Can a shoe sole warn of improper lifting techniques and thus help people stay longer in the labour market? Yes, at least this is the objective of a project on which a Danish/Norwegian/Romanian research group is collaborating under a large European programme: Ambient Assisted Living – Ageing Well in the Digital World.
"“The trick is to be able to communicate to others what you’re nerding with so that they can see how they can benefit from it.”"
Associate Professor Sarah Ruepp, DTU Fotonik
“We’ve created soles with sensors that can transmit data through an IoT (Internet of Things, ed.) network. These sensor data are interpreted in relation to—for example—how the user lifts a heavy object, and she then receives a warning via an app if she is lifting the object in an ergonomically incorrect way,” says Sarahh Ruepp, Associate Professor at DTU Fotonik.
“It’s a wonderfully tangible task with many aspects. Software, electronics, data processing, and some form of communication technology are needed, and it all has to form a synthesis for it to work. I love this interdisciplinary approach,” says Sarah Ruepp.
Sarah herself focuses mostly on the communication technology, that is on how data from the sensors are transmitted. This can be done via a conventional wireless network—such as Wi-Fi or mobile network—but more often new connections are used that have been specially developed for IoT with names like LoRaWAN, Sigfox, and Narrowband IoT.
The data transmission often involves a fairly small volume of data—at least relative to streaming a film or a computer game, for example. In turn, it is very important that the transmission is stable and that data can be sent over large geographical distances. In addition, the technology must use as little power as possible to avoid constantly having to change batteries.
“My contribution to such a tangible task starts with an analysis of how to achieve the best connection, almost like when you’re looking for the best place to sit with your laptop in relation to the Wi-Fi connection. In fact, the different technologies provide different coverage in Denmark. You also need to be aware of how much data you need to send and of the required tranmission speed,” explains Sarah.
“A connection must be shared by many users, so you can’t be sending data continuously. If this involves critical data, you may need to send data on two different technologies to reduce the risk of crashes. Reliability is a key word, and it's precisely one of my focus areas.”
Dissemination on many channels
Sarah Ruepp got her PhD in 2008, and her research career has been steaming ahead ever since. She is a driving force in DTU Fotonik’s work with large-scale communication networks and has received several awards for this.
Her research has also led to a start-up, as she and a colleague have started the company LokaTrack ApS. Here, they develop trackers based on IoT technology which can be used to track people, equipment, packages, bicycles, etc. Tracking based on IoT technology has the advantage—in addition to lower power consumption— that it also works inside buildings, containers, and the like, where conventional GPS trackers often come up short because the GPS signal disappears indoors.
Sarah loves the interaction between immersion in the details of the research and the interaction with users of the technology.
“For me, being nerdy is not a negative thing. As a researcher, you are constantly nerding with something; you’re passionate about your field, and you keep thinking about it after you’ve gone home. The trick is to be able to communicate to others what you’re nerding with so that they can see how they can benefit from it,” she says.
Dissemination is an important part of Sarah Ruepp’s working life—first and foremost as a lecturer. At DTU, she has many different courses on which she teaches IoT technology, puts it in a broader global perspective, and shows how the Internet and communication infrastructure have developed and work on a global scale.
Business people can attend workshops where they hear more about the opportunities by IoT and become equipped to talk to the providers of these solutions. And at the Danish University Extension (Folkeuniversitetet), she gives lectures for ordinary people who simply want to know how IoT impacts their everyday lives, for example how the intelligent refuse bin works, which technologies are used in smart homes and cities, and what happens when a car drives down the road and wirelessly reads off all electricity meters.
Action for diversity
Sarah Ruepp also sees dissemination as a crucial method for recruiting more women to the male-dominated field of IoT. It is important to ensure diversity when developing a technology, she believes.
“The greater the diversity, the better the results. If everyone is alike, you get fewer ideas,” says Sarah Ruepp and continues:
“The very best instrument for getting more women to join this field is to talk as often as possible about what you’re doing and to make people aware that being an engineer is not just about sitting in an office doing calculations, but that it’s also very much about creating solutions that people can use. Be specific about the application of a given technology rather than the calculation of formulas.”
And Sarah Ruepp herself helps shoulder this dissemination responsibility, for example when she finds time to participate in DTU’s various initiatives aimed especially at girls. These activities are well attended and in her experience, the girls are typically very enthusiastic and curious.
As far as Sarah can see, things are actually going in the right direction. Every year, there are more women enrolled in her classes; not yet so many Danes, but more foreign students from Southern Europe and Asia.
“They must have cracked the code somehow,” she says with a smile.