Participants
COLCHONES DELAX S.L.
Business activities: Our main activity is the manufacture of mattresses and our location allows us to have a very positive communication and administrative environment to encourage our growth. Delax is a young, entrepreneurial and very dynamic company. We are aware that, to achieve a prime position in market it is necessary to bet on the integration of a permanent innovation strategy. A fact clearly reflected in the implementation of policies based on the evolution of three distinct blocks: (1) Innovative new products development, able to set trends in the industry; (2) Intensification of innovative activity in order to generate new products to mark differences with the competition on the markets; and (3) Evolution and continuous improvement of the production systems in all its phases.
Role in the project: Delax will be the coordinator of the project leading WP9, and the integrator of the final BabyCareSleep system (leading WP5). They will also lead the exploitation and dissemination activities (WP8) supported by IBV and PIN. During the project, they will actively collaborate in the definition of technical specifications and they will also validate the actuation system and management interface.
Expected benefits: Together with the exploitation benefits of participating in a project of this nature, Delax’s estimated benefits 5 year post–project is of €4.79 Million. In addition, Delax will hold the patent of the BabyCareSleep system (R5) increasing its competitive position in the mattress market and introducing them in the babies related products markets leading the innovation in babies’ mattresses or cots with increased functionalities to get babies safe.
Key persons: Mr. Vicente Barberá, Managing Director. He has a university degree in Business Studies and a Postgraduate Master. Nowadays, he is also responsible for the promotion and development of research activities of the company. He will be the project coordinator and the exploitation and dissemination manager. Mr. Tomás Zamora, PhD Industrial Engineer. Researcher between 2002 and 2013 and Habitat director in IBV for 5 years. He has participated in several projects in the 7FP and participates in european plataforms as ECTP and others, he is member of furniture, floors and beds standards committees as well. Ms. Mª Amparo Barberá, Financial Manager. She has a Diploma in Business Studies and a Master in accounting and auditing. She will be in charge of the economical and administrative management of the project.
Cogent Technology Ltd
Business activities: Cogent Technology founded in 1985 is a contract electronics manufacturer, positioned in the field of medical devices and electronics with a turnover over €7M. In addition, Cogent is accredited to ISO13485 for the manufacture of non-invasive medical devices and has extensive experience the product approvals stages. Cogent is experienced in New Product Introduction and provides extensive design for manufacture. A full range of electronics assembly services are offered from SMT board assembly through to full box build. Cogent has also participated in a previous FP7 project.
Role in the project: Cogent provides the technological medical device manufacturing background to the project. They will be involved in WP1 setting the system requirements, in the WP4 with ISRI to develop the control system and the users’ interface. They will have a key role in the integration and in the validation of the developed results. They will also participate in the exploitation and dissemination of BabyCareSleep system.
Expected benefits: Cogent’s benefits are related to the exclusive supply of the Intelligent Control system (R2) and the Management and Control User-friendly Interface (R4) to Delax for its integration in BabyCareSleep system (R5). The 5 years post-project will generate for us a benefit of €2.11M. In addition, Cogent will enter the consumer market of health care related products.
Key persons: Mr Nigel Slator, Managing Director. Graduated in electronics in 1989. Nigel has worked in design, manufacturing management sales and marketing. Managing Director of Cogent Technology since 2002. Nigel has headed the team at Cogent on a previous FP7 project. He will be member of the Steering Committee. Mr Robert Stainer, Sales & Marketing Director. With more than 20 years of experience in electronics manufacturing Robert joined Cogent Technology in 2001. Robert will be looking to support the dissemination of the project and oversee the commercial objectives of the project. He will participate in the Dissemination and Exploitation Committee. Mr Michael Charlesworth, Engineering Manager. A graduate in Electronics and process engineering Michael has been with Cogent for 10 years and is expert in new product introduction and design for manufacture. He will be responsible for realizing prototype electronics with a mind towards future manufacturing efficiency. He will the technical engineer involved in the project.
VDS WEAVING NV
Business activities: VdS Weaving is a family owned textile company and has been warping and weaving fabrics since 1935. During the history, the company has consistent ly adopted “ Best Practice” principles and continuously invested in the development of new technologies. Today major activity is warping and weaving technical fabrics for our partners. These fabrics are used in widespread areas of industry , e.g. by coaters for automotive, energy, boating, conveyor belts, composites, construction , filtration, transport sacks,….
Role in the project: VdS provides the textile weaving experience for embedding the biosensing textiles into the cot. They will be involved in WP1 setting the system requirements, in the WP3 with CTB to developing those smart textiles. They will participate in the integration, in the validation of the developed results and in the exploitation and dissemination of the BabyCareSleep system.
Expected benefits: VdS’s benefits are related to the exclusive supply of Smart real-time biosensing textiles (R1) to Delax for its integration in BabyCareSleep system (R5). These smart textiles will be embedded into the cot and enable the SIDS prevention through the measurement of the critical biological signals in a non-invasive way. The 5 years postproject will generate for us a benefit of €2.35M. In addition, VdS will enter the smart textiles market of health, sport and leisure through the exploitation of R1.
Key persons: Mr. Guy Van den Storme, CEO & Sales. Owner of VdS since 1998, he has economical studies. He has worked as consultant and as chief financial officer in the textile industry. He will be member of the Steering Committee. Mr. Manuel Van den Storme, Production & R&D at VdS. He will the technical engineer involved in the project. Mr. David Degarnde, Sales Assistant at VdS. He will participate in the Dissemination and Exploitation Committee.
PIN ARBOLEDAS SLP
Business activities: Our sleep clinic was founded in 1996 with the aims of (1) diagnosing and treating sleep-related problems in children; (2) spread in society the causes and consequences of sleep disorders; and (3) disseminate professional diagnostic and therapeutic advances.
Role in the project: PIN will provide their expert knowledge in paediatrics for development the system and will collaborate in the definition of the clinical study to develop the prevention algorithm. They will be also a key partner for the BabyCareSleep system dissemination through paediatricians. In addition, they will participate in the validation of the final system.
Expected benefits: PIN will have the shared ownership of the Risk Assessment and Actuation Algorithm for SIDS prevention (R3) and a license of the Management and Control User-friendly Interface (R4). They will participate in the supply chain by means of a royalty fee and furthermore, they will one of the paediatrician recommended by the system in Valencia in case of a specialist assessment is needed. The 5 years post-project will generate for us a benefit of €0.8M.
Key persons: Dr. Gonzalo Pin, pediatrician specialist in Medicine Sleep Disorders. He has a Master in Behavior Modification Therapy. He is the head of the sleep are of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics and member of the Spanish Committee of the Sleep Medicine Accreditation, of the Spanish Society of Pediatric Sleep (SES), of the Spanish Association of Primary Care Pediatrics (AEPap), of the European Sleep Research sociaty (ESRS), of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Pediatric Group and founding member of the International Pediatric Sleep Association (IPSA). He has also scientific advisory of the Spanish Society of Pediatric Outpatient and Primary Care (SEPEAP). He will be member of the Steering Committee and also participate in scientific development of the project. Besides, he will be the responsible data protection officer overseeing the handling of personal data in the project as part of the ethical issues. Ms. María Dolores Ferrando, Manager of the financial and Human Resources of the Sleep Clinic. She has studies of economics and business management. She will be a member of the Dissemination and Exploitation Committee.
INSTITUTO DE BIOMECANICA DE VALENCIA
Business activities: The Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia (IBV) is a Spanish Research and Development Centre founded in 1976 as a non-profit association. IBV is composed out of a multi-disciplinary team formed by industrial, mechanical, biomechanical and movement science engineers, surgeons, physical therapist, etc. The aim of IBV is to involve users and stakeholders in the definition and adaptation of requirements, collaborate with manufacturers in different stages of the development and applying biomechanics in testing and developing products. Thanks to the expertise obtained in many local, national and European projects, IBV has an extensive range of services to offer that are quickly customized to clients. Activities in the area of Habitat are aimed at improving and developing objective measurement procedures of healthy and ergonomic postures, proper pressure distribution, correct thermal comfort and quality product properties in terms of durability, resistance and safety, and sleeping quality and performance.
Role in the project: IBV will act as the technical coordinator of the project, leading WP1, 2, 6 & 7. IBV will provide their knowledge background on sleeping system, physiological signals analysis and user-product interaction. They will be responsible of conducting the experiments for the definition of preventive actuations, and scientific validation of the different results.
Key persons: Ms. Marta Valero, MSc Industrial Engineer and Post-Graduate Certificate in Research in statistics and optimization, she has a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering. She works as a researcher at the IBV since 2007. She has extensive experience in user-oriented design based on user interaction with their environment and in the analysis of physiological signals. She has participated in several national and European research projects. Mr. Miguel López, PhD Industrial Engineer. Researcher since 2002 and Habitat director in IBV. Wide experience in human factors, smart ambient, complex data signal analysis and emotional design. He has participated in several projects in the 7FP and participates in european plataforms as ECTP and others, he is member of furniture, floors and beds standards committees as well. He will be the Technical Manager of the project.
CENTRE SCIENTIFIQUE & TECHNIQUE DE L’INDUSTRIE TEXTILE BELGE
Business activities: CTB is the Belgian scientific and technical centre for the textile industry, located in the heart of the Belgian textile industry with strong links to the majority of the textile companies. CTB offers a complete range of standardised testing, it is a notified body for protective clothing, and can deliver CE marking and testing. CTB is also involved in standardisation committees and offers technological advice and training to companies in Belgium or abroad. Their research is focused on: (i) intelligent textiles, (ii) innovative finishing, coating and laminating formulations and technology, (iii) biomedical interactions of textiles (incl. biocidal activity, cytotoxicity), (iv) polymer formulation and extrusion processes (incl. biopolymers) and (v) implementation of nanotechnology.
Role in the project: CTB will lead WP3, developing the different biosensing textiles that will be integrated into the cot without degrading the comfort and ensuring electrodes contact as well as defining their encapsulation and embedding into the textiles.
Key persons: Mr. Bernard Paquet has finished his study of Master degree in electricity (specialisation in electronics) in June 1983. Since 1989, he is working at Centexbel. At Centexbel, he was first involved in several research projects for measurement and instrumentation. He was and is involved in numerous private industrial projects and feasibility studies as project leader. Currently, he is involved in research and development of sensor integration in fabrics for smart textiles applications. He participates in the European projects PLACE-It which deals with conformal large are flexible electronics. Mr. Claude Revercez is Master in Integrated logistic support (SupElect, Campus Thomson Paris). He is the research manager of the Heath, Safety and Security group of Centexbel. Before, he worked first as Officer Weapon systems in the Belgium Navy during 20 years. Then, he became director of an agency devoted to risk analysis consultancy in project management. Before joining Centexbel, he was manager of the sealing technology department of the French research organisation CETIM.
THE UK INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS RESEARCH INSTITUTE LIMITED
Business activities: The UK Intelligent Systems Research Institute (ISRI) was formed to provide specialist research and development expertise to European businesses, in particular SMEs. ISRI benefits from its location between the universities of Nottingham, Loughborough and Leicester and has access to over 500 researchers, scientists and technologists through its innovation network. As a not-for-profit research organisation, ISRI has a long history of supporting SMEs in research, having successfully delivered and managed more than 250 national and international collaborative R&D projects over the last decade. ISRI is focused on providing high-quality research and development in the area of intelligent systems and to achieve this is divided into several research groups each with their own individual specialism, including; Energy systems, efficiency optimisation and renewable energy technologies; Novel sensor design and development Analogue, digital and micro-electronics; RFID and wireless communications; Microcontrollers and embedded software; Photonics; Informatics.
Role in the project: ISRI will bring specific skills in the areas of sensor application, wireless data communication, signal conditioning, software development and circuit design to overcome the technical barriers associated with integration of the senor technologies and development of the control unit for monitoring of infant risk factors. ISRI will lead WP4.
Key persons: Mr.Tim Bennett, Electronics Engineer. Graduated in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nottingham Trent University 1987. A PRINCE2 qualified project manager with over 20 years industrial electronics experience having worked for Marconi Radar and Control, Radstone Technology and GE Intelligent Platforms. Tim is an experienced systems integrator, working in mixed signal environments to produce high reliability products for a road range of markets from aerospace to Industrial controls. Mr. Harshil Khiroya has a First Class MEng honours degree in Electronic and Computer Systems Engineering awarded by Loughborough University and is a member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology. He joined ISRI in August 2008 working on programming for embedded designs and desktop applications. His technical strengths are embedded systems, wireless Zigbee applications and programming with LabView, Matlab, C, C++ and C#. Mr. David Smart, Senior Electronic Technician, with a background in Embedded control. Dave spent four designing intelligent lighting units; products he has developed have been sold on six continents. He arrived at Pera in 2002 working on power harvesting systems, short range radio communications, and general electronic sensing systems for a variety of applications.
ASOCIACION PARA ESTUDIOS DE INVESTIGACION EN PEDIATRIA
Business activities: The Society for Research Paediatric Studies is a Spanish medical professional association founded in 1997. ASEIP has 23 members; all paediatric practitioners specialized in primary health. It is aimed at allocating their professional members into research activities addressed to health hazards prevention research studies for enhancing children’s health and wellbeing. Among their activities, the following ones stand out: epidemiological studies, clinical tests and analysis of diagnostic tests, always addressed to children.
Role in the project: ASEIP provides the paediatric perspective to the project and health dimension to the design and product selection criteria. They will be involved in WP1, collaborating with IBV in the definition and validation of the criteria, and in WP6 &WP7 for the validation and fields trials of the prototypes. As part of the paediatric community and with the knowledge about the children health risk prevention, their support through dissemination actions (WP8) will be key to the conveyance of the benefits of the products developed with the help of tools.
Expected benefits: Their strategic interest in participating in the project is to start getting involved into child-related product development activities, which have an important impact on children’s health and wellbeing and they consider that can be largely improved.
Key persons: Javier Díez is the current head of Research Area of the Public Health Research Centre in Valencia. He has more than 21 years experience working as a paediatrician practitioner and has been involved in numerous successful projects to promote health risks prevention, participated in an important variety of national and international conferences and published numerous articles. M. Victoria Planelles Cantarino is President of ASEIP, Paediatrician, with a large experience in primary care paediatrics and in clinical research. Her major research line is prevention in children’s diseases, and has participated in many clinical trials and national research grants.