معرفی
Professor Gerard (Gerry) Lacey is Professor of Electronic Engineering at Maynooth University within the Faculty of Science and Engineering. He also serves as Head of the Department of Electronic Engineering and is affiliated with the Hamilton Institute and ALL Institute at Maynooth.
Education
- BE in Computer Engineering – Trinity College Dublin
- PhD in Robotics – Trinity College Dublin
- MBA – University College Dublin
Research Focus
Professor Lacey’s research integrates robotics, real-time computer vision and human-machine systems with healthcare applications. His work spans assistive robotics for the elderly and visually impaired, augmented-reality surgical simulation, and technology-enabled infection prevention. Key themes include psychomotor learning in digital training tools, AI-driven hand-hygiene monitoring, and the design of user-centred healthcare technologies.
Publication Trends
Recent publications (2020-2021) concentrate on leveraging augmented reality and artificial intelligence to improve hand-hygiene compliance among healthcare workers, reflecting a translational trajectory from vision-based algorithms to large-scale hospital deployment. Earlier work (1995-2014) laid foundational contributions in mobility aids for the blind, endoscopic image enhancement, and robotic guidance systems.
Awards & Recognition
- RESNA PVA Design Award for Robotics
- EU IST Award
- Irish Software Association Innovation Award
- Enterprise Ireland Technology Commercialisation Award
- Trinity College Innovation Award
Entrepreneurship & Impact
Professor Lacey has founded two university spin-outs: Haptica (2000), which created mobile healthcare robots and AR surgical simulators (acquired by CAE Healthcare in 2011), and SureWash (2010), whose hand-hygiene training systems are deployed internationally in hospitals. These ventures bridge academic research and clinical practice, securing real-world impact for his innovations.
Laboratories & Collaborations
He leads research activities within the Electronic Engineering Department and participates in interdisciplinary initiatives at the Hamilton Institute (systems modelling) and ALL Institute (assisted living and learning). His teams bring together engineers, healthcare professionals and industry partners to advance assistive and medical technologies.
