See.Sense honoured with Euro award

The Newtownards firm won the Consumer Product Innovation of the Year award at a gala ceremony at the Grosvenor House Park in London on Thursday night.

See.Sense was recognised for its market-leading ICON bicycle light, a product that has been hailed by cyclists for its innovative safety features, while also receiving widespread acclaim from the electronics industry.

What makes Thursday’s success even more special is that it was a Readers’ Choice award, with See.Sense seeing off four other finalists - CP Electronics, SDRplay, The Wand Company and Wezzoo - to claim the top gong.

The Elektras are regarded as the electronics industry’s largest technology and business awards. Other winners on the night included Kemet, a $1bn component company, Toshiba and Plessey.

See.Sense Co-founder Irene McAleese, who attended Thursday’s Elektra ceremony in Park Lane, said: “See.Sense was originally developed by my husband, Philip McAleese, who put his training in electronic and software engineering to use to help design a light to improve his safety as a commuter cyclist.

“The light has since gone on to help thousands of cyclists around the world. The recognition that this award brings from the electronics community, in regards to the innovation that has gone into making the light as well as the benefit and appeal to cyclists, means we couldn’t be more proud.”

Designed in-house by See.Sense and manufactured in Northern Ireland, the ICON light uses patent-pending sensor technology to monitor road surfaces, brightness of surrounding like and bike orientation and speed.

It is the only light that reacts to its surrounding environment, flashing brighter and faster in riskier scenarios such as roundabouts and when approached by car headlights at night, and has the ability to collect data that can identify accident and ‘near-miss’ hotspot areas, and potholes before they become fully formed.