TECH OFFERS

Human DNA contamination is an issue in the process of manufacturing devices for molecular and genomic applications. Such devices need to be certified human DNA free for sensitive downstream processes. Therefore, there is a need to monitor human DNA residual level in factory surfaces and in final products. The technology provider had identified a novel target for detection of human DNA and developed a highly sensitive PCR based detection method for presence of human DNA based on this target. They have demonstrated that the method is specific, sensitive and with low cost. Compared to a commercial kit available in the market, this method is at least 500 times more sensitive. This method will be a valuable tool for device manufacturers. In addition, it can also be applied on forensic as well as environmental samples. Furthermore, the principle of the method can be adapted to detect other animal species for either identification or monitoring purposes. The said method is simple and reproducible. It meets the requirement described in the ISO 18385 standard (Minimizing the risk of human DNA contamination in products used to collect, store and analyse biological material for forensic purposes-Requirement) in terms of detection sensitivity. One of the key advantages of this innovation is its superior sensitivity level in human DNA detection. When compared with a commercial human DNA detection kit on the market, thismethod demonstrated at least 500 times higher sensitivity when performed under comparable conditions in parallel. The primary application will be for certification of human DNA-free in manufactured products. With this test, products can meet higher standard of requirement especially in the molecular biology and genomic DNA related applications. Therefore manufacturers can broaden its market reach and add value to their products. This method can also be applied identification of human remains in forensic samples. With higher sensitivity level, efficient routine tests procedure can be established by using less samples volume or even pooled samples. The overall test cost will be lower.   DNA, DNA detection, PCR Healthcare, Diagnostics, Medical Devices, Chemicals, Agrochemicals, Analysis

Multiple Pickup and Delivery Planning (MPDP) is very common in both passenger and cargo transport operations. However, due to the planning complexity, it is impossible to quickly generate good solutions manually to support daily transport operation planning. The MPDP solution developed by the team is able to close the gap by quickly generating transport plans for multiple vehicles with multiple pickup locations and multiple delivery locations. Web-based application. No installation required and easy to access Capable of handling multiple complex constraints, such as different time windows, different vehicle types, different vehicle departure times, different vehicle start and end locations, Visualisation of jobs and planned routes on both map and Gantt chart Flexible for human planner to overwrite the existing plan with drag-and-drop feature The MPDP solution can be applied to two potential areas. The first area is passenger transport planning for Book-a-Ride, bus pooling and carpooling services. The MPDP solution is able to quickly generate high quality plans either in advance or in real-time to replace the manual planning. The second area is cargo delivery planning in the logistics industry. The potential users include packed food delivery to consumers from different restaurants, courier service providers who provide same day pickup and delivery services, premier transport service providers who provide 2-hour delivery services etc. The solution will facilitate the human planner to assign travel routes based on the vehicle’s current location, vehicle capacity, service requestor’s start and end location as well as service start time. The solution will also consider the drivers break time, vehicle departure location and end location. Moreover, the planning and scheduling engine developed is able to run in the background to assign passengers to vehicles automatically. This feature can also be used for the real-time planning of last minute transport service requests. The solution can be applied for both passenger service providers and logistics industry players for delivery planning. Potential users includes of Dial a Ride (DAR) service providers and logistics opterators that provide same day pickup and delivery courier services.  Provide better service to customers Reduce operating cost by cutting vehicle traveling distance on the road Improve vehicle utilisation to generate more revenue Infocomm, Enterprise & Productivity, Logistics, Planning & Order Processing, Transportation, Delivery & Distribution

This Internet of Things (IoT) software architecture addresses a decentralized framework to provide the ability to exchange data between IoT devices autonomously without any centralized server. In recent years, the development of IoT applications has become increasingly complex. Thus, this technology addresses the problem by providing the ability to simplify the streaming of data to the IoT platforms over the web. The IoT platform is designed to assist modern-day farmers in monitoring the entire farm seamlessly. It can be customized to suit each farm depending on the type of sensors, machine vision camera, cloud storage, etc. Equipped with detailed data tracking and analytics to provide the most accurate growth process from start to finish. This design can be customized for other applications. The technology owner is looking for partners and collaborators to further co-develop this technology in urban farming.  Light-weight runtime, taking full advantage of its even driven, non-blocking model. This makes it ideal to run at the edge of the network on low-cost hardware such as Raspberry Pi as well as in the cloud. Real-time data can be easily imported and exported for sharing with others. Plug & Play solutions make it easy to connect various sensors. Fault Tolerance  In this system, each node runs a distinct component of the web server application software and identical copies of each other. Upon a node failure, the application software can be replaced by another good node easily. The failure and restoration processes of the hardware and software are highly dependent on the status of other components as well as the sequence of failure events. Data can be downloaded from each individual node or from the consolidated database in the cloud. This IoT platform architecture can be applied to the following segments of the market: Outdoor farming Indoor farming Laboratories/research/education institutions Home Hobbyist   It can also be applied in the following segments of the market: Office Building, Home, Hotel - Fire alarm system, Electrical system Low cost, easy-to-install and is compatible with most standard Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, switches, and gateways. Agriculture, Decentralized Framework, IoT, Software Infocomm, Ambient Intelligence & Context-Aware Computing

Antimicrobial resistance developed due to the overuse of conventional antimicrobial agents in surface coatings and consumer products is a global concern for treatment of infectious diseases in recent years. To address this concern, US FDA has banned the use of a number of conventional antimicrobial agents in consumer and healthcare products such as hand soaps and hand sanitisers. This raises the importance of alternative antimicrobial agents in antiseptic products. Photoactive antimicrobial agents are effective alternatives which produce highly reactive oxygen species (ROS) when activated by light. These reactive oxygen species display broad-spectrum biocidal activity that destroy microbes by a multi-targeted killing mechanism, which may limit the development of antimicrobial tolerance or resistance. The researchers have developed a stabilised form of a plant-based antimicrobial agent to protect it from environmental degradation. The enhanced environmental stability of this natural photoactive antimicrobial agent has made it suitable to be incorporated in various materials for the self-sterilising product applications and may provide a “greener solution” to limit the spread of pathogens and transmission of infections by indirect contact. The photoactive antimicrobial agent used is obtained from a plant which is cheap and easily available. This agent has been demonstrated in scientific literature as a natural antimicrobial as well as a photosensitiser that has broad-spectrum activity against virus, bacteria, fungus and parasites. The stabilisation of the antimicrobial agent is achieved by a single step chemical reaction. Elemental and spectroscopic analyses of the stabilised product have shown that it is more stable in the environment than its natural precursor. The photosensitisation and antimicrobial properties of the natural compound are retained after the stabilisation treatment. The preliminary studies demonstrate antimicrobial activity by visible light activation. Several methods are being developed to incorporate this antimicrobial agent in various polymers for different applications such as self-sterilising surface coating.  This stabilised form of the natural photoactive antimicrobial agent can be incorporated into coating formulations to develop antimicrobial coatings for diverse surfaces including plastics, leather, wood, concrete and metal. In addition, being developed from the natural source of plant origin, this agent may have potential applications in fabric dye, personal care products and packaging materials. The team is open to collaborate with industry partners to develop and validate the antimicrobial formulation for various potential applications. The technology can be used as a form of infection control measure to create self-sterilising contact surfaces that limit the spread of pathogens by indirect contact. Plant-based photoactive antimicrobials are more sustainable and environmentally friendly than conventional antimicrobials.  Chemicals, Coatings & Paints, Inorganic, Environment, Clean Air & Water, Sanitisation, Manufacturing, Chemical Processes, Organic, Additives, Bio-based

With increasing reliance on robots within 4 walled environments for picking and the like, the task of the robotics fleet has increased significantly in difficulty. Traditional robotics fleet management systems are system-dependent and do not account for dynamic changes on the ground. This technology offer presents a robot agnostic system that allows for superior fleet optimization for warehouse robots in route planning, job allocation and decision making in potential gridlock situations. With past applications for fleets of 2 to over 100 robots in size in warehouses carrying fast-moving items to semiconductor manufacturing facilities, the robot controller has outperformed OEM robot fleet management software in excess of 40% in total job-completion times. Additional simulation function of the robot controller allows non-robot and robot users alike to determine how many robots to purchase for their fleet according to layout and volumes of current and future facility. Robot agnostic controller software integrates into a traditional robotics fleet manager that optimizes current functions such as path planning, job assignment, fleet charging and pick operations. Additional features that arise from our robot agnostic controller include real-time dynamic re-planning of paths, dynamic re-assignment of jobs, deadlock-free movements of robotics fleet of up to 100 robots and flexible configurations with other complementary software. Additional simulation capabilities determine the suitable number of robots for any new or pre-existing deployment. Suitable for use for human-robot operations or full robotics fleet operations. Suitable for integration into various robotics fleet manager platforms and across different robotics fleets interacting with one another in the same environment. Robotic fleets within manufacturing and logistics environment that require human-robot interactions and different robot-to-robot interaction. Optimizes dynamic high material flow environment with constant activity e.g. 24-hour operations in an e-commerce fulfillment facility or semiconductor manufacturing facility. Increasing shift to robots complementing labor-intensive tasks such as picking or transportation within manufacturing facilities. Increasing need to have integration between robots of different purposes and makes within the same environment in order to create seamless interaction and management, especially in the e-commerce facility with constant flow and increasing time spent on picking operations. Complements any business looking to move towards autonomous or sem-autonomous operations that will allow for greater throughput. Optimized robotics fleet management that is robotic-agnostic rather than software agnostic. Allows for the execution of real-time and dynamic reallocation of jobs and paths for robots specific to individual robot. Robot agnostic software allows for independent manuvering of robots based on their real-time situation instead of pre-planned routes i.e. in the event of unexpected occurrences like breakdowns, allowing for a deadlock free environment. Simulation function allows you to make informed purchase and operational decisions on how many robots is required for current and future operations, reducing over-expenditure on high capital expenses and errors, while ensuring absolute visibility on number of robots required at any level of operations, ensuring optimal resource allocation towards the fleet. Robotics fleet optimization, Warehouse optimization Logistics, Inventory Management

Our Location Tracking solution enables companies in manufacturing, logistics and healthcare to streamline their operations and increase their product quality through Reduce searching and assembly time by locating tools with 30cm accuracy Improved visibility on work order status and location to identify bottlenecks in real-time and avoid delays Streamline intralogistics flow by optimising material handling equipment's motion and increasing their utilization rates. For example, we help hospitals to track medical equipment, to monitor the flow of patients, and to guide visitors. We help factories to automate supply chain decisions, to locate tools/equipment, to analyse intralogistics flows. Finally, we help retail clients for self-service and delivery, such as table service in fast-food restaurants. Overall, we help B2B clients in several sectors to reduce their operational 'waste' by minimally 20%. To achieve this, we have developed an end-to-end Location Tracking Solution, with active RF tags that emit Bluetooth or Ultrawide Band signals, gateways that collect the signals, and server software which computes positions and provides user applications (search, alert, analytics ...). We've learned how to best address our clients' requirements, by designing a solution which adds value through a unique blend: Hybridization: using a single IoT infrastructure, most location-based use cases can be addressed on a physical site, whether related to people, tools, parts or other moving assets. This helps achieve faster ROI since the infrastructure investment is shared among stakeholders. Industrialisation: we have proven its ability to deliver high volumes with over 500k devices produced, over 3k sites in operations, and deployment tools for over the years. We can deliver "Plug & Play" RTLS thanks to unique features such as auto-mapping & auto-calibration. Openness: our platform is not meant to be a standalone silo, but to be integrated into legacy IT systems using our API. For instance, we have connectors with SAP's manufacturing executive system, MII. Also, third party active tags can be utilised instead of our-branded tags. We bring for the first time affordability and reliability thanks to advanced mathematical algorithms software and low-cost design: we can achieve prices up to 10x lower than historical players. And we've proven our ability to deploy at scale and bring ROI in less than a year. For Tools: Increase Utilization Rate / Reduce new tool orders Optimise layout / reduce transportation Smarter maintenance (when needed, not too early or too late), e.g. calibration Reduce tool loss For Work-In-Progress Parts / Products (Work orders): Reduce errors in delivery (since the work orders are correctly tagged) Other Lean techniques, eg Value Stream Mapping Optimise work-in-progress stock levels Provide visibility to customers regarding their order status (know when they can come on-site and do acceptance tests if they want to) Reduce time searching for products stored on site For Material Handling Equipment: MHE is usually expensive and can come in great quantities. It is therefore vital to track it, in order to utilize it in an optimal manner, in order to avoid losing them and having to reorder more. Furthermore, they can block the production: when a forklift isn't available to move parts in an automotive factory, where Takt Time is usually 60sec, then 10,000s of Eur are quickly lost. Another benefit of MHE tracking is to apply the Lean Manufacturing technique: measure the flows, then optimise the process and layout. 10-20% Turnaround time reduction 10-15% reduction in Material Handling Equipment costs 20-30% increase in Worker Productivity Asset Tracking, BLE, flow management, IIOT, Indoor location, location analytics, UWB Electronics, Sensors & Instrumentation, Infocomm, Big Data, Data Analytics, Data Mining & Data Visualisation, Enterprise & Productivity, Radio Frequency, Internet of Things, Ambient Intelligence & Context-Aware Computing, Wireless Technology, Logistics, Inventory Management