,’’Hi guys, you have the scoop on this virtual tour through our factory.'' In the picture is Kevin Visser, Technology Manager at bus door manufacturer Ventura in Bolsward. Walking around with his smartphone, he shows the offices, production hall and test center. Never before has he shown the factory to guests in this way. Some colleagues are taken by surprise for a moment when Kevin confronts them via his smartphone to an audience of 20 students Industrial Engineering and Management of the University of Groningen† Fortunately, they see the fun in it.
In the production hall, Kevin shows a long row of bus doors being assembled. ,,As you can see, everything is neatly corona-proof. Thanks to the large hall with enough space.’’ In his web presentation earlier that afternoon, Kevin talks about advanced, pneumatic systems the bus doors are equipped with. A student wants to know about their safety. Kevin holds his left hand between the doors as they close. As soon as sensors detect his hand, the doors already open again. ,,In all the years that we have been making doors for the buses in London, only one person has become stuck. And that was mainly due to himself, because he was drunk,’’ Kevin said.
Partner
The virtual high-tech safari starts that afternoon with a pub quiz. ’’To get into it and break the ice a bit,‘’ explains ICD program manager Joost Krebbekx. Whoever gets most of the 40 questions right in categories such as ‘famous engineers’, ‘classic formulas’, ‘famous technology disasters’ and 'nerdy details' will win a ride in a Tesla. Theun Prins, director and owner of high-tech company YP Your Partner in Drachten, makes his car available for this purpose. With his story about ‘inside and influeance through monitoring and control,’ he takes the students afterward through how he monitors and analyzes data and thus supports customers in predicting maintenance and product optimization. ’’It only gets interesting when you collect data from hundreds of devices to extract interesting data.’’ Two years ago, Prins says this was still too expensive for many companies. ’’Nowadays, companies are awash in data, but have no idea how to approach motoring and analysis. That makes them insecure.'' Prins says he has been working with companies in so-called partnerships for six years on customized solutions. ''Such a partnership is new for many companies, because they have always worked on their own. But with so much data, you can't help but work together. ''If you can't bite, join them.''
power
,’’With smaller engines, we need to use less fuel. This can be done, for example, by dynamically using an air conditioner generator in combination with battery technology. That already saves 70 percent of the fuel. Top, we saved the world!'' Martijn Favot, Chief Technical Officer at high-tech company WhisperPower in Drachten, immediately got the students’ attention. His company has been focusing for years on power technology, the combination of efficient fuel use with solar and wind energy especially for festivals, the offshore, luxury yachts and transportation of luxury and racehorses, among others. Favot outlines that electricity is seen as a primary energy source worldwide, but that we are in transition for now. He sees that new technology is slow to be embraced by the market. ,,Today's oil price makes self-generated power profitable, but that doesn't solve the biggest problem. Batteries, which are needed to store power if we cannot generate it sustainably, will never be cheap.’’ Favot explains that putting energy into a battery and taking it out again takes 20 percent of the energy. ’‘Therefore, battery systems can only be a solution for temporary power supplies. Like batteries installed next to solar farms, for when the yield falls short on cloudy days.’' Consequently, according to Favot, energy is far too cheap to make the necessary investments to greatly improve batteries. That's why WhisperPower has been "experimenting" with solar boats for six years in the Dutch Solar Challenge. ,,We are thus gaining all kinds of experience in organizing the energy supply of a solar boat in a smart way. In this way, not only can it be sailed quickly, but above all it can be sailed for a long time.’’ One of the students wants to know from Favot when all homes will have their own energy supply and can be so-called offgrid. ’’That will cost 80,000 euros per house, which is a huge amount and not relevant for normal houses for the time being.''
