About the project

Smart Manufacturing aims to improve factory efficiency by optimizing production processes, but SMEs often lack the capacity to create innovation in this domain. Bringing together Eindhoven Engine, Fontys, TNO and Brainport Industries Campus, the SmartMan project comprises research into various facets of smart manufacturing, including robot-assisted manufacturing, data sharing, industrial AI, virtual reality and autonomous transport. Student projects were executed at SMEs with the goal of developing knowledge, technology and methods for combining quality, automation and flexibility in manufacturing.

During the project, SmartMan successfully supported approximately 80 companies by collaborating with students on innovative assignments. A total of 123 assignments, including internships and graduate projects, were completed. These assignments aimed at implementing business innovations proved successful, with students making significant contributions to the innovation within these companies.

About the project

FITTing Persons’ vitality and optimizing their Work Environment

In an increasingly competitive global economy, physical inactivity and burnout rates are increasing. Sustainable employability based on good physical and mental health is therefore crucial, preventing absenteeism and also reducing healthcare costs. POWEr FITTing optimizes the relationship between vitality and the (home) office environment through the combination of data acquisition, integration and application for the validation and acceleration of user-oriented solutions. By taking into account individual, societal and contextual factors, this enables employees to remain both healthy and productive. This benefits companies, individuals and wider society.

About the project

The iHeat@Home project contributes to a breakthrough innovation in thermal energy storage: a heat battery which is better, cheaper, smaller and greener than any competitor. This will accelerate the energy transition, promote the development of renewable energy sources, reduce grid investments and create new business. This is all happening here in the Brainport region.

iHeat@Home focuses on solutions for real-time data on the heat battery’s state-of-charge and its optimal data management, with three coherent solutions:

1. The basis for a sensor which is robust and cheap
2. Communication protocols and data managemen
3. Integration in a validated, user-ready heat battery. The aim is to bring this technology to the market by 2023.

About the project

The goal is to develop a self-learning module that can monitor and diagnose climate systems in large buildings. This will enable a climate system to perform better; for instance, lower energy consumption, better thermal comfort and better air quality. More efficient maintenance is also possible. The module will be used as an add-on for the Building Energy Management System (BEMS) of offices.

About the project

The concentration of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter is still too high in the Netherlands according to WHO guideline values in 2021. In the Eindhoven region, several technical developments and research and innovation initiatives have been started in this field. As a result, a lot of information on population dynamics, such as commuting traffic and air pollution, is readily available. In DynaPopeX, this information is brought together for the first time and visualization techniques can be used to make connections to the sources of air pollution.

The combination of data, location and human movements in Eindhoven makes it possible to take tangible measures to reduce the exposure of people on the street to harmful particulate matter and limit possible harm to health.

About the project

The Smart Heat Shed (smart heat storage) project addresses the rapid energy transition by combining two international breakthrough technologies, a heat façade and a heat battery. The heat facade (developed by TNO-Emergo spin-off Calosol) is an innovative, aesthetically versatile solar thermal facade collector, which effectively harvests solar energy at low outdoor temperatures. The heat battery (developed by the TNO-TU/e spin-off Cellcius) is the first completely loss-free heat storage solution. The latter is also 10x cheaper than electrical storage and much more compact than water or phase transition materials (PCM).