Last week, 21-24 March, Europe’s biggest printed electronics conference was back in action in-person at LOPEC Munich. SmartEEs made the most of the week, too. Project partner CeNTI organized a full-day workshop showcasing some of the Horizon 2020 project’s successfully funded experiments, and the new association debuted with its own booth. (Read more about the association debut in this post.)
Hybrid SmartEEs Workshop
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, “hybrid” is the name of the game for events these days, and the SmartEEs workshop was no exception. In-person attendees took advantage of the LOPEC exhibitions alongside the workshop. Meanwhile, roughly 15 attendees tuned in remotely to hear from 11 different innovative companies.
The bulk of the workshop consisted of compelling presentations by SMEs who received funding through the SmartEEs European project. The day finished with two technical presentations from Eurecat and CeNTI, as well as virtual tours of the SmartEEs Marketplace and the facilities of our research and technology partners.
11 Innovative Companies with Successful Products
Etexheat – Smart and adaptive textile heating system for caravans and motorhomes.
Innovative Company: ComSensus
Technology Partner: Interactive Wear AG
Sector: Automotive
Abstract: To use/integrate smart textiles in the interior of caravans and motorhomes in order to create a hands-off heating ecosystem able to improve and balance thermal perception, energy efficiency and comfort of living conditions without the manual actuation of the user. The system will feed from different data coming from the vehicle sensors and will autonomously adapt the temperature inside the vehicle in accordance.
EMO – Electrode Material for OLEDs.
Innovative Company: Inuru
Technology Partner: OrelTech
Sector: Packaging
Abstract: To produce a 100% printed flexible bottom electrode on which the rest of the OLED stack can be printed.
AVA –Physical rehabilitation & training wrist wearable.
Innovative Company: WINT Design Lab GbR
Technology Partner: CPI
Sector: Consumer Electronics
Abstract: To fill the gap between professional instructions by the therapist and the patient’s home exercise program. AVA is a wrist wearable, attached to feet or hand. It seamlessly tracks the patient’s movement during a workout to generate real-time feedback. Currently we concentrate on elbow, shoulder, hip and knee related therapy. We use embedded Machine Learning (ML) to seamlessly track and classify the patients movement while wearing the device. With our model, we can accurately distinguish and quantify different exercises. We can also provide direct feedback on the patients movements accuracy according to how the exercise was taught by the therapist.
Flexbrick – Upscaling the next generation of digital labels for retail stores
Innovative Company: Taganea
Technology Partner: In2tec
Sector: Logistics
Abstract: To enable the convergence between ‘online’ and ‘offline’ sales channels (the physical store also known as brick and mortar stores). To reach this goal the company’s strategy is to digitalise the labelling and relabelling operations in the retail industry and to drive the omnichannel experience for the shoppers. Flexible electronic is the key enabling technology to create a new category of product (a new label) capable of providing a versatile and smart solution to this problem.
HSATpro – SFast & Low-Cost Home Sleep Apnea Test device
Innovative Company: Netsensing technology Sàrl
Technology Partner: PLUX – Wireless Biosignals
Sector: Medical
Abstract: To enable the mass detection of sleep apnea, is to propose a low-cost device, that drastically reduces time and cost of detection, easy to use without wires and tubes, fully reimbursable, AASM compliant and, telemedicine compliant. … The use of Flexible and Wearable Electronics enables the device to be highly integrated in 2x5x5 cm3 housing, connected to flexible, conductive & stretchable plastic that holds the RIP belts and connected to a chest SpO2 sensor.
MAGOS
Innovative Company: Quanta & Qualia
Technology Partner: Copt
Sector: Other
Abstract: A novel Human Computer Interaction (HCI) solution which includes advanced finger/hand tracking (22 Degrees of Freedom (DoF) and 250 times higher accuracy in finger tracking from the closest competitor) with haptic feedback, that tackles the existing limited interactivity provided by the state-of-the-art solutions.
SMART-WORKWEAR – Smart monitoring system in work wear for early-warning and prevention of heat exhaustion
Innovative Company: C.P. Aluart
Technology Partner: TITERA
Sector: Textile
Abstract: The key innovation of SMART-WORKWEAR project is the disruption on how occupational safety and health is handled. SMART-WORKWEAR products will increase worker safety and reduce potential risks, enabling immediate action when a risk is detected.
MAESTRO – Manufacture of Electrochromic Display on Paper
Innovative Company: Luquet & Duranton
Technology Partner: Guarro Casas
Sector: Packaging
Abstract: In a previous European project (Supersmart), we proved that it was possible to manufacture a fully-printed ECD and antenna on paper. The MAESTRO project has the ambition to prove the feasibility of the technology using another type of printing technique: flexography. A better throughout is expected with flexography compared to screen-printing (15 meters per minute compared to 5 meters per minutes for screen-printing). With the new settings, it would be possible to print several layers in a single pass whereas each layer need to be printed and cured separately with screen-printing (requiring therefore more steps). Moreover, flexography is expected to use fewer ink for the ECD fabrication compared to screen-printing which is a big advantage in term of cost and energy used.
ROSA – Wearable for stress and emotion detection
Innovative Company: Mentech
Technology Partner: QUAD Industries
Sector: Medical
Abstract: To develop an electrode patch or garment-integrated electrodes to be worn on the foot. The aim is to create a disposable patch to provide maximum comfort to the user and to ensure valid and stable physiological input data for the HUME system of Mentech Innovation.
Watch a video of how the technology works here.
SUH – A wearable breathing monitoring device for remote respiratory disease management
Innovative Company: StepUp Health
Technology Partner: LEAP Technology
Sector: Medical
Abstract: Current management of COPD and asthma is constrained by the limited monitoring time and data accuracy. Doctors lack robust, accurate and reliable information of patients’ respiratory health changes from one visit to another. This leads to frequent rehospitalization and even causes death in some cases which can be prevented. The COVID crisis accelerated the need for better telemedicine solutions. Our solution allows for continuous monitoring of a patient’s vital breathing parameters at any place for any duration to foresee the deterioration of the health by identifying the abnormal breathing patterns. It results in improving treatment strategies which will lower the health care cost in the long term. The novelty of the device lies in our stretch sensor technology and algorithms which were never commercially used for this purpose and has been proven extremely accurate for respiratory monitoring
NovTech4C&R – Novel sensor tech for Cardiac and Respiration monitoring
Innovative Company: PLUX – Wireless Biosignals
Technology Partner: CEA-LETI
Sector: Medical
Abstract: To create a novel sensor-based wearable that integrates both ECG and respiration sensors (inductive or piezo based) in a unique flexible and stretchable band. This project will explore new technologies of interface electrode-sensor and the creation of a compact hybrid solution. … The uniqueness of manufacturing a technology such as the one mentioned will greatly benefit the healthcare industry by allowing better diagnosis and prognosis as well as reducing treatment costs.
To see a full list of all SmartEEs funded Application Experiments, click here.
