The ZED Technology Sets The Stage For A Battery-Free Web Of Things

A smart house phone, a temperature controller, or smart lighting are all examples of smart devices. They’re becoming more common. Gadgets that we can regulate remotely or even operate independently. Those who are all manifestations of the ‘Internet of Things (IoT). Sensors bridge the gap between the equipment and operating. These require power.

Persuading the jury

Another benefit of these detectors is that they’re more environmentally friendly. And you don’t have to be concerned about them. The sensors are always operational and require little maintenance,” tells Niels Hokke, founder of ZED. In 2019, Hokke had been functioning on his master’s thesis, wherein he decided to seek a solution to the issue that arises from having a large number of wireless communication systems. How do you ensure that when you initiate every one of those devices simultaneously, the notifications don’t collide? A topic that served as the foundation for the company’s formation.

Since graduating, he has worked as a full-time businessman. Hooke’s three co-founders are both still part-time employees of TU Delft. That’s the best of both worlds, says Suryansh Sharma, a founder who made the group just after the Airbus contest. He is also a Ph.D.  fromVenkateshaPrasadasso, an assistant professor in Networked Systems Group at TU Delft (ENS) and Embedded.

Among many other things, Sharma says, I would want to see if there was a demand for these detectors. Hokke continues, There were some top Airbus supervisors on the Airbus competition jury.” The reality that we would be able to persuade them reinforced our belief that we had something valuable in our grip which we could commercialize.

A network issue

Cordless and battery-free detectors are not novel,Hokke says. Prasad has been investigating application forms of such sensing devices inside the ENS research organization since 2013. The idea for the Airbus contest that Hokke and his classmates pitched came from inside ENS.

Prasad also is a ZED co-founder. As educators, Professor VP (as the team refers to Prasad, ed.) already had provided us complete freedom to pursue our interests. This hasn’t changed as we became a company.” The assistant professor is a team member and provides advice. Very much like John Schmitz, former dean of TU Delft’s Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Electrical Engineering. Schmitz also held other positions at NXP Semiconductors, including Chairman Ip Rights Officer.