The start-up SenseING develops customized measurement units based on the principle of LEGO building blocks and brings light into darkness with the modular sensor kit SenseKIT: The combination of fully comprehensive service and modern hardware enables qualitative tracking of delivery and production processes. Troubleshooting made easy!
"Our idea was born during a hackathon at the KIT Institute of Production Science (wbk)," Sven Kruse recalls the beginnings of his business idea. "At the hackathon, Kiryl Deschuk and I looked together at errors in the supply chain and hypothesized that many errors happen during transportation - but in the end, it is usually unclear exactly where. We started thinking about how to design error analysis and quickly came to the condition monitoring approach. We then developed a pallet containing sensors including a traffic light system that lights up when predefined limit values are exceeded. We were able to convince the jury with this concept," Kruse continues.
After completing their studies, the two founded the start-up SenseING together with Lucas Bader and Ivo Frank to further develop the initial idea, make it market-ready and commercialize it. "We quickly realized that our approach is not only interesting in logistics, but that, for example, errors also occur in production processes that are not tracked. Our vision is therefore to develop a sensor kit that can be used in a wide variety of areas to minimize sources of error," says Kruse.
With their core innovation, the SenseKIT, they offer customized measurement units in combination with a full-fledged but transparent and scalable service to shed light on the previous black box principle in the context of Industry 4.0. The founding team has developed a prototype that will be further developed to production maturity in the coming years. "With the help of pilot projects, we want to find out what the requirements are in different industries and for customers of different sizes. From individual customer problems, we derive technical requirements for the SenseKIT hardware and software," explains Kruse. The findings from the pilot projects are used to gradually create a modular sensor kit. Depending on the customer's needs, the individual parts can be put together like a LEGO construction kit. The aim of this kit is not only to show where errors have occurred, but also to enable the elimination of error sources in the long term, ultimately helping to minimize defective products.
The hardware is supplemented by evaluation software. Thanks to the combination of intuitive hardware and data evaluation support from SenseING, even non-experts can benefit from the benefit of the SenseKIT. "Our requirement for the kit is that even inexperienced users can configure the hardware and detect irregularities in the measured values," says Kruse.
The modular sensor kit sets SenseING apart from the competition. The products currently available on the market record a limit violation, but do not analyze the cause of the error. The when, where and why of the cause remains unanswered. "In addition to the raw data, we also record specific events, so that when the error message occurs, we also see what the course was before and after. We also provide our customers with recommendations for action," says Kruse, describing the added value of the SenseKIT.
With their idea, the founders will contribute to reducing the throwaway society in the future. The increasing volume of productions and deliveries for both the private and commercial sectors is rising sharply - and with it, not least, the frequency of errors and rejects. Tracking is an important step towards efficient defect control 4.0.
What drives the founders:
"The enthusiasm for technical systems, their development and transition from an idea to a prototype."
"My passion is technology. I want to bring my ideas and thoughts to the software-hardware combination."
"The main motivation is to work with a super team on a common vision."
"To contribute to sustainability by helping to minimize defective productions with the SenseKIT."
Info box
A pilot project is currently underway with the company SkyTender Solutions GmbH. The aim of the collaboration is to identify the environmental conditions of a mobile beverage system in aviation. Specifically, this involves life tests for product approval. So far, all assumptions made by SkyTender Solutions GmbH have been based on statistical models. Now, the real data to which the product is exposed is to be recorded in order to be able to take them into account in the planning. The project will provide important information for the development of the SenseING kit. The young start-up is still looking for further project partners and investment concepts in order to make its product marketable across all industries and to be able to develop a portfolio with standard concepts.
