GHENT UNIVERSITY WIRELESS COMMUNICATION Within the IDLab research group of Ghent University and imec, 60 researchers focus specifically on wireless technologies and flexible soft and hardware. This expertise came in handy in the Smart Tooling project. During a Smart Tooling event, the research group gave a presentation on all kinds of wireless technologies. This brought new insights, because there are several possibilities to achieve a goal. The choice of technology involves aspects such as desired distance, speed and accuracy. In addition, there is the reality of practical situations: which forms of wireless communication function under which conditions, for example at high pressures and temperatures, or even in a liquid, are desired? Lab tests and simulations then provide a definitive answer. But sometimes researchers have to be confronted with reality, for example for the 'Inspection Ball'. Jeroen van Hoebeke, professor at the University of Gent/IDLab: "We have very good testing facilities, but decided now just use a swimming pool. The radio signal remained active up to a depth of half a metre. If that isn't possible in practice, it means that you adapt the robot, or choose another wireless technique. In the 'Drones outside' project we also looked for optimisation, for communication and localisation. There, we were able to add intelligence to the system. In this way, we tried to provide pieces of the development puzzle". "With this Interreg project, we as a research group have regained some of the reality ourselves. Through contact with the developers and the industry, we can see better what the needs are through interesting use cases. We apply that knowledge again. 63
66 Online Touch Home