FOUR STUDENTS FROM Sligo Institute of Technology have won a top international software innovation award in New York and have taken home prize money of $25,000 (€17,595).

Team Hermes won top honours in the software design competition in the ninth annual Microsoft Imagine Cup, the leading student technology competition in the world, which set down a theme of imagining and designing technology that could solve the world’s toughest problems, RTÉ reports.

The team from Sligo IT’s engineering, business and arts school designed a device that plugs into a car and monitors dangerous driving behaviour and road conditions, providing instant feedback to both the driver and the car’s owner in the hope of reducing road crashes.

According to the Sacramento Bee, the team’s software solution uses embedded technology as well as Microsoft programmes such as Windows Phone 7, Bing Maps and the Windows Azure cloud computing platform to change driving habits and reduce road deaths.

Team Hermes member James McNamara said:

We have a problem in Ireland; that problem is deaths on our roads. Thanks to Microsoft and the Imagine Cup, we’ve been able to come together to solve this problem and save lives.

He and team mates Aíne Conaghan, Calum Cawley and Matthew Padden were part of over 350,000 students from across the globe who took part in the competition over the past few months leading up to the finals which were held over the last six days in New York.

Watch Team Hermes being interviewed in New York.