An Irish start-up has teamed up with the world's technology capital, Palo Alto, to launch an interactive tool to allow residents such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founder Larry Page find out what is going on in planning terms in their neighbourhoods.

Buildingeye, which was founded by civil engineer and project manager Ciaran Gilsenan, is also in advanced discussions to launch its service in San Francisco and other cities in the United States.

The company has raised €500,000 to date from backers including Enterprise Ireland, Dublin-based technology fund Frontline Ventures and an angel investor based in Stanford, California.

“We’ve created a data visualisation tool for government that maps planning applications, building permits, capital projects and building code infringements,” Mr Gilsenan said.

The service also allowed citizens see easily what changes are planned in their areas either by government or other residents allowing them make better decisions, he said.

“We make everything more transparent. It also makes things more efficient for cities as people can access what information they need online on their phones rather than taking up staff time dealing with queries from the public,” Mr Gilsenan said.

“San Francisco for example is planning to spend $3.5 billion on capital projects over the next five to ten years. We can put it all on a map so people can see how changes might affect them.

“Buildingeye gives cities an easy way of allowing their citizens know what is going on,” he added.

New model

“Partnering with start-ups such as Buildingeye represents a new model for cities,” Palo Alto chief information officer

Jonathan Reichental

said.

“The start-up acquires timely feedback from government staff that ensures their product meets market needs, and cities get to shape a solution more quickly that works for them.”