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Antimicrobial resistance developed due to the overuse of conventional antimicrobial agents in surface coatings and consumer products is a global concern for treatment of infectious diseases in recent years. To address this concern, US FDA has banned the use of a number of conventional antimicrobial agents in consumer and healthcare products such as hand soaps and hand sanitisers. This raises the importance of alternative antimicrobial agents in antiseptic products. Photoactive antimicrobial agents are effective alternatives which produce highly reactive oxygen species (ROS) when activated by light. These reactive oxygen species display broad-spectrum biocidal activity that destroy microbes by a multi-targeted killing mechanism, which may limit the development of antimicrobial tolerance or resistance. The researchers have developed a stabilised form of a plant-based antimicrobial agent to protect it from environmental degradation. The enhanced environmental stability of this natural photoactive antimicrobial agent has made it suitable to be incorporated in various materials for the self-sterilising product applications and may provide a “greener solution” to limit the spread of pathogens and transmission of infections by indirect contact. The photoactive antimicrobial agent used is obtained from a plant which is cheap and easily available. This agent has been demonstrated in scientific literature as a natural antimicrobial as well as a photosensitiser that has broad-spectrum activity against virus, bacteria, fungus and parasites. The stabilisation of the antimicrobial agent is achieved by a single step chemical reaction. Elemental and spectroscopic analyses of the stabilised product have shown that it is more stable in the environment than its natural precursor. The photosensitisation and antimicrobial properties of the natural compound are retained after the stabilisation treatment. The preliminary studies demonstrate antimicrobial activity by visible light activation. Several methods are being developed to incorporate this antimicrobial agent in various polymers for different applications such as self-sterilising surface coating.  This stabilised form of the natural photoactive antimicrobial agent can be incorporated into coating formulations to develop antimicrobial coatings for diverse surfaces including plastics, leather, wood, concrete and metal. In addition, being developed from the natural source of plant origin, this agent may have potential applications in fabric dye, personal care products and packaging materials. The team is open to collaborate with industry partners to develop and validate the antimicrobial formulation for various potential applications. The technology can be used as a form of infection control measure to create self-sterilising contact surfaces that limit the spread of pathogens by indirect contact. Plant-based photoactive antimicrobials are more sustainable and environmentally friendly than conventional antimicrobials.  Chemicals, Coatings & Paints, Inorganic, Environment, Clean Air & Water, Sanitisation, Manufacturing, Chemical Processes, Organic, Additives, Bio-based

Our Location Tracking solution enables companies in manufacturing, logistics and healthcare to streamline their operations and increase their product quality through Reduce searching and assembly time by locating tools with 30cm accuracy Improved visibility on work order status and location to identify bottlenecks in real-time and avoid delays Streamline intralogistics flow by optimising material handling equipment's motion and increasing their utilization rates. For example, we help hospitals to track medical equipment, to monitor the flow of patients, and to guide visitors. We help factories to automate supply chain decisions, to locate tools/equipment, to analyse intralogistics flows. Finally, we help retail clients for self-service and delivery, such as table service in fast-food restaurants. Overall, we help B2B clients in several sectors to reduce their operational 'waste' by minimally 20%. To achieve this, we have developed an end-to-end Location Tracking Solution, with active RF tags that emit Bluetooth or Ultrawide Band signals, gateways that collect the signals, and server software which computes positions and provides user applications (search, alert, analytics ...). We've learned how to best address our clients' requirements, by designing a solution which adds value through a unique blend: Hybridization: using a single IoT infrastructure, most location-based use cases can be addressed on a physical site, whether related to people, tools, parts or other moving assets. This helps achieve faster ROI since the infrastructure investment is shared among stakeholders. Industrialisation: we have proven its ability to deliver high volumes with over 500k devices produced, over 3k sites in operations, and deployment tools for over the years. We can deliver "Plug & Play" RTLS thanks to unique features such as auto-mapping & auto-calibration. Openness: our platform is not meant to be a standalone silo, but to be integrated into legacy IT systems using our API. For instance, we have connectors with SAP's manufacturing executive system, MII. Also, third party active tags can be utilised instead of our-branded tags. We bring for the first time affordability and reliability thanks to advanced mathematical algorithms software and low-cost design: we can achieve prices up to 10x lower than historical players. And we've proven our ability to deploy at scale and bring ROI in less than a year. For Tools: Increase Utilization Rate / Reduce new tool orders Optimise layout / reduce transportation Smarter maintenance (when needed, not too early or too late), e.g. calibration Reduce tool loss For Work-In-Progress Parts / Products (Work orders): Reduce errors in delivery (since the work orders are correctly tagged) Other Lean techniques, eg Value Stream Mapping Optimise work-in-progress stock levels Provide visibility to customers regarding their order status (know when they can come on-site and do acceptance tests if they want to) Reduce time searching for products stored on site For Material Handling Equipment: MHE is usually expensive and can come in great quantities. It is therefore vital to track it, in order to utilize it in an optimal manner, in order to avoid losing them and having to reorder more. Furthermore, they can block the production: when a forklift isn't available to move parts in an automotive factory, where Takt Time is usually 60sec, then 10,000s of Eur are quickly lost. Another benefit of MHE tracking is to apply the Lean Manufacturing technique: measure the flows, then optimise the process and layout. 10-20% Turnaround time reduction 10-15% reduction in Material Handling Equipment costs 20-30% increase in Worker Productivity Asset Tracking, BLE, flow management, IIOT, Indoor location, location analytics, UWB Electronics, Sensors & Instrumentation, Infocomm, Big Data, Data Analytics, Data Mining & Data Visualisation, Enterprise & Productivity, Radio Frequency, Internet of Things, Ambient Intelligence & Context-Aware Computing, Wireless Technology, Logistics, Inventory Management