ESSENSIUM´s Mind division is organising an Embedded Linux Training in Brussels between January 16^th and January 20^th 2012, in co-operation with one of its partners.
This 5 days training is intended for developers that want to build an Embedded Linux system from scratch or from commercial Embedded Linux solutions. The course covers the various components of an embedded Linux target, the development choices and debugging possibilities, as well as the Linux kernel architecture. During this course all participants will get the opportunity to build and experiment with a small-footprint embedded target.

In addition, ESSENSIUM´s Mind division is organising Linux Device Driver Training and Android Training in Brussels during February 2012.

For more details on these training opportunities, for other available dates, or for registration, please visit our Training page.

On 6 Dec 2012 the IMEC-based Wireless Community held their 9th Work Meeting, focused on Wireless Positioning technologies.
Huub Tubbax, RTLS Program Manager at Essensium, gave a stimulating presentation highlighting the unique capabilities of Essensium´s RTLS technology with its combination of high accuracy and long range of operation.
A faultless plug-and-play demonstration was well received as it highlighted another advantage of this solution: the ease of installation with no fingerprinting or other site survey activities required.

The presentation (pdf format) can be viewed at this link..

Essensium has completed the Tape-Out of their LOST^TM RTLS System-On-Chip. This microchip combines Essensium´s highly performant radio design, together with 32-bit embedded microprocessor and dedicated digital logic for optimised RTLS performance and sensor communication. The radio is based on Essensium´s patented technique for wide-over-narrowband, giving a unique combination of both high accuracy and long range RTLS performance. The competitiveness of this design has been validated with the previous LOST^TM RF test chip, giving high confidence in this 2nd MPW. Silicon will be available in a 7mm X 7mm QFN48 package from November 2011, with tag modules to be launched during 2012.

Essensium have received a contract for installation of their Container Terminal Safety System (CTSS) solution on the premises of a client´s Maritime Container Terminal, located at Antwerp Harbour, Belgium. Essensium´s CTSS solution includes a high performance Position Detection System (PDS) leveraging both GPS positioning and Essensium´s LOST^TM RTLS technology for accurate position detection and vehicle-to-vehicle ranging. The installation of LOST^TM Mobile Nodes on the Reach Stackers enables the system to accurately track the movements and positions of the vehicles. The Terminal Operator can specify ´Safe Operating Distances´ for different vehicles and different areas of the terminal. An audible alarm and visual indicator inside the cabin warns the vehicle operators when they are violating the Safe Operating Distances. The system brings significant benefits in terms of staff safety and also increased productivity due to the ability to operate in more dense configurations.
Following successful trials earlier this year, the system has been commissioned and will be in full operation before the end of 2011.

The Embedded World Exhibition & Conference is the world´s biggest exhibition of its kind and the meeting-place of the international embedded community. Embedded technologies are in action everywhere -whether in the car, data and telecommunication systems, industrial and consumer electronics, military systems or aerospace.
As co-exhibitor of DSP Valley, for Embedded World 2011, Essensium were happy to participate once again in this international key event for the embedded scene, for hardware, software, tools and services.

ESSENSIUM´s LOST^TM tracking solution was used by artists and visitors to Leuven City´s Kulturama exhibition. The handheld MN200 nodes were used to follow the positions of artists moving around a virtual drawing zone on the floor, and the LOST^TM system controled a graphics editor program projected onto a large screen. In this way, the artists used their own movement to create the desired images.

This successful 4-day demonstration of the Human Mouse showcased again the performance of the LOST^TM RTLS system.

Selected from a tender initiative of POM Vlaams-Brabant (the Provincial development authority of Flemish-Brabant), ESSENSIUM is providing Flightcare with a track and trace solution for its fleet management of Ground Support Equipment (GSE) at Brussels National Airport. This technology will enable Flightcare to optimize their GSE usage but also improve safety and reduce fuel and maintenance costs.

Read the press release here

ESSENSIUM announce the availability of CAN-bus enabled LOST^TM Mobile Nodes. The MN100c model combines ESSENSIUM´s own LOST^TM technology for high accuracy localisation of moving assets, together with a built-in CAN-bus interface for installation in equipped motorized assets.
This combination ensures that, along with accurate position tracking from the Wide-over-Narrowband LOST^TM tracking technology, the node can also provide timely information on vehicle status available from integrated sensors. There are numerous advantages, including the ability to monitor engine running hours, to reduce idle time and to optimise refueling and engine maintenance scheduling, all of which contribute to optimising the utilisation levels of internal logistic fleets. This product is particularly interesting for vehicles such as Forklift Trucks, Reach Stackers and Ground Support Equipment (GSE).
The CAN-bus option is also available in the GPS-enabled LOST^TM Mobile Node, with option MN100cg.

ESSENSIUM announce the availability of GPS-enabled LOST^TM Mobile Nodes. The MN100g model combines ESSENSIUM´s own LOST^TM technology for high accuracy localisation of moving assets, together with integrated GPS receivers for localisation over wider areas. This combination is particularly suited for Track and Trace and Fleet Management applications in areas such as Airfields, Container Parks, Shipping Yards, etc.
The GPS tracking capablity can be used for general location tracking across the wider area, while the Wide-over-Narrowband LOST^TM tracking technology can be installed to cover areas where more precise position tracking is required, such as for the management of mission-critical activities, and also to extend the tracking capabilities to areas where the GPS coverage is limited.
This hybrid solution enables seamless coverage across both indoor and outdoor tracking areas, for full operational visibility across the complete premises.

As a high tech company developing leading edge technology for a growing market, ESSENSIUM is committed to growing its team in the short term while also supporting engineering education for the longer term. ESSENSIUM were present at the IEEE Student Branch Job Fair in Leuven on 8 Dec 2010.

ESSENSIUM continue looking for highly capable, talented and creative engineers who are motivated by the opportunity to join teams working on leading edge projects. For more information about ESSENSIUM vacancies, see the Career page (here).

The ICT & Logistics tradeshow took place 3-4 Nov in Utrecht. One of the largest stands was from the logistics software company, Gateway where a very impressive display of their 3D Multitouch WMS system was enhanced by the use of ESSENSIUM´s RTLS product, LOST^TM, to track the positions of a mobile cart moving around the exhibition. Bystanders were intrigued to see the 3D WMS system show the position of the cart in real time against a 3D representation of the exhibition itself, and to learn how this system can be used to follow the movements of forklifts or reachtrucks around a warehouse or yard, and thus enable the WMS system to track the positions of all goods transported within the premises.

T-DOSE is a yearly event held in The Netherlands to promote use and development of Open Source Software. During this event Open Source projects, developers and visitors can exchange ideas and knowledge. This years event was held on 6 and 7 November 2010 at the Fontys University of Applied Science in Eindhoven.

Logistiek, a magazine for the Logistics Industry in The Netherlands published on 4 Nov an online article about ´Jubilant Gateway demonstrate realtime 3D-WMS.´ Here they report on the ICT & Logistics tradeshow which took place 3-4 Nov in Utrecht. One of the largest stands was from the logistics software company, Gateway where a very impressive display of their 3D Multitouch WMS system was enhanced by the use of ESSENSIUM´s RTLS product, LOST^TM, to track the positions of a mobile cart moving around the exhibition. Bystanders were intrigued to see the 3D WMS system show the position of the cart in real time against a 3D representation of the exhibition itself, and to learn how this system can be used to follow the movements of forklifts or reachtrucks around a warehouse or yard, and thus enable the WMS system to track the positions of all goods transported within the premises.

At Prologistics 2010 in Brussels, PHI DATA demonstrated high tech warehouse management solutions for tradeshow attendees.

Their ´Super´ warehouse worker was equipped with an Essensium LOST^TM Mobile Node, complete with push-button indication of package pick and place operations.

PhiData demonstrated how the real time tracking of package transport activities, coupled with PHI DATA´s ID-WMS, warehouse management system application, can greatly increase the efficiency of internal warehouse logistics operations.

ESSENSIUM has joined the Infopole Cluster TIC organisation. INFOPOLE Cluster TIC is a network of partners which brings together professionals in Information and Communication Technology in Wallonia in order to promote business and innovation through partnership. The cluster is composed of more than 160 members and includes small and large enterprises, universities, research laboratories and other ICT actors. The main goals of INFOPOLE Cluster TIC are to structure the sector, to bring the main players together, to increase the synergies and to strengthen the economic and technological foundations of member companies.

As Participating Members of the Wavenis Open Standard Alliance, ESSENSIUM assisted on the Wavenis OSA booth at the IBS Exhibition in Paris. Together with Coronis, they demonstrated the world´s first Single Chip SOC solution developed specifically for Wavenis implementations. This microchip solution, developed and produced by ESSENSIUM for Coronis S.A.S., is the core of the Excelyo module, an ultra-low-power wireless OEM micro-platform launched by Coronis at this exhibition.

ESSENSIUM: Enabling the Next Generation of Wavenis Devices for ultra-low-power and long-range M2M wireless communications

In order to match the growing demands from its customers, Mind has recently hired several additional Embedded Software Developers with significant experience in the field of Linux and Open Source Software for Embedded Systems.

In addition to their broad expertise in Linux and other Open Source projects (like RTEMS, eCos, Qt, GStreamer, etc...), these developers are also bringing additional knowledge and experience in device driver development, communication and networking protocol stacks, audio and video libraries, as well as user interface frameworks.

These new hires will further increase the accumulated man-years of experience of Mind's software development team, and they will also allow higher reactivity for new customer project requests, and higher available bandwidth for larger projects.

The long narrow aisles of a busy warehouse have long been seen as a challenging environment for radio based RTLS systems, and the difficulties which alternative technologies have had in providing accurate position tracking in this situation have limited the useability and thus deployment of these systems. In the attached video, ESSENSIUM demonstrate the ability to accurately track in real-time the movements of a forklift vehicle operating in a Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) environment. Combined with the previously demonstrated indoor and outdoor tracking capabilities, and the ability to link to WMS and ERP applications, we show that RTLS technology is ready for deployment into mainstream warehouse and yard management installations, bringing visibility and enabling efficiencies across the operations flow.

See the following video for more details.

The Expo included an outdoors arena where Logis Opleidingcentrum were providing training courses and demonstrations on the use of Forklifts and ReachStackers. ESSENSIUM equipped four of those vehicles with LOST RTLS vehicle tracking nodes, and provided continuous live tracking of the vehicles during the 3 days of the Expo. Visitors to the Innovation Pavilion were able to view a large screen display showing the floorplan of the forklift arena with the vehicle positions continuously updated in realtime, along with measured parameters such as vehicle speed, trip time, and the distance between vehicles.
This was a clear demonstration of how such a long range, highly accurate, RTLS solution provides detailed visibility into Warehouse and Yard logistics operations, enabling WMS systems with accurate location information for all goods transported on the premises. In addition, safety and process enhancement features are enabled, such as collision-avoidance, speed limits, trip time optimisation, no-drive zones, etc.

See the following video compilation of the Forklift Arena and the ESSENSIUM RTLS tracking display.

The Embedded World Exhibition & Conference remains the world's undisputed biggest get-together for the international embedded community, as the figures show. The exhibition set another new record in 2009 with more than 700 exhibitors, and some 16,000 trade visitors used the opportunity to obtain an impression of the latest trends in embedded technologies.
Embedded World 2010 was once again the international get-together for the embedded scene, for hardware, software, tools or services.

As co-exhibitor of DSP Valley, Essensium´s MIND division were happy to be part of this great event.

The IMEC, Europe´s largest independent research centre in nano-electronics and nano-technology, has published an in-depth interview with Johan Danneels, the CEO of Essensium.

You can find the full text of the Dutch language article in the IMEC´s InterConnect publication.

The European Patent Office have published a key patent granted to Essensium regarding the ranging method which enables Essensium to provide a unique combination of high accuracy and long range in their wireless RTLS products.

Essensium’s patented approach to RTLS combines the long range benefits of Narrowband and the high accuracy of Wideband in a single Wide-over-Narrowband RF implementation. This results in an industry-leading RTLS implementation giving both the accuracy of a precise UWB system combined with long range, and thus lower infrastructure costs, better than that of typical Narrowband or WiFi methods for RTLS.

Read the press release here

Essensium has joined the Wavenis Open Standard Alliance (Wavenis-OSA) as a Participating Member. At the same time, Essensium continues its partnership with Coronis S.A.S. to complete Coronis’ first Wavenis compliant SOC.

Read the press release here

As one of the main players in the field of Consultancy and Services for Embedded Systems, Essensium’s embedded software division, Mind, hosted a booth at the exhibition in Leuven, Belgium. As part of the exhibition program, they also gave a presentation on the topic of “State-of-the-art open source software for embedded systems: from Linux distribution to multimedia frameworks” where they highlighted the advantages of, and best practices for, the use of open source software in embedded systems.

Full presentation details are available here.

Ing. Erik Cotman of PHI DATA presented a lively seminar on the subject of “Increased customers satisfaction, cost savings and competitive advantage with Wireless Sensing and Real Time Location Systems” to an audience at the trade show in Antwerp, Belgium.

Following his presentation, Essensium provided attendees with a floorplan view of the seminar area where they could watch the location and tracking of multiple packages as they were moved around the conference area, with a precision and accuracy down to individual chair locations. This was achieved without the need for tags on the packages themselves.

Read more about this demonstration of ‘Virtual Tagging’ using Essensium’s LOST system for RTLS.

Essensium will be attending the 7th edition of the Transport and Logistics Trade Show in Antwerp Expo on 20-22/10/2009 in order to follow up on the significant benefits their RTLS technology (LOST) can bring to the logistics sector. For further information, to arrange a demo, or to schedule a detailed discussion of how LOST RTLS can contribute to your business success, please contact sales@essensium.com.

Götting, a major supplier of solutions for Automated Guided Vehicles evaluated the LOST technology for implementation in indoor carriers. LOST is not only a welcome complement for use in Automated Guidance but provides also added value with Track&Trace and location capability.
Read more

Essensium N.V. specialized in wireless sensor network development for systems and system-on-chip products, today announced that it has appointed Stephen Dunphy as Senior Product Manager for its RTLS (Real Time Location System) product line leveraging the innovative LOST technology.
Read more

Essensium and PHI DATA announnced today in a joint press release the successful deployment of a pilot test on the premises of DP World in the harbor of Antwerp. Essensium LOST technology was successfully used to track and locate in real time the movement of straddle carriers moving containers over an area of 400 meters a side. The test ran for one week and proved that not only is the LOST technology accurate within 50cm but it also maintains this accuracy in the harsh environment created by several cranes and carriers and the presence of a very extensive and heavy loaded WIFI network. The LOST technology was found to be the best in terms of range, accuracy and cost of ownership of the many RTL systems evaluated by PHI DATA over the last years.
Read more

The demo kit contains all hardware and software that is used in a typical set-up for the LOST Real-Time-Location-System. It allows interested customers to evaluate the performance of Essensium's LOST RTLS technology in applications such as indoor vehicle and people tracking. It consists of four Reference Nodes, two Mobile Nodes, two Light Mobile Nodes, all power cords, adapters and batteries. This material is suited to cover areas of 200m by 200m. The set-up is performed in less than one hour thanks to the LOST Graphical User Interface, once the floor plan is entered. This software together with all documentation comes on a USB stick and runs on a Windows platform. The network status and location of the Mobile Nodes are displayed on a screen and can also be accessed via a TCP/IP socket. The complete Demonstration kit comes in a sturdy transportation case.



The demo kit is available on request on sales@essensium.com.

The ALOHA project is now funded by the Flemish Government for 895.000€. The final objective of the ALOHA project is to create all IP needed for the development of a LOST SoC for use in the LOST RTLS system. With this SoC the size, the weight and the power consumption can be drastically reduced. The useful life time of the mobile nodes will be extended from a few hours to several years. The performance on accuracy will be further improved. This will allow Essensium to get into the market of asset tracking and people tracking with competitive products. The research program is conducted in cooperation with the ESAT-MICAS division of the KULeuven and the INTEC-IMEC division of Ghent University. It involves an investment of 18 person years of effort and has duration of 25 months.

On March 19, 2009, Essensium presented at WPNC (Workshop on Positioning, Navigation and Communication) in Hannover, Germany. WPNC is a platform dedicated to both outdoor and indoor positioning and shows a clear trend toward the hybridization of both systems. As a strong believer in this evolution, Essensium presented its LOST technology at the workshop. The paper was very well received, with many positive interactions with high-profile workshop participants.

Today, Johan Danneels presented the technological answer to the RTLS challenges in the field of logistics as well as the practical translation of this in Essensium's product offering to a crowded seminar at Imec organised by Leuven Inc. under the central theme of "Technology that makes logistics smart".
View the presentation in pdf.

Today, Essensium presented the paper 'A Novel Positioning Technique in 2.4GHz ISM Band' at the IEEE Radio And Wireless Symposium (RAWCON2009) in San Diego, USA. The paper explains in detail Essensium's LOST ranging technology. The presentation got exellent feedback from both academia and industry and clearly showed that LOST offers superior positioning performance compared to state-of-the-art solutions.