximity feature, which alerts guardians when someone enters into a close range of them. This is especially useful during work with loud noise components – for example, if you are working on machinery and your child approaches without being noticed.
Loud machinery
“From our research, we found that most accidents on-farm with children happen because farmers are working with loud machinery and they don’t hear the children approach,” James says.
Finally, if a guardian brings their child along on a farm job, there is a tethering feature on the app which alerts the guardian if the child wanders too far away. Alerts to guardians can come from unlimited user numbers, which is useful if you have more than one child. Additionally, Agri Guardian can add people onto the app temporarily which is useful during busy farm times when contractors will be on site.
The proximity feature on the app will let the tractor driver know that a child has come into the vicinity.
For older children who have their own smart phones, you simply need to purchase the app and install it on their device as well as your own. For smaller children who do not yet have access to a smart phone, you can purchase a “wearable” (in the form of a smart watch) which the child should wear when they are on the farm.
“If you can make any small dent in the stats, it will be all worth it,” James says.
Agri Guardian has been involved in the Enterprise Ireland Accelerator programme and is now part of its High Potential Start Up programme.
For the 2023 Ploughing, they will be part of the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena in the AgTech Village.
Promotion
Especially for the Ploughing, they will be running a promotion for a one-year subscription. Normally, the app price is €99, but they are offering it at €50.
They will also be taking pre-orders for their wearables (which are Samsung Galaxy Watch 5s). At the stand, attendees can sign up for their mailing list. Those who sign up will be entered into a raffle for prizes ranging from Bluetooth speakers, wireless earbuds, tablets and more.
For more information see agriguardian.farm
Read more
Teagasc to host international farm safety conference
Almost 60% of farmers yet to adopt safe behaviours - Teagasc
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