The award was presented during a special award ceremony at the conference "Catching the Next Wave" at The Royal Institution of Great Britain in London, in advance of Oceanology International 2012 at London's ExCel.

The AMSI award pays recognition to the individual who, in the opinion of the adjudicating panel has made significant contribution in the area of marine science and technology.

An experienced entrepreneur, manager and investor in international technology businesses, Brendan founded WFS Technologies in 2003 and has steered it to become the world leader in underwater and underground wireless products and technology. Headquartered near Edinburgh, the company has a customer support centre in Belfast and sales offices in Aberdeen and Houston. The company has a growing customer base in the worldwide energy, environment, consumer and defence industries.

"Brendan's company epitomises the innovative approach of many UK companies, developing pioneering technology which has led to more than 200 patents being filed in the UK, USA and rest of the world." commented Peter French of the award. "This drive to ensure the company retains its competitive advantage is but one reason why Brendan is a worthy recipient of the AMSI Business Person of the Year Award."

"The Maritime Industries remain an important centre for technology innovations and I am honoured to be offered this prestigious award." said Brendan in his reply. "I am pleased to accept this award on behalf of the whole team at WFS, whose dedication, commitment and innovation have made WFS a global success, supporting our customers with in subsea radio products."

Brendan Hyland is the fifth recipient of the award after Ralph Rayner (BMT Group), Versha Carter (Intelligent Exhibitions), John Partridge (Sonardyne International) and Matthew Quartley (Valeport).

From surveillance, to suspicious material identification, to detection of hazardous gases, robots can gain situational awareness in inaccessible locations or where it is not safe for humans to go. These robots can be remotely operated, and sent in advance to a dangerous or unknown environment to significantly reduce risk for a human first responder team.

First on the scene after an emergency call such as for a bomb explosion, terrorist attack or fire, robots are often critical in this situation, but First Responders are currently unable to communicate reliably with robots operating underground, in collapsed structures, and similar situations. Today's vehicles operate with tethers or 'breadcrumb' repeaters (small transmission devices deployed like breadcrumbs) which can limit usability in an emergency situation.

This is the first attempt to fully integrate WFS wireless technology into a commercial robotic platform and will demonstrate a robot operating underground. The wireless technology will enable the development of robots that can then be used in tunnels, collapsed buildings, sewerage networks and in shallow water - anywhere it might be unsafe for a human to go.

The robot will use WFS' wireless modems to provide 2-way communications, networking and location capabilities through-ground and through-water and will enable the robot to stream video, collect sensor data and act as a repeater for underground voice communications. With wireless communications and location/tracking capabilities, First Responders are able to deploy robots for search and rescue activities more widely, more rapidly and more safely. The WURFR system will;

• Improve safety for First Responder teams
• Reduce costs of inspecting and clearing emergency locations
• No tether, increased flexibility of deployment

The WURFR system is expected to become a core element of the First Responder's toolkit, improving public safety and efficiency during incidents.

/images/uploads/ISO-9001.jpgBAB certifies organisations to recognised standards like ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management) and provides a range of associated training. The BAB brand is revered as a hallmark for quality and rigour. From Government agencies to owner-managed businesses, BAB’s clients depend on their systems and services to measure, test and monitor the competence and performance of their people and processes.

“WFS has experienced rapid growth in recent years, delivering standard and custom products to customers world-wide. The quality of our products and services are of the utmost importance to our customers and to the success of our business. We are pleased that WFS’s quality systems continue to meet the high standards required for ISO 2001:2008 certification” commented Brendan Hyland, Chairman of WFS Technologies.