Clare involvement in Chilean miners’ ordeal

AN Ardnacrusha man has played an instrumental role in the rescue of the Chilean miners last week as the harnesses he designed with smart fabric technology was used to carry the miners to the surface.

Stephen Kent from Castlebank, Ardnacrusha emigrated to New Zealand in 2003, having graduated as an electronic engineer from the University of Limerick in 2002.
He has been working with Zephyr Technology in Auckland and has been working on this bio harness for about five years.
The harness was sought by the Chilean Government for the project due to the technology embedded in the fabric which allowed the miner’s health to be monitored.
Speaking to The Clare Champion, Stephen explained what was involved.
“We started out investigating developing smart fabric technology, which is basically integrating electronics into fabrics. We looked at applications in physiological monitoring as there is a strong demand to monitor people’s health. There are lots of devices to monitor health but ours is very comfortable as it is made using fabrics for the sensors. It is one of the smallest available that can monitor so many vital signs and it is unique in that it can be washed like normal clothing. It can monitor heart rate, breathing rate, temperature, activity (like walking or running) and the posture of a subject,” he outlined.
Stephen explained that the reason their product was used for this rescue was twofold.
“The miners had been wearing it for two weeks to ensure they were in good health from the ordeal and fit enough to travel in the capsule. The most important aspect was monitoring the miners when they ascended in the capsule as the medical team in Chile was concerned about the miners fainting or panicking in the capsule. Using our technology, they were able to determine if any physiological signs pointed to this and if they did, they could talk to the miners to make sure there were ok. If, for example, a miner fainted, they would be able to tell his vitals still are ok,” he said.
Stephen’s role on this project was not typical of an electronic engineer, as he admits himself. He was the designer of the fabric strap and sensors for the harness and was involved in understanding how to integrate the electronics and fabric. He was also involved in the design of the core electronics, to interface the electronics to the strap and with reading the physiological signals.
He is currently a research manager with the company leading a small team of designers and developers research new technology for the company. They are currently working on a product to integrate technology into clothing.
Meanwhile, Limerick man Maurice Gunning, whose father hails from Scariff is in Chile currently and has been there covering the miners’ plight as part of a documentary.
Maurice travelled to Argentina earlier this month where he was holding a photographic exhibition in Buenos Aires in conjunction with the Irish embassy there and Culture Ireland.
The exhibition runs until the end of November but while involved in a separate project, Maurice was approached by Huw Roberts, an Australian who was working on a television programme and asked Maurice to come and act as the cameraman.
“We met and got talking and talked more about what was happening in Chile and on the back of that, we flew to Santiago and rented a car drove the 800km to Copiapo city, which is an hour’s drive from the camp. We have been interviewing the families and travelled from the town to the mine every day, recording them and then we recorded the rescue of the miners themselves. We didn’t expect so much media – there was about 1,500 media from all over the world. There have been no Irish or Australian channels there so we were trying to get the overall story for that audience,” Maurice outlined.
He said that the feeling in the camp ahead of the rescue was quite emotional and optimistic.
“It was a state of euphoria for the whole community. The families were in shock when they were reunited. The town celebrated and a couple of days afterwards, the family were able to take took in the reality that the miners had spent 69 days underground. Initially, they didn’t know if there were alive for the first 17 days. For one man, it was his fourth time trapped underground. It does seem to happen. It is in a very remote area in the dessert and the climate is very harsh. It’s very cold at night and very hot in the daytime,” Maurice explained.
The duo is working independently and are hoping to create a comprehensive documentary on the successful rescue operation. Maurice believes that his Irish roots has also helped them to make connections as it is a very strong Catholic country. 
Maurice has been involved with the Irish World Music and Dance Academy in the Clare campus of the University of Limerick and has an exhibition of his photography on show there currently.
He will stay on for another week in Chile wrapping up filming and then the editing process will get underway.
Anyone interested in finding out more can log onto www.mauricegunning.com.