Start-up of the Month: SenseING

The Karlsruhe-based start-up SenseING has set itself the task of reducing errors in the supply chain and is developing IoT solutions that can be used across all industries. In this interview, Sven Kruse, who founded the company together with Kiryl Deschuk and Ivo Frank in 2021, talks about how SenseING came about and its goals.

How did you come up with the idea of founding a start-up in the field of IoT solutions?

Our idea came about as part of a hackathon at the WBK Institute for Production Technology at KIT. Back then, Kiryl Deschuk and I were looking at errors in the supply chain and hypothesized that many errors occur during transport. Where exactly, however, is usually unclear in the end. We thought about how to analyze errors and quickly came up with the tracking approach. We then equipped a pallet with sensors and telematics modules that collect data, transmit it live and trigger an alarm if predefined limit values are exceeded. We were able to convince the jury with this concept. The tinkering back then has now turned into series products that have been developed in close cooperation with our customers.

How do you explain what your start-up does to someone who has no idea about the subject?

First of all, we need to take a look at the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is the networking of objects, such as tools, transport boxes, vehicles and so on. Put simply, a device is given the ability to provide information about its location, the current temperature of its surroundings or whether it is moving, for example.

Networking an object always requires several levels in the digital and physical world - i.e. hardware and software. In terms of hardware, sensors, telematics and the energy supply are essential. In other words, "what is measured", "how is the data forwarded" and "how can the system be operated without a power cable". In the software, data must be received, stored and evaluated in order to derive valuable information from the data.

Due to the many different technologies and many specific providers, it is very difficult to bring these levels together. And this is exactly where our solutions come into play, because unlike our competitors, we offer IoT solutions as a complete service: from hardware, software and maintenance to commissioning.

Can you explain the process using a specific project?

Our core innovation, the "träck - LoRa Tracker", is primarily used in the construction industry, for example. Our project partner Peter Gross Bau defined the initial requirements for a new tracking system for small devices in the construction industry. This is because the location of small appliances is sometimes unknown, especially when many projects are being handled at the same time, and a lot of time is spent searching for and invoicing appliances. Our solution is very simple: all small appliances are given a transmitter, the so-called "träck". All construction sites and building yards are equipped with receivers - so-called gateways.

The gateway registers devices that are located on a construction site and assigns them to the corresponding coordinates. We also collect data on the use of the equipment, which will help us to adjust the size of the equipment fleet in line with requirements in the long term.

Our solution has a long range; the trackers transmit within a radius of up to 1,500 meters. This is particularly important in the construction industry where there are large construction sites.

What does your business model look like?

We offer our solutions in an everything-as-a-service model. We provide the hardware components free of charge and charge a monthly fee for maintaining the devices and providing the data.

Are the tracking solutions suitable for every industry?

Basically, the solutions are designed for the logistics and construction industries. However, there is no restriction to these sectors. Our solutions can therefore be used in almost any industry.

When does such a project become worthwhile for a customer?

That depends on many factors and what the aim of the solution is. For many of our customers, it is about increasing efficiency, for others it is purely about documentation processes that are required for approvals, such as in food logistics.

In food logistics, it is always worth automating the documentation process; for construction companies, we recommend an inventory size of around 200 devices and at least 10 parallel projects.

Series production of the tracking solution is already underway, can you tell us more about it?

We started production of 20,000 "träck-LoRa Trackers" in September. We are producing most of them in Germany. The first tracking solutions have already been successfully put into operation.

Where do you see SenseING GmbH in three years' time?

In three years, we see ourselves as the German market leader for IoT solutions in managed services. In addition to the construction industry and food logistics, we are leading the way in laboratory and pharmaceutical technology for the monitoring and documentation of transport conditions and MAK values (maximum workplace concentration).

What has been your greatest success so far?

Our biggest success so far is that we expanded our team to eleven employees in 2022 with our own funding and at the same time started series production, also with our own funding.

Thank you very much for the interview!