“I never saw myself working at Kropman,” Shalika Walker confesses. “And honestly, I might not have hired Shalika,” Joep van der Velden admits, seated beside her. “But how the OpenCall of Eindhoven Engine changed things. We’ve now created a new position within Kropman specifically to bring Shalika on board,” says Joep with a big smile.

We are at one of the offices of Kropman. This company designs, builds, maintains, and manages building installations, including climate control. “Kropman, rooted in construction, is traditionally less dynamic compared to sectors like semiconductors or the medical industry. So, working here was not on my radar,” Shalika shares.

Kropman’s Workspace: More Than Meets the Eye

“Welcome to our living lab,” Joep announces as he leads me into a spacious, open-plan office. At first glance, it looks ordinary, with dark gray carpets, white adjustable desks, and black office chairs. Joep notices my lukewarm reaction and gives a knowing sigh, directing my attention upward. “The real innovation is actually hidden above us in the ceiling.” I follow his gaze to a beige suspended ceiling, and he points out a translucent cap. “Those are sensors. They allow us to monitor and adapt the office environment, responding to the current scenario or the presence of workers.”

At Kropman, the pride lies in being system integrators. We source pumps from one company, sensors from another, and piping and operating systems from yet another. Our goal is to seamlessly blend these components, providing our customers with a unified operating system that manages lighting, climate control, and solar panels, among other things. This integration is meticulously crafted to enhance the experience for our clients’ employees, focusing on maximal efficiency and environmental sustainability, using as little energy as possible.

Embracing Open Collaboration for Innovation

Creating an integrated system might seem straightforward, but it’s a challenging endeavor. We’re in a field dominated by heavyweights like Siemens, Honeywell, and Signify, each offering products with proprietary systems and unique data outputs, typically closed to external systems. To navigate this, we developed our software to manage and optimize the diverse systems a client might have. However, the need for a testing ground became apparent. Clients often hesitate to open their buildings for experimental setups; hence, we transformed our Breda office into a living lab.

We strongly believe in an open environment for research and development. Our efforts to collaborate with universities and companies across and beyond Europe, however have been met with limited success. True partnership proved elusive until we found a more receptive community in the Brainport region. This shares a work and research philosophy similar to our own company’s, plus communication is direct and efficient, enabling us to quickly and easily connect with each other. This welcoming atmosphere was pivotal when Wim Zeiler, a former colleague now with  Eindhoven University of Technology and still an advisor at Kropman, introduced us to the Eindhoven Engine OpenCall. Recognizing its potential to foster meaningful partnerships, we eagerly seized this opportunity.

Eindhoven Engine’s OpenCall: A Catalyst for Collaboration

“Working with Eindhoven Engine offers a unique experience,” Shalika explains. “We share a location with a variety of companies and students, all engaged in their own projects. This diversity is beneficial. It’s not just about casual connections, like chatting at the coffee machine; we also attend sessions to share and discuss project progress.

For instance, while working on a data prediction project, I overheard a researcher at Eindhoven Engine’s Festival of Disruption event discussing data usage in cancer research. It didn’t click immediately, but later, the idea struck me at home: we could collaborate and enhance our respective research.

These interactions open up new perspectives and inspire innovative thinking. “This collaborative atmosphere was the reason Kropman signed up for three projects in a row. One project focused on detecting and diagnosing faults in building climate systems. The second project involved personalized thermal comfort systems, allowing employees to adjust their workspace climate via a smartphone app. The third was an assessment of CO2 sensors in the market, evaluating their accuracy for reliable CO2 readings in schools.

Although these projects are completed within Eindhoven Engine, we continue to build on the research and improve the products developed.” “And that’s why we brought Shalika on board,” says Joep.

Three case studies

In the landscape of workplace technology, sensing systems play a crucial role in gathering data for understanding building performance and employee activities. However, a common challenge arises: individuals often feel disconnected from these systems, being treated merely as passive recipients of data. Three case studies propose practical solutions to address this issue.

Case 1. SensorBadge

Case 1 introduces SensorBadge, an ego-centric sensor platform allowing employees to actively participate in data collection and analysis. This approach emphasizes the importance of seamlessly integrating sensor technology into daily routines while ensuring individuals have control over their data. The study underscores the need for clear and understandable data representations to facilitate informed decision-making.

Case 3. Click-IO

Case 3 presents Click-IO, a tangible tool designed for real-time feedback on workplace well-being. By merging individual experiences with environmental data, Click-IO offers a nuanced understanding of office dynamics. Its privacy-sensitive design ensures that employees feel comfortable sharing feedback, while its mobility allows for in-the-moment data collection.

Case 2. SensorBricks

In case 2, SensorBricks emerges as a toolkit aimed at improving data literacy among users. Through interactive workshops, participants engage with sensor data in a collaborative setting, fostering discussions and shared insights. The toolkit’s user-friendly interface lowers the barrier for individuals to interact with data, promoting a deeper understanding of their surroundings.

Human-centered design

These case studies demonstrate the importance of human-centered design in workplace sensing technologies. By prioritizing user engagement, control, and understanding, these approaches pave the way for more meaningful insights and improved well-being in the modern workplace.

Integration of findings

Within our final study, which will start soon, we will integrate the findings of these studies into a unified artifact, prioritizing human-centric design principles. This aims to enhance data literacy, facilitate real-time feedback on well-being, and ensure employee control over data. Implementing such an ecosystem in diverse workplace settings could provide valuable insights into its effectiveness and ethical implications, ultimately fostering a more fulfilling and productive work environment.

My research is focused on using transcranial electric stimulation for epilepsy patients that cannot be treated using medicine or surgery and is part of the PerStim project. This project was conceived from the wish to be able to reduce the treatment gap in epilepsy and thus lower the burden of this disease on the patients and society.  

Electrical stimulation is simple, but very complex

Together with the Ghent University Hospital, Kempenhaeghe and Philips we started to research the use of electrical stimulation for epilepsy treatments. Through extensive literature studies, we found that the working mechanism of this technology is still poorly understood. Thus, we set out to answer a fundamental question using clinical studies: “Are we stimulating the brain with currents that go straight through the skull, or is it taking a more complicated route like the facial nerves?”

To support these studies, I was tasked with making patient models, optimizing the electrode positions as well as analyzing the data. Together with students from Fontys and the TU/e, we built a full workflow to do this in a very quick and efficient manner. Eindhoven Engine enabled us to cooperate with the students from the Fontys. Their working mentality and different way of approaching problems were fundamental to significant parts of this work. Our clinical studies are still running, but preliminary results have shown that the answer to the abovementioned question might be that the stimulation works via both the direct and the indirect paths.

Looking into the future

Even though the use of transcranial electric stimulation is more complex than initially assumed, we have just started to unravel the actual working mechanism and I wholeheartedly believe that as we gain a deeper understanding, we can improve the methods and their efficacy. This method holds great promise for the future because of its affordability, simplicity, and potential for home use, which could ultimately reduce the need for frequent hospital visits.

My time at the university is running out, but I am still as fascinated by the world of brain stimulation as I was when starting this project and I’ll keep working in this field to improve the understanding of these techniques and unlock their potential for patients.

Our socials

Daardoor is bijvoorbeeld ook ‘s winters voldoende energie beschikbaar om een woning of kantoorpand te verwarmen. Om het systeem verder te verbeteren is een proefopstelling gebouwd op de TU/e Campus. Het project is één van 28 projecten van innovatieaccelerator Eindhoven Engine en is mede mogelijk gemaakt door Regio Deal Brainport Eindhoven.

Source: Brainport Eindhoven

Hans Krikhaar, who is leading this project and is a lecturer in Smart Manufacturing at Fontys Engineering, understood that SMEs have a great need for innovation, but lack the capacity and knowledge to do these innovations themselves. To be ahead of the competition, it is extremely important for SMEs to keep innovating their production processes. The industries need to adopt Smart Manufacturing. The fresh perspective and knowledge of Fontys students are the outcome here. In the ecosystem knowledge exchange at Eindhoven Engine makes cross-pollinations possible between Fontys students, SMEs, other companies and institutes. With the help of Eindhoven Engine, it results in a validated approach to strengthen the innovation power of SMEs in the Brainport region.

Projects in three focus areas

The goal of SmartMan project was to annually realize 40 subprojects carried out by 2nd, 3rd and 4th year Fontys students at SMEs. During the 3-year period at Eindhoven Engine, indeed a total of 120 projects at various companies were successfully completed. A very nice result considering this project withstood the corona epidemic. In the SmartMan project with Eindhoven Engine, Fontys, TNO and Brainport Industries as partners, students do their internship and graduation assignments in various facets of Smart Manufacturing.

These can be divided into three focus areas:

1. Topological design, which includes additive manufacturing and lightweight structures.

2. Intelligent systems (AI, low-code modeling and digital twinning).

3. Factory automation and robotics.

At VDL, successive students have worked on modular injection molds (topological design). In the area of intelligent systems, several students have used artificial intelligence for VBTI to further develop vision analysis, and at Siemens, students have collaborated on developing digital twins. Students have also contributed to factory automation solutions at various companies. At Eindhoven Engine project Carbyon DAC, a student even collaborated on the process plant for making CO₂-absorbent material used to reduce CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Stronger link

Fontys Engineering is working out plans to follow up on SmartMan. The goal is to link research even more closely to student projects in companies, especially in SMEs. Students will receive assignments within research domains at companies and teacher-researchers will provide the necessary knowledge transfer. This allows future students to complete their assignments more efficiently with the guidance and knowledge of the lecturer-researcher.