Innovation thrives on this shared optimism, the conviction that change is possible. In our industry, it’s the spark that empowers people, companies, and organizations to turn ambitious ideas into impactful solutions for the planet’s most pressing challenges. Together, we’re not just imagining a better world, we’re building it.

Meet Gen Z, rewriting the rules of engagement and sustainability

In Wunderman Thompson Intelligence’s Regeneration Rising report, 66% of respondents shared deep concerns about the personal impacts of climate change, rising to 72% of Gen Z. Yet rather than letting fear dictate their future, this generation is choosing action and optimism. An impressive 85% of respondents believe it’s essential to rethink how we live and spend money to address the climate crisis, and 70% are ready to change their behavior to make a difference. Driven by purpose and pragmatism, Gen Z is shaping a new wave of sustainability that is as proactive as it is hopeful.

Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z, often called ‘Zoomers’, are true digital natives, with smartphones in hand and a world of information at their fingertips from a young age. Far from passive consumers, they’re socially conscious, empowered and entrepreneurial, bringing a fresh perspective to everything from business to sustainability. As the new wave of consumers and innovators, they’re pushing for change that’s as dynamic and connected as they are.

From hashtags to real change: climate optimism is changing innovation

As Gen Z channels climate anxiety into optimism and action, brands face a clear call: go beyond surface-level changes and deliver real, innovative solutions. This generation’s influence is already reverberating across social media, where climate-related content is surging. By January 2023, hashtags like #climatechange had garnered 4.1 billion views, #eco hit 2.3 billion, and #ecotok, a thriving TikTok community of climate advocates, reached nearly 835 million views.

We’re noticing the same urgency and awareness in our customers. They understand both the gravity of the climate crisis and the unique opportunity for impactful change. Our proven innovation methodology helps clients define and validate value propositions that resonate, with behavioral design as a powerful driver to accelerate adoption. Because while innovation excites, change can be challenging, especially when shifting behaviors is the goal. Yet with focused, purpose-driven strategies, we’re moving from climate concerns to climate solutions, one step at a time.

The search for sustainability impact

How does the quest for sustainability play out in practice? Large companies, in particular, face a unique challenge: big impact demands big opportunities, but the most valuable ideas often start small, like uncut diamonds. At our Innovation Day, we’ll explore how corporations can adopt startup-inspired thinking to identify hidden gems and transform small beginnings into substantial sustainability wins. Join us for an inspiring dive into strategies that turn humble ideas into significant sustainability breakthroughs.

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Bridging the funding gaps

One of the critical challenges discussed, is the need to bring research and start-up funding to a European Union (EU) level and to find the right balance between local and EU-level funding initiatives. Because while some projects may benefit from local government support, there’s a growing recognition that pooling resources at the EU level can lead to greater collaboration, efficiency, and impact.

Empowering student entrepreneurs

To foster the growth of start-up companies, there’s a call to simplify the ownership transfer of intellectual property (IP) from universities back to the students. This shift would enable more spin-offs and entrepreneurial ventures to emerge, leveraging the expertise and innovations developed within academic institutions. By streamlining IP processes, universities can catalyze the acceleration of startup creation and technology transfer.

Embracing ecosystem collaboration

Traditionally, companies have focused on their own value chains, but a new perspective emerged during the session – the importance of collaborating with different ecosystems. By forming partnerships and alliances across industries, organizations can create a more significant and sustainable impact. Sharing knowledge, resources, and best practices within a broader ecosystem leads to accelerated innovation and transformative solutions.

Engaging private investors

Private investors play a vital role in fueling innovation and driving the transition towards sustainable practices. We need to engage and encourage private investors to support cleantech innovations actively. By showcasing the potential for financial returns alongside positive environmental and social impacts, private investors can be motivated to contribute to the acceleration of sustainable technologies and business models.

Balancing innovation and biodiversity

While pursuing innovation, it’s crucial not to lose sight of the planet’s biodiversity and the holistic ecosystem overview. Achieving a balance between focused innovation and considering the broader environmental context is essential. By integrating biodiversity considerations into innovation strategies, we can ensure that our actions contribute to the overall well-being of the planet and its inhabitants.

Circular economy and energy efficiency

Circularity and energy efficiency are paramount in achieving sustainable development. Transitioning to renewable energy sources is vital, but it’s equally important to prioritize reducing energy consumption and promoting circular practices. Emphasizing reuse, recycling, and resource optimization can significantly reduce the need for energy and contribute to a more sustainable future.

The challenges and opportunities discussed – from bridging funding gaps to empowering student entrepreneurs, embracing ecosystem collaboration, engaging private investors, considering biodiversity, and promoting circularity and energy efficiency – demonstrate the collective commitment towards creating a sustainable and thriving world. It’s inspiring to see that if we address these challenges head-on, we can drive innovations faster and build a more resilient and circular economy that benefits both people and the planet.

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Just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, you can’t expand your product portfolio or transition to plant-based food overnight. You have to adopt a solid innovation approach and system to leverage opportunities from the start. By preparing your facilities and teams you can pinpoint and address the most pressing challenges:

Understanding complex product development

Developing plant-based products can be very complex, especially if you’re trying to resemble animal-based products. They need to be similar in taste, odor, texture, appearance including color and cooking behavior, but also need to fit within the budgetary needs. To create recipes that meet consumer demands, you may need to invest in research and development, skill development, new systems and accelerated learning and exploration.

Accessing new technologies and innovations

Plant-based food has existed since before humankind, so the best way to turn it into a profitable business is by setting yourself apart from the competition through breakthrough innovation. From cultivating novel plant species and improving packaging for shelf life, to food platforms and personalized nutrition, setting up these internal R&D capabilities can become expensive really quickly. That’s where having a solid open innovation ecosystem can give you a competitive edge. By collaborating with researchers, food scientists, chefs, nutritionists, farmers and consumers, you can access a broader range of resources, ideas and solutions to accelerate your innovation processes.

Adjusting production infrastructure

Building the necessary production capacity or replacing the existing equipment for plant-based food manufacturing, requires a long-term vision and approach. It requires different production assets and can be a driver to re-design the entire process and ecosystem. On the one hand, population growth, climate change and conflicts increase the pressing need for more sustainable food production systems and products. Disruptive technologies and digitalization can help improve the use of land, water, fertilizers and transportation and reduce its environmental impact. On the other hand, you may encounter new processing challenges to launch a successful operation at scale. Because these products contain dozens of ingredients with physical properties that vary by moisture, density, particle size and stability, optimal equipment configuration is crucial for efficient processing, consistent quality and scale mixing.

Fast-tracking consumer acceptance

More often than not, consumer adoption is the key bottleneck to innovation. Even if you reach new customers by extending your product portfolio, it’s important to also get your current customers on board. Since these products are new, it can be difficult to position them in the market so they are inspired to try them. Design research and behavior engineering can help you recognize rejection drivers, such as perceptual and cognitive biases. As an example, Fogg’s Behavior model is a smart framework to review touch points and check what can be done to achieve a better adoption.
Questioning the ‘motivation’, ‘ability’ and inventing some triggers will help you to evoke a specific action. Plant-based ‘fake’ meat is a clear example of such an action.
Similar research can be used to assess how consumers value the different characteristics of products and business models, so they can be positioned and priced accordingly.

Enabling new business and customer engagement models

Plant-based foods allow you to completely re-envision and redesign how consumers interact with your products. This can range from traditional packaged products bought in-store to at-home dispensers and subscription models that, for example, turn dry powders into various structures and tastes. But it could even mean new markets, capitalizing on waste streams and much more. Such disruptive and long-term innovation exercises require an integrated approach, taking into account the end-user, company capabilities, company strategy and multiple stakeholders. Early verification and validation of these ideas will help to steer and select the most valuable ideas and concepts.

In conclusion, the future of plant-based food presents significant growth opportunities, but requires a solid and holistic innovation approach. This includes addressing challenges such as complex product development, accessing new technologies through open innovation ecosystems, adjusting production infrastructure, fast-tracking consumer acceptance, and enabling new business and customer engagement models. By investing in R&D, collaborating with external resources, understanding consumer motivations, and taking an integrated approach, companies can position themselves for success in the rapidly growing plant-based food market.

The time to act is now, and Verhaert is here to help you on this exciting journey towards a more sustainable future. Let’s make IMPACT together!

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R&D projects related to the Green Deal must navigate the unique challenges and paradoxes of market demand and pricing, to achieve success. Understanding the potential profitability of a product is crucial to making informed decisions about product development and business design efforts – and that’s where product economics comes in.

Understanding consumer behavior and preferences

First of all, choice modeling is a key component of circular economy product economics because it helps to understand consumer behavior and preferences. It provides insight into factors such as product features, price, brand, and attributes that influence purchasing decisions. This information can help you make informed decisions about product design, pricing, and marketing strategies tailored to the unique needs of the Green Deal market.

Validating willingness to buy and pay

Secondly, it’s crucial that you validate customers’ willingness to buy and willingness to pay in the development of Green Deal products. Without this validation, you risk investing time and resources into a product that may not sell well, leading to losses and decreased overall success. Validating willingness to pay can help you determine the price point at which the target market is willing to purchase the product. This is critical for determining potential profitability and making informed pricing decisions.

In summary, to develop successful Green Deal-inspired products, you need to understand product economics. And to get a thorough understanding you need to assess choice modeling and validation of willingness to buy and pay. Navigating these challenges can be quite overwhelming, so feel free to check out our services to help you create profitable and impactful sustainable products and services driving the circular economy.

Interested to know what the future might look like for your sector? Our experts authored Flanders Circular Economy 2050, a vision of how our region looks at innovating our future (Dutch version only, sorry).

Want to discuss your Green Deal opportunities?

Leave your email address to book a 20-minute meet-up with David Pas, coordinator InnoLab, and get discuss how you can make the new Green Deal regulations profitable for your business.

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Insights on sustainable consumption are essential for success

Understanding user insights about sustainable consumption is vital for developing products that align with the Green Deal. By gathering data on customer preferences, behaviors, and motivations regarding sustainability, you can design products that both meet customer needs and contribute to a more sustainable future.

No sustainable products without a compelling concept design

Sustainable product design involves creating products that aren’t just attractive and functional, they should also have a minimal impact on the environment. This includes using eco-friendly materials, reducing waste, and designing renewable energy or energy-efficient systems. By incorporating sustainable design principles into product development, you can create attractive products for customers and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Sustainable behavior is about making it easy for people

Usability design is crucial for developing products that encourage sustainable behavior. By designing products that are intuitive and easy to use, you can make sustainable behavior more accessible and appealing to customers. For example, creating energy-efficient products that are easy to use can encourage users to adopt more sustainable habits.

You need to design behavioral change towards sustainability to access the mainstream market potential

Once you understand the behavior and preferences of your user in terms of sustainability, behavioral design can help drive the change to sustainable behavior. You can then use this information to create products that encourage sustainable behavior, such as products that make it easier to recycle or reduce waste. As a result, focusing on behavioral change will allow you to create products that align with the principles of the Green Deal and contribute to a more sustainable future by tapping into the mainstream market potential.

Want to discuss your Green Deal opportunities?

Leave your email address to book a 20-minute meet-up with Gerd Van Cauteren, coordinator DesignLab, and get discuss how you can make the new Green Deal regulations profitable for your business.

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The changing ecosystem of appliances

All across the industry, there’s a trend towards more connected appliances developed by FMCG companies. For instance the Perfect Draft Pro by AB Inbev, Henkel’s Somat Smart and Nestlé Professional’s Roastellier. These devices enable new channels for growth, differentiation and valuable user data, but they also have an environmental impact. The production of the devices, shipping, energy use and disposal only further increase the ecological impact of these companies. On the other hand, that same connected system can also help the user to save energy and reduce waste.

Scope 3 – what is it and why is it so relevant for appliances?

In order to decarbonize the production process, companies first need to measure and track CO₂ emissions. The frameworks and standards of the GHG Protocol classify 3 scopes, which are considered a worldwide standard (> 90% of Fortune500 companies use it or a program based on it):

• Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.
• Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, like heating and electricity.
• Scope 3 emissions are all indirect emissions (not in scope 2) that occur in the value chain of the company, both upstream and downstream. These include outsourced logistics, air travel and the emissions of suppliers and customers, but also the energy that products use during their lifetime. Therefore, they are very relevant to appliances.

Comparison scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions – Source: GHG Protocol ©VERHAERT

The awareness and focus on Scope 3 emissions has grown in the past months and years. This is mainly because they are the biggest contributor to many companies’ CO₂ emissions and hence represent a massive opportunity for improvement. Also for appliances, scope 3 emissions are the main factor to look at.

Share of scope 3 emissions to total emissions by sector – Data source: CDP ©VERHAERT

An increasing number of companies are reporting them and including them in their targets. In March 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission drafted a proposal to include them in future non-financial reporting requirements if they represent a ‘material risk’.

Regulatory pressure is mounting

New regulation is being drafted that will force products (and hence also these new appliances that were not yet in the scope of existing regulations) to become more sustainable. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) proposal, for example, is a new European proposal that will most likely have a huge impact on how products will be designed, built, and used.

The ESPR is a proposal by the Commission that is part of the Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) package to support the Circular Economy Action Plan and the Green Deal. It’s currently being pushed through the legislative process to be a framework for eco-design requirements and will be translated into regulation. Just think of how light bulbs, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners got detailed rules on how much energy they can use, that same path is now being prepared for more products.

The goal of the SPI is to “make sustainable products the norm in the EU”, by increasing their durability, reusability, repairability, recyclability and energy efficiency, hence reducing scope 3 emissions. Although the initial list of identified products for the first working plan includes textiles, furniture, mattresses, tires, detergents, paints and lubricants, in the end it will apply ‘to the broadest possible range of products’.

Sustainable opportunities and paradoxes

As a result of new regulations coming into play, it’s crucial for companies that are developing appliances to start taking action today to prepare for these changes. You need to understand upcoming regulations and their impact and assess current products and services. Through innovation and product improvements, you can then apply the eco-design and circular economy principles throughout the product lifecycle. Make sure to apply a Life Cycle Approach, including business model and function. As such, you’ll be able to build your capacity to innovate sustainably and deal with the inherent complexity.

Interested in reducing supply chain emissions? Make sure to watch our webinar on this topic.

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From Red Ocean…

The traditional strategy for a considerable part of the OEM peloton in appliances and ICT has always been to survive the red ocean based on cost efficiency. This has kept back sustainability claims to the end of a long queue of investment priorities. Only when the European Union tightens the right-to-sell through eco-design directives and take-back schemes, the OEMs are forced to make serious circular moves.

Since 2020, the European Commission has been further increasing the stakes with its New Circular Economy Action Plan. This instigates producers towards circular design (e.g. modularity and common charger standards) and right-to-repair (e.g. repair manuals and spare part availability).

… to Green Ocean

Taking a circular initiative in this value chain can open up the blue ocean, or should we call it the green ocean as of now? Let’s have a look at 3 inspiring European players in this sector that have chosen to be ahead of the curve:

Prime Computer

Prime Computer is a Swiss-based PC manufacturer bringing ‘life-long companions’ to the market based on component modularity and on high supply chain flexibility with the assembly site in Switzerland. It runs its own end-of-life program and significantly invests in designing for longevity, reusable components, and low power consumption in the use phase.

Bundles

The Dutch start-up Bundles is demonstrating how to leverage servitization in order to decrease the footprint of dishwashers, washing machines and coffee machines. Bundles offers pay-per-month and even pay-per-use contracts, guaranteeing top quality and highly energy-efficient machines through partnerships with top-tier OEMs such as Miele. By making the devices connected, their condition, energy and water consumption are closely monitored.

Groupe SEB

If you would get the feeling that this is still a risky start-up world with a focus on expensive appliances, have a look at what multinational Groupe SEB is doing with its much smaller appliances such as Moulinex and Rowenta. Not only is the company heavily invested in design-for-repair and repair services (e.g. 10-year service life guarantee), it is also deploying 3D printing of spare parts to minimize transportation costs and it is rewarding consumers with coupon credits for return logistics.

Let’s define your next move

Are you inspired to explore the frontrunner potential in your segment? Reach out to us to de-risk the journey. In the meanwhile, don’t miss out on our InnoDays on November 16th in which we’ll share tools, strategies and technologies for sustainable innovation!

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Overcoming the energy-intensive systems

Today, there’s quite some opposition to direct carbon capturing (DCC). And rightfully so, the current systems are very energy-intensive and aren’t looking at the complete picture of zero net. To exemplify, the common oxyfuel capture method is one of the most expensive and energy-intensive carbon capture methods out there. Fortunately, new systems using solvent-based amine absorption (which dissolves in water) are being developed and almost ready to deploy.

Chemical reactions with sorbents are rather slow and temperature dependent because releasing the CO₂ requires boiling the water and later recondensing the water vapor to reintegrate the chemical back. Advanced solvents, such as 2-aminomethyl propanol or piperazine and KS-1, will soon result in lower energy solutions and will reduce the net zero cost of DCC. At Verhaert we’re investigating alternatives to the liquid phase solutions, such as liquid-solid phase separation systems, that allow removing carbon dioxide at low concentrations contained in the atmosphere with 99% efficiency.

Making DCC a net-zero system

Where’s the search for a new innovative DCC heading? We’re creating new technologies to speed up chemical reactions, like bubbling air and spraying solutions. Another working field is related to liquid-solid phase separation systems avoiding the accumulation of CO₂ in the liquid. The main benefit of this technique is that the reaction speed does not slow down much. At the same time, we’re evaluating solid direct air capture (DAC) technology using sorbent filters. These filters chemically bind the CO₂ before being heated, placed under a vacuum, and released, so it can then be stored.

The future of DCC is about increasing the reaction times and uptake, reducing limiting factors and lowering reintegration temperature. This results in a hunt for new materials and new processes to make DCC a net-zero system. If you’re curious about other projects in the field of climate-changing technologies, check out our perspective on measuring air pollution.

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Supporting energy renovations in the City of Ghent

Because the City of Ghent wants to reduce energy consumption, it wants to build on its current renovation support. ‘De Energiecentrale‘ already offers citizens free at-home renovation advice services and a webpage. Which contains valuable tips, an extensive renovation guide, and information on loans and grants. To complement this, the City of Ghent, supported by VLAIO and the City of Things, requested our help to develop a dashboard prototype. The goal is to help its citizens reduce their energy consumption and make following up on renovation plans easier.

The strategy

On the one hand, we intended to develop an attractive interface, one that is easy to use, applicable on all kinds of devices, easy to read, etc. In short: a user-friendly interface where we deployed our design expertise and guidelines. The second objective, if not even more important than the first, lies in the effectiveness people will reduce or start to reduce their energy consumption.

User reflection & adoption model ©VERHAERT

The intended reduction is very high and we’ll have to realize it over the different persona and types of homes. To this end, we first define this persona as a basis for selecting our workshop participants and validation exercises. Criteria for this are more than just demographic (age, income, family composition, location), it’s also about behavior. The second objective needs to be meticulously designed to avoid rejection of use by the target audience and thus failing to achieve effective energy savings.

User nudging model ©VERHAERT

Our experts used cognitive design expertise and behavioral economics expertise to succeed in the second objective. These interventions are developed in a user-specific way. For example, doubters or skeptics require different solutions.

Defining the functionalities of the energy dashboard

Based on our user research and the criteria of the City of Ghent, we distinguished three main modules within the tool with different goals and functionalities: the house passport, the planner, and the consumption overview. 

The first component, the house passport, contains all information on the state of the home. When creating a profile, you’re asked to fill out a questionnaire about the property. Through color codes, users receive a clear overview of which parts of their house urgently need to be replaced or renovated and what the outcome would be in terms of EPC label, energy savings, and budget.

The second component is the planner. Here, users can schedule their activities in a personal planner, as well as consult the neighborhood schedule. This way, they can check whether any road works could hinder their renovation.

The planner seems very intelligent, you are immediately directed to the right page if you want to request a parking ban, for example. ~ Workshop participant

In the third module, users can monitor their consumption. They can connect a digital meter or enter meter readings manually, allowing easy monitoring of the effects on energy consumption. In addition, they can also compare themselves with their neighbors to gain more insights.

By comparing yourself with others in a similar situation, you can learn a lot. Why do they do it better? What adjustments have a significant impact? ~ Workshop participant

Involving the citizens of Ghent

Our innovation and design consultants organized several user research workshops to involve citizens in developing the dashboard. We did this to make sure the platform met not only the needs of the City of Ghent but also those of the citizens, the future users. In the first workshops, we set up mood boards for each of our possible target audiences and mockups of the features. We then verified these with the input of our participants to finetune the main look and feel, and direction of each of the functionalities and features.

Dashboard mock-up ©VERHAERT

Once we had a compelling combination of functionalities, we focused on refining the interface, user experience, and layout. With different working prototypes, participants could test the platform in real-time at an early stage. This allowed us to test the digital experience and interactions, and improve the interface. Thanks to the valuable feedback and insights from each workshop, we could further fine-tune the interface. We could also come up with an intuitive, user-friendly, and service-centric design.

Want to read more? Discover our blog and perspectives!

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At Verhaert, the AI Lab experts picked up the following trends from our customers’ questions and projects. In a previous article, we discussed how AI is on its way to continuously, but radically change our lives and businesses. It’s crucial to start working on an AI vision and roadmap today. Not only to capture the value of new applications, but also to learn, implement the necessary changes and stay relevant in the future. Let’s take a look at these nine trends in our customers’ questions and projects.

Downstream

Personalization & gamification of consumer interaction

Challenge: How to increase customers convenience and personalizing user experience
Solution: Artificial intelligence allows you to personalize user interactions and even identify new parameters for personalization and differentiation. AI can also recognize demographic or behavioral patterns and adapt to them in real time. Personalized recommendations, predictive maintenance, automated additional orders and smart subscriptions, there are so many possibilities. In smart appliances, like kitchen appliances, dispensers, servers and vending machines, natural language processing and computer vision can create attractive user interfaces based on body language, spoken interaction and the user’s tone of voice.

Real time optimization, premiumization

Challenge: How to ensure optimal product quality and the correct use of a device in the field (dispenser/server)
Solution: Smart devices can automatically monitor, control and adjust parameters in real time to ensure the best quality for end users. Systems can detect anomalies and suggest actions. Let’s say you have a fancy juicer and you want to optimize the extraction of juice from some fruit that you put in. By measuring various aspects of the fruit and the environment in real time, we can enable an algorithm to optimize the juicing process.

Sales planning, logistics & stock management

Challenge: How to increase revenue and reduce costs
Solution: According to this McKinsey report, AI could prevent up to 65% of lost sales due to stock-outs, and save between 10 and 50% of warehousing costs within certain industries. By combining historical and current data, specialized AI systems can make more accurate predictions, avoiding errors in the logistics chain and optimizing stock management.

Market analysis & pattern recognition

Challenge: How to leverage on data and derive patterns for valuable insights
Solution: Companies sit on vast collections of data from sales, use of dispensers, machines and vending systems, reviews and other retail data, but fail to recognize hidden patterns in this data. However, these patterns can provide valuable insights to develop winning product and market strategies, because pattern recognition systems go far beyond standard market segmentation analysis. Customers and locations can be classified much more precisely and quickly in terms of location, seasonal cycles, demographics, weather patterns, etc. These same systems can also suggest locations where specific products are always selling well and support and simulate price optimizations.

Customer sentiment analysis

Challenge: How to understand customer appreciation in a less time-consuming way
Solution: Understanding exactly how consumers feel about your products and services is invaluable, but extracting insights from endless lists of reviews or complaints is a time-consuming activity with uncertain results. Artificial intelligence is already able to detect and classify sentiment in written and spoken language, and there are breakthroughs in recognizing emotions in facial expressions. In combination with other systems, these technologies can search through large data streams, classify them and help to escalate important messages, support customer service functions and gain insights into appreciation and hidden problems.

Upstream

Where the previous examples focused more on the end user, there’s also a constant stream of innovations and potential improvements upstream in:

Process automation

Challenge: Production processes might have bottlenecks through steps that can currently not be performed by machines
Solution: Through robotics and AI a lot of processes that could previously only be performed by humans, can now be automated. The enabler here is not necessarily the robotics, as many might believe, but the perception. These are the type of algorithms that give meaning to what they observe. Think of packaging products, gathering the required items for an order or even quality control.

In-line and at-line quality control

Challenge: Improve quality control with less effort
Solution: Quality control is one of the most important reasons that human personnel is still required in automated production lines. Through perception algorithms, quality inspection systems can be created to ensure the quality of the products being produced. Spoiled food, ripped packaging and other defects can all be detected and be dealt with in a fully automized way.

Safe work environments

Challenge: Ensure safety on the work floor
Solution: Perception systems can also be put into use to ensure safety in the workplace. Moving machines can detect when a human is in the vicinity and plan their actions accordingly. Aside from not hitting humans, it is also important to ensure that the machines themselves are operating correctly. For this task we can call upon certain predictive maintenance algorithms to detect when this is not the case.

Minimizing maintenance costs

Challenge: Determine the ideal time to perform maintenance on your machines
Solution: Through predictive maintenance you can get good estimations of the state of your machines and when they are expected to fail. With this knowledge you can determine the ideal time to perform maintenance on these machines, minimizing costs while also ensuring that your machines won’t break down.

How can you apply these nine trends in your products, services or businesses? A 360° innovative product vision of your project helps you to visualize the possibilities of AI for user experience, products and processes. Verhaert can provide development and consulting services in artificial intelligence applications, combining deep knowledge of AI technology with a system engineering approach. Starting from your AI idea or vision, we make AI concrete by building rapid prototypes and demonstrators. We also support companies in creating and fine-tuning a powerful and realistic AI product vision.

Interested in how to identify the AI opportunities for your business and other AI content? Check out our blogs and perspectives!

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