Development for a proof of concept of an online financial planning tool for startups - startup planner.

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FPGA design for a cyclotron. A cyclotron is a compact particle accelerator that uses electromagnetic waves to accelerate particles. A stream of charged particles is fed into the center of the chamber, and voltage alternately attracts and repels the particles, causing them to accelerate. For more Info Click Here

E-waste is electronic waste. Due to our consumer society, electronic devices such as laptops, game consoles and cell phones have a short lifespan. This results in large amounts of e-waste. The workshops give the e-waste a new purpose; the participants make an artwork out of it. Through concept, design and realization, the participants create an interactive artwork.
E-waste workshops worldwide

Development of the ‘Digital Reference Amplifier’ for Inbiolab. This is an innovatory equipment, which can be used to control respitory ventilators in hospitals. Conventional ventilators simulate breathing, without measuring whether the patient still has a respitory reflex, the signal which the nerves send to the lungs when a patient needs to breath. This might cause loss of this reflex with the result of the patient losing the ability to breath on his own.

The amplifier picks up the respitory reflex signal from the nerves, amplifies it and then sends a message to the ventilator, telling it to start working and provide oxygen to the patient. The amplifier is connected to the patient through electrodes. The amplifier is connected to the ventilator through Radio Frequency (RF).

Experience in using FPGAs as an alternative for conventional devices and microcontrollers. Using FPGAs allows flexibility in developing embedded software applications. By applying standard softcore CPUs, standard development can be used tools to build efficient designs. Using FPGAs imposed new demands on the process of design and prototyping of embedded electronics, such as:

• Multi-layer PCBs
• Processed BGA chips
• Complex supply circuits

Development of a prototyper which makes the usage of FPGAs simple and quick for future developments. With this prototyper projects can start immediately, without encountering new FPGA requirements.

Application of FPGAs in various projects:

• LEDWork- high speed decoding of a DVI video signal.
• Logger – using a Atmel (AVR8) softcore with modifications and shared memory for multiple CPU’s.
• Prototyper – implementation of the OpenRISC softcore.

Various types of FPGAs used:

• Spartan3 from Xilinx
• Virtex 6 from Xilinx
• Spartan 6 from Xilinx

Development of the ‘6DOF Motion sensor with BlackBox’ for Siri Marine. This is a unique ship-monitoring system, which is used worldwide in primarily salvage operations. For example, the motion 6DOF sensors, which consist of accelerometers and gyroscopes, can measure the movements of a capsized ship. The sensors send the measurement data to a logger, the BlackBox, which is an 8-core DSP. The BlackBox can predict future movements of the capsized ship by analysing the measuring data.

• Digital Signal Processing
• Offshore industry
• Mathematical analysis
• Calibration
• MEMS, acceleration and angular velocity
• RS485 data communication
• Vibrations up to 6 Hz
• Temperature compensated
• Sensitivity better than 1 mg
• Potted electronics

Development of the Omnidots sensor and Omnidots web portal, used for detecting potential damage to buildings caused by nearby construction, earthquakes or heavy traffic.

The Omnidots sensor measures vibrations of structures. The Omnidots web portal gives insight into the measurements, by using big data algorithms to correlate the measurements. Architecture design of the sensor and the web portal. Communication between sensor and portal.

Participation in a Philips open innovation project named ‘Philips Lighting’, by conducting research on a number of sensor systems and by designing hardware plus a PC application for the Philips’ ‘Living Colors’ products. Philips used the results of the research in the further development of the Philips ‘Living Colors’ products. The Living Colors products make use of sensors.The research was therefore done on sensor systems and beheld:

• Setting up the criteria and requirements for the sensor systems used by Philips.
• Conducting research on these sensor systems, which beheld the development of a PC simulation application which allows Philips to use the sensor system in a simulated environment. By using “Open GL”, the activities of the sensors during changes in the environment can be dynamically visualized. The simulation can be controled by using scripts.
• Valuing the sensors, based on the criteria and the set of requirements.
• Choosing the most suitable sensor system.
• Based on this sensor system: developing hardware which consists of platforms.
• Equipping the simulation software with the capability of wirelessly uploading simulation scripts, which allows the user to easily test simulate scripts in practice on the hardware platform.

Wixel 1.0 wireless
Development for Blendid of a full color LEDs system which can be controlled wirelessly, for a piece of art with full color LEDs: ‘Wixel 1.0 wireless’. Placing hundreds of LEDs together in a network, controlled at high speed from a PC with Max/MSP software via Open Sound Control. Challenging was the need of low cost wireless LEDs combined with the need of wireless communication over a wide range.

Wixel LED lighting
Redesign of the Wixel 1.0 wireless was needed for a piece of art for Re-Act, a client of Blendid, similar to the Wixel 1.0 wireless, but consisting of of 500 wired LEDs. The challenge beheld: Redesign from wireless to wired Developing suitable wiring including power supply Designing the artwork-components fit for production Production of the LEDs and the controller Production of the artwork within ten weeks