Sknow going to the Alps

Think Outside AS (TO) was established in 2017 by two female founding partners whose goal was to couple state-of-the art signal processing with advancements in sensor technology, in order to protect nature and the people who venture into it. Our dedication and entrepreneurial spirit have enabled us to develop the world’s first avalanche prevention device which attaches to skis, and monitors and detects snow layers in real-time. This innovation will revolutionize avalanche management for skiers and companies monitoring snow and forecasting avalanche risk. Our R&D activities financed through the Norwegian funding scheme Research-based Innovation (BIA) and supported by experts from leading research centres SINTEF and NGI, enabled us to advance current snow monitoring technology and adjust it to meet the needs of skiers and avalanche forecasters worldwide. We have conducted two small-scale pilots with industry partners from both the ski and hydropower markets. TO is developing a ground-breaking solution consisting of a small, robust and well-designed sensor that can be attached to nearly any ski and a supporting application. This system provides real-time insight about the snowpack and avalanche risk. Our highly innovative technology enables skiers, snowboarders, ski patrols and many other actors in the industry to monitor the snowpack for risk. Unlike any other avalanche-preventive solution, our technology maps the snowpack in real-time, and gives warning signals to the user if a weak layer is detected. The collected data is then shared on the application to benefit all other interested parties. The technology is based on machine learning (ML) that analyses data obtained from the sensor in order to define each snow layer´s structure and identify potentially dangerous layers.