Dr. Krzysztof Rykaczewski and Michał Meina, M.Sc., won the Gold Medal at the INNOVA 2018 Exhibition in Valencia. Their invention was designed to support the fire service.
The invention of Krzysztof Rykaczewski (Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics) and Michał Meina (Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics) is called „Sposób ustalenia pozycji obiektu, w szczególności człowieka, i urządzenie do ustalania pozycji człowieka”. Their project was presented at the exhibition in Valencia as part of the KUBUS project (Commercialization of University Research and Services) of the program „Incubator of Innovation+” of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The invention of our researchers consists of two sets of inertial sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer) mounted in the footwear of a person. These sensors are very small and hence integrating them into the footwear does not cause any problems. Readings collect information about acceleration and changes in position, which are processed in a built-in system that implements a positioning algorithm. This locating system was designed to support the fire services and to monitor the work during rescue and firefighting operations. The exact determination of the position of firefighters in real time during an action increases the safety of the rescue team and allows for a better coordination of fire-fighting activities.
The INNOVA Exhibition took place in Valencia on March 7-8, 2018. More than 160 exhibitors from all around the world participated in the INNOVA Exhibition. The winners were selected by an international jury as part of the Eureka Competition. In total, 20 medals and 5 special prizes were awarded in the competition.
The "KUBUS" project, a part of the „Incubator of Innovation+" program, is realized by AIP UMK in a consortium with „CTT UMK”. The manager is Tomasz Kompanowski. The aim of the project is to promote and commercialize inventions of the University and to increase the chances of reaching potential investors. The project employs Innovation Brokers, whose task is to gather research offers from scientists at NCU and prepare Science-Business Meetings. As part of the project activities taking place in autumn this year, the sixth edition of the „Academic Entrepreneurship Forum 2018" will be organized.