2010 Special Award: Flutuador

From time to time IBC makes a special award to a person, organisation or project which has made a particularly remarkable contribution to our industry and to society beyond. That certainly applies to this year’s special award, which went to TV Globo Network in Brazil.

Concern was growing about the rapid rise in pollution in the river Tiete which flows through Sao Paulo, yet nothing seemed to be done about it. To draw attention to the situation, TV Globo came up with an imaginative and effective solution.

They commissioned a device called Flutuador – literally “floater” – which measured key parameters in the water, linked them to GPS locations, and transmitted them over mobile data to the TV Globo newsroom. It also included micro cameras and microphones.

The Flutuador floated 560 km down the river in 31 days, partly alone, partly followed by a trained wildlife expert. At all times, absolute levels of pollution in the river were being tracked and plotted in the newsroom and available live online. More than 150 broadcast news stories were generated in less than two months.

As a direct result, interest in pollution and the environment in general shot up, and politicians have switched their viewpoint. They are now addressing the issue seriously and trying to come up with solutions to make the Tiete clean again.

Flutuador was developed by IPT (the Brazilian Institute of Technological Research, navy division), PoliControl and Dan Robson, together with the R & D team from TV Globo’s engineering department and its news operation team. Its impact was dramatic, and it is right that IBC should recognise its achievements with this special award.