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BIA-Brukerstyrt innovasjonsarena

Development of highly accurate asset location systems based on self-powered wireless transmitter devices

Alternative title: Utvikling av svært nøyaktige lokaliseringssystemer basert på energihøstende trådløse enheter

Awarded: NOK 15.1 mill.

ONiO is a high-tech company bringing self-powered, battery-free solutions to the Internet of Things (IoT) market. We wish to translate the latest technical breakthroughs in wireless microcontroller units into commercial solutions across a wide range of IoT market segments, including healthcare, industrial, automotive, smart buildings, etc. We have developed ONiO.zero - a small chip that solves the power bottleneck for IoT and is poised to disrupt the world of smart sensing. ONiO.zero is an ultra-low-power wireless microcontroller that uses energy harvesting technology. This means that ONiO.zero solely operates on energy from its surroundings: radio frequency, solar, thermal, kinetic, or other energy sources. No coin cell, no supercap, no lithium, no battery at all - but still a ton of power, enough to run multiple embedded sensors, such as temperature, pressure, light, proximity, etc. Having no battery means fewer components and a smaller design, which can easily be integrated into a wide range of solutions. ONiO.zero is currently equipped with Bluetooth for wireless communication. In this project, ONiO will develop a new chip with Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology that runs without the need for a battery. UWB is a short-range radio technology for wireless communication. It holds unique features compared to other wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. In particular, UWB can deliver accurate ranging and positioning in real-world environments - thus being the best choice for real-time location systems, especially in applications that require highly accurate positioning. Typical use-cases are within indoor positioning, tracking of people and assets, hands-free access control, social distancing, among others. ONiO’s mission is rooted in getting rid of the battery hassle in IoT applications - eliminating the huge environmental problems with batteries while enabling more efficient and sustainable smart IoT systems.

ONiO is a highly innovative Norwegian SME with a vision to bring self-powered solutions to the IoT market. ONiO’s core business is to translate the latest technical breakthroughs in wireless MCU (microcontroller units) into commercial solutions across a wide range of IoT market segments: healthcare, industrial, automotive, buildings, etc., replacing the need for a battery. Our core technology platform is based on a highly flexible, ultra low power, compact chip designed for energy harvesting - i.e. capturing the available energy from the surroundings, primarily radio frequency (RF) energy but also capable of using external sources like solar, thermal or kinetic energy. The ONiO.zero chip is capable of powering multiple embedded sensors in a device, and is currently equipped with Bluetooth for wireless communication. With this project, we will develop a new chip with Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology to unleash a prime space of applications/use-cases that rely on very accurate positioning (spatial and directional data), such as indoor navigation, tracking of people and assets, access control, social distancing, etc. The project will be implemented in collaboration with a global provider of indoor mapping and navigation services and with a research group within positioning algorithms.

Funding scheme:

BIA-Brukerstyrt innovasjonsarena