Enfucell’s SoftBattery® empowers KONE’s new Destination Concept at Shanghai World Expo 2010
周二, 2010年 08月 17日 14:49
SoftBattery®, a thin, flexible, and eco-friendly power source developed by Enfucell, empowers a personal user interface device controlling KONE's future elevator in the Finnish Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.
The VisualRFID project consortium, initiated by RFIDLab Finland, and consisting of The Electria unit of Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Enfucell, Hansaprint, KONE, and Sensor Center, has developed an RFID card with a display to control the pavilion's people flow and elevators in a completely new way.
With the KONE Destination Concept people can enjoy a personalized journey through crowded surroundings such as elevators. Integrated access control and guidance information create a clear pathway to a selected destination. A personal destination device provides a user with personal destination options according to their given access rights. The system can also provide personalized information, which assists the user with indoor navigation throughout the building.
The solution is a personal, energy efficient destination card, which consists of an e-paper display, RFID chip and an ultra-thin, environmentally friendly SoftBattery® by Enfucell. All the components consume very little energy, which means that the destination card has a sufficient lifetime. Also the production costs for the cards are extremely low - compared, for example, to mobile devices - no more than a few euros. The destination card is compatible with all standard RFID readers and has a reading distance of over 10 meters, which means that one reader can easily cover a large area.
"This project shows what can be reached with newest technologies when knowledgeable partners combine their visions and initiative", says COO Risto Huvila, responsible for Enfucell global customer operations.
According to Marko Mattila, Research Manager of Metropolia, the same application could also be utilized at airports, shopping malls, cruises and sports events.
"This joint project was a prime example of how ambitious targets can be achieved on a tight schedule through the cooperation of people with the proper expertise. The Shanghai Expo provides a real-life field test while simultaneously showcasing the new destination concept that is the result of cooperation with KONE. And with visitors to the Expo coming from numerous countries, we can collect data on end-user experiences in a multicultural environment", says KONE Portfolio Manager, Jukka Salmikuukka.
Enfucell is a Vantaa, Finland based technology company and the developer of SoftBattery®, a thin, flexible 1.5 & 3,0 V environmentally friendly power sources optimally utilized in disposable and short lifetime products, such as RFID (radio frequency identification), micro sensors, displays, OLED, functional packaging, cosmetic and pharmaceutical transdermal delivery systems etc.
Enfucell was founded in 2002 and employs ca. ten people with a presence in the United States and France. The company is owned and funded by its founders, private and institutional investors. Enfucell is also financially supported by Tekes, The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation. In total Enfucell has raised ca. 6 million Euros by June 2010, and at the moment the company is working on raising 1-2 million € for further commercialization of SoftBattery.
Electria is a Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences unit that specializes in ubiquitous technology, engaging in close cooperation with RFIDLab Finland, and has already carried out many projects started up by RFIDLab. (www.metropolia.fi, www.rfidlab.fi)
KONE is one of the global leaders in the elevator and escalator industry. The company has been committed to understanding the needs of its customers for the past century, providing industry-leading elevators, escalators and automatic building doors as well as innovative solutions for modernization and maintenance. The company's objective is to offer the best people flow experience by developing and delivering solutions that enable people to move smoothly, safely, comfortably and without waiting in buildings in an increasingly urbanizing environment. In 2009, KONE had annual net sales of EUR 4.7 billion and approximately 34,000 employees. KONE class B shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd in Finland. Founded in 1910, KONE celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2010. (www.kone.com)
For further information, please contact:
- Risto Huvila, COO Enfucell, tel. +358 400 755 661, 该E-mail地址已受到防止垃圾邮件机器人的保护，您必须启用浏览器的Java Script才能看到。
- Jukka Salmikuukka, Portfolio Manager, Kone, tel. +358 40 578 9533 该E-mail地址已受到防止垃圾邮件机器人的保护，您必须启用浏览器的Java Script才能看到。
- Marko Mattila, Research Manager, Electria, tel. +385 40 737 1694, 该E-mail地址已受到防止垃圾邮件机器人的保护，您必须启用浏览器的Java Script才能看到。
KONE Destination concept 