Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems Europe and element14.com together with a number of engineering schools from the UK and Germany have launched a research project looking at innovative infrared people detection software in combination with the world’s first ever surface mount thermopile sensor - the Panasonic Grid-EYE Infrared Array Sensor. Participants will be invited to document the progress of their projects on the community platform, element14.com. On completion of the projects, Panasonic and element14.com will select the entry that they consider demonstrates the highest degree of originality, innovation and technical merit. The faculty responsible for this project will be awarded a budget to spend on selected Panasonic components and equipment.
Panasonic has joined element14.com in this project in order to reduce barriers to university-industry research partnerships and believe that the co-operation between universities and industry is central to driving innovation with the explosive rise of Internet of Things (IoT) applications in a fast-changing world. element14.com, standing to its long history of facilitating innovative research projects through their STEM Academy, which has an approx membership of over 480,000 engineers, makers and educators; will provide opportunities to participating students to show their entrepreneurial and technical skills and will also showcase the results of their work on the element14 online community.
In the IoT world, objects around will be soon on a network in one form or another. More, granular, 24/7 quantified monitoring is leading to a deeper understanding of the internal and external world encountered by humans. To achieve this, data transmission and sensor network technologies must rise to meet new challenges, in which information and communication systems are embedded in the environment around us. IoT implementations are not possible without the data provided by sensors – especially infrared sensors – and the transportation of the data to and from the cloud via wireless modules.
By combining its new IR sensor technology with Bluetooth wireless systems and software for IR detection of people and objects on one board, Panasonic enables students to develop rapid prototypes and quickly build their own wireless sensor for IoT applications.
The Panasonic Grid-EYE Evaluation Kit and the Panasonic Grid-EYE Lab-Test in particular offer students the opportunity to learn about electrical and electronic engineering by using cutting-edge technology within a real-world context. The Panasonic Grid-EYE Evaluation Kit has very good potential within the IoT as it has the capability to connect to a PC, a mobile device such as smart phone or tablet, or an Arduino board and also has the ability to monitor moving and motionless objects as well as measure temperature and produce thermal images in different contexts that range from household solutions to industry and health applications.
For more details on the research, Click here.
