One of the many “intelligent” products that German company Future-Shape offers is an advanced floor covering called SensFloor that detects when people are walking or lying on it.
Targeted at senior citizens, SensFloor is literally a large-area sensor system beneath your feet, recording vital outputs. Among the many things this cover does is switch lights, and even detect unauthorised intrusion.
In health care, SensFloor detects patients leaving their beds or their rooms and transmits alarm signals through indoor call systems or radio components. For high-security applications like access control in combination with RFID, SensFloor can count individual people.
SensFloor is based on a textile underlay with a thickness of only 2mm. The sensor system has four integrated radio modules and 32 proximity sensors per square meter. Whenever a person walks across the floor, sensor signals are sent to a control unit and various different types of events are identified: The sensor system differentiates between a person standing or lying on the floor and determines the direction and velocity of movements. Static signal detection and self-test capability are important features for security applications.
SensFloor can be installed beneath PVC, carpet, and laminate. AMong other things, it can tell the number, location and movement of people, can monitor for liquid spills, and can be tasked to control lights and automatic doors when a person draws near.
About the company:
Future-Shape is based in the ARCONE Technology Center in Hoehenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn, in the south-east of Munich. It’s main investor is Lothar Lauterbach, Managing Director of Lauterbach GmbH. Christl Lauterbach, Future-Shape’s Managing Director, founded the Future-Shape GmbH in September 2005. Since January 2006, Dr. Axel Steinhage, Director R&D, former leader of the man-machine-interaction group at Infineon’s Corporate Research Department, has been responsible for Future-Shape’s R&D activities.
Future-Shape is based in the ARCONE Technology Center in Hoehenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn, in the south-east of Munich.
Image Credit: Future-Shape
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