In keeping with the Linked Solutioning theme of our Partnership Model, we plan to enhance our solutions, products and services by embedding electronic componentry provided by the key players in IoT and smart PCB technologies.

Illustrated below is how we plan to collaborate with Arduino and Bosch Sensortec to embed sensors and other electronic boards for our e-mobility solutions, smart city services and process automation:

It follows the theme of Connect – Detect – Protect:

Connect refers to the act of integrating electronic components, sensors, and devices into your solutions, products, and services. This involves connecting devices to the cloud, integrating wireless protocols, and using other methods to enable communication and data exchange between different systems. By connecting devices and systems, we can create a more integrated and efficient ecosystem that enables new capabilities and functionalities.

Detect refers to the act of using sensors and other electronic components to detect data and information about the environment, systems, and users. This involves using sensors to detect data on temperature, humidity, pressure, location, motion, and other environmental factors. By detecting data, we can gain insights into how the systems are operating, how users are interacting with them, and what factors are affecting their performance.

Protect refers to the act of using electronic components, sensors, and other technologies to protect users and assets from harm. This involves using sensors to detect data on things like air quality, noise levels, and other environmental factors that could affect user health and safety. It also involves using electronic components to ensure that machines and systems are operating safely and efficiently, reducing the risk of accidents or breakdowns.

Overall, the combination of Connect, Detect, and Protect can help create more integrated, efficient, and safe systems that improve the lives of customers and users. By integrating electronic components and sensors into our solutions, products, and services, we can create a more connected and responsive ecosystem that enables new capabilities and functionalities, thus conforming to our theme of “Everything Connected“.

USE CASES

A. PROJECT TIRAMISU

Our first use case of embedding electronic boards would be for our folding helmet. Our plan is to include vision, biometric and environment sensors initially with voice based actionability in the future.

To enable safety, protection, and operational use of the helmet, we will program the following features:

1. Accelerometer: This sensor can detect the orientation and movement of the helmet, which can be used to detect impacts or falls. This can trigger alerts or notifications to the user or a monitoring system.
2. Gyroscope: A gyroscope can measure the helmet’s angular velocity, which can provide data on the direction and speed of movement. This can be used to detect sudden changes in direction or rotation, which can indicate an impact or collision.
3. Magnetometer: A magnetometer can detect changes in the magnetic field, which can be used for navigation and orientation purposes. This can help the user to determine their location or direction.
4. Temperature and Humidity Sensors: These sensors can provide data on the environmental conditions inside the helmet. This can help to ensure that the user is comfortable and safe, especially in extreme weather conditions.
5. Visualization: Visualize the analyzed data to gain insights and make informed decisions. This can involve creating charts, graphs, and other visualizations to represent the data in a meaningful way.
6. Predictive Maintenance: Use the analyzed data to predict when maintenance is required for the helmet or its components. This can help prevent equipment failure and ensure the safety of the user.
7. Continuous Monitoring: Continuously monitor the sensor data and adjust your analysis techniques as required. This can involve implementing real-time data processing and analytics to ensure that you are always up-to-date with the latest data.

Embedding electronic boards into the folding helmet  is an exciting use case. Here are some potential considerations for selecting and integrating electronic componentry into the helmet:

1. Size and weight: Since the helmet needs to be wearable, it’s important to select electronic components that are small and lightweight. This will ensure that the helmet remains comfortable and doesn’t interfere with the user’s movement or vision.
2. Sensors: To enable vision, biometric, and environment sensing, we need to select the appropriate sensors for each use case. For example, a camera or infrared sensor for vision, heart rate or blood pressure sensor for biometric sensing, and temperature or humidity sensor for environment sensing.
3. Communication: The sensors will need to communicate with each other and with the embedded processor in the helmet. We need to select communication protocols that are reliable, low-power, and suitable for the use case. For example, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or Zigbee could be good options.
4. Power: The helmet will need a power source to run the sensors and embedded processor. We need a power source that is small, lightweight, and can provide enough power for the required use cases. For example, a small lithium-ion battery could be suitable.
5. Embedded processor: The embedded processor will need to process the data from the sensors and enable voice-based actionability. We need to select a processor that is powerful enough to handle the required tasks, but also low-power to conserve battery life. For example, an ARM Cortex-M processor could be a good option.
6. Voice-based actionability: If you plan to enable voice-based actionability in the future, you’ll need to integrate a microphone and speaker into the helmet. You’ll also need to select a voice recognition technology that is accurate and can work in noisy environments.

Overall, embedding electronic boards into your folding helmet for the Hercules variant is a challenging but exciting use case. By carefully selecting and integrating electronic componentry, we can create a helmet that is not only safe and comfortable but also provides advanced sensing and voice-based functionality.

Project Tiramisu will be our first foray into embedding our products with sensors to make them smart and connected. In a series of MVP generations, we will add capabilities into our folding helmets to make them connect, detect and protect for different use cases.

MVP 1 – Integrating Nicla Sense ME

Our first implementation of sensor capabilities will be to include the Nicla Sense ME for Motion and Environmental capabilities to enable;

• Fall detection
• Impact sensing
• Environmental monitoring

SUMMARY

From ChatGPT

Collaborating with key players in IoT and smart PCB technologies like Arduino and Bosch Sensortec can help you integrate sensors and other electronic components into your solutions, products, and services. This can improve functionality, increase efficiency, and enhance safety.

The Connect-Detect-Protect theme is a great way to think about how these electronic components can be used to create solutions that connect devices, detect and respond to data, and protect users and assets. For example, by integrating sensors into your e-mobility solutions, you can connect your vehicles to the cloud and detect data on things like location, speed, and battery life. This information can then be used to protect the users of the vehicles by ensuring they have enough power to get to their destination safely.

Similarly, by integrating sensors into your smart city services, you can connect devices like traffic lights, parking meters, and waste management systems to the cloud and detect data on things like traffic flow, parking availability, and garbage levels. This information can then be used to protect the citizens of the city by improving traffic flow, reducing congestion, and keeping the streets clean.

Finally, by integrating electronic components into your process automation systems, you can connect machines, detect data on things like temperature and pressure, and protect workers by ensuring the machines are operating safely and efficiently. This can improve productivity, reduce downtime, and keep workers safe.

Overall, collaborating with companies like Arduino and Bosch Sensortec to embed electronic componentry in your solutions, products, and services can help you create connected, efficient, and safe systems that improve the lives of your customers and users.

NI+IN UCHIL Founder, CEO & Technical Evangelist
nitin.uchil@numorpho.com