Please find an update on the 4 work packages listed in our application.
1. Manufacture and test 20 prototypes of Åsnes skis with DINGO antennas.
The 20 Åsnes skis with our custom designed radar antenna embedded inside, were produced at a ski factory in Czechia. We have also produced skis with two new brands, SaltSkis and EVI, to test on a variety of ski types and manufacturing processes. We have tested various glues and checked the bounding between the antenna and the wooden ski core. We have also evaluated installing inserts for screws in the ski to have a more robust attachment point for our sensor device. We have performed bend and stress tests on the skis, both of which were successful. We are now testing the skis in the mountains in real conditions to see how the antenna and skis hold up in extreme winter terrain.
2. Continue data acquisition and testing in real snow conditions. Finish construction of radar/sensor hardware device.
In 6 months, we have made significant progress on the design of the ski mounted radar. The starting point was to secure the right suppliers for electronic design, firmware, electronic manufacturing and production of plastic parts. We have selected Norwegian companies to make collaboration easier during the prototyping phase of the project. From August to October, we developed the design in collaboration with our partners. We launched the production of 15 electronic board prototypes and 15 plastic housings (the box around the battery and the electronic) in October. We received the plastic housing on the 12th of November and the electronic boards in early December. We used the months of December and January to program the boards, fix issues and install them into the skis. We are currently testing the fully assembled units on skis with our technology manufactured inside. These prototypes are being used by our team as well as expert backcountry guides. The goal of these tests is threefold: mechanical testing, data collection, and user experience. Mechanically we are testing that all parts fit together, do not compromise the integrity of the ski and remain robust and watertight. For data collection, we are testing and verifying firmware functionality, as well as data quality. It is important to verify that our design and the data collected are of high enough quality to process and extract the necessary data. For the user experience, we are obtaining feedback regarding the device design and communication mechanism, as well as the type of information users find necessary.
3. Begin developing the DINGO software platform for collection and sharing of data.
The high-level architecture of the software platform to store the data has been defined and built. The platform solution uses Google Cloud and a Firebase database. Our hardware devices will be connected using an IoT (Internet of Things) infrastructure, which will enable each device to receive firmware updates, as well as send its data when an internet connection is available. We aim to test the data upload in May 2019. We are continuing development on the software platform so it can hold and process all the data collected from the sensor devices.
4. Start phase 2 of an on-going R&D project developing advanced layer detection based on machine learning.
We have submitted an application with the Norwegian research council for “User-driven Research-based Innovation (BIA) “. In September we worked to secure strategic partnerships with research institutes and other businesses interested in our technology and data. Our research partners are SINTEF (www.sintef.no) and NGI, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (www.ngi.no). SINTEF will focus on data quality (signal processing, antenna design, shielding from interferences, etc.) and NGI will focus on the machine learning algorithm, data labeling, and field data acquisition. For the business partners, we have our existing partnership with the Norwegian ski manufacturer, Åsnes, and we have settled a new partnership with Codelab (www.codelab.no) whose expertise lies in Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning systems. We submitted an application in October 2018 that describes the proposed goals of the research. The application was accepted and phase 2 of the R&D project kicked off in February. This research project lasts 3 years and will help improve the technology.
In addition to these activities, this September we filed a patent application in Norway called “METHOD, DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR SNOW PROFILE MEASUREMENT” P61801771NO00. This covers all the aspects of our innovation / product: ski integration, the sensor device, and data processing.
Our product name, Dingo, was already in use. We have therefore decided to change our product name to “sknow”. A trademark was filed in Norway in November.
