"We were in need of fresh eyes and a lot of knowledge"

The electrical contractor H. Jespersen & Søn A/S in Hirtshals on the West Coast of Denmark will soon be presenting a unique solution for home automation, thanks to the knowledge voucher system and qualified help from CISS.

”You see… Some of the knowledge that CISS provided has made the road a lot shorter. It has given us a better product."

Electrician Henrik Mikkelstrup from H. Jespersen & Søn A/S is happy that the people at Hjørring business support office knew exactly who the company should contact when they were facing a concrete problem.

”For a long time, we have been working on the development of our own unique solution for home automation – that is, the control of light, heat and ventilation in houses, offices, schools and other institutions. It must be a system that is both convenient and energy-saving – in other words, a kind of “smart” energy control. But we ran into a problem concerning software in connection with the wireless sensors – a problem we did not seem able to solve ourselves. Therefore, we contacted the local business support office,” Henrik Mikkelstrup says.

Discretion is crucial

Consultants Steen Hjulskov and Jørn Munk Nielsen from Hjørring Business Support Office visited the company, and when they learned about the challenges the company was facing, they suggested contacting CISS.

”We have never before had contact with the university, and had never heard of CISS. But the knowledge voucher system was instrumental to us in reaching our goal,” Henrik Mikkelstrup explains and also emphasizes the importance of their new collaborator’s discretion. Keeping the new product close to the chest was crucial to the company during the development phase.

Computer scientist Jens Alsted Hansen, technical project manager at CISS, is one of the researchers who have been assisting H. Jespersen and Son.

“Our job is to make a suggestion about how the problem can be solved – not actually do it for them. And after a thorough analysis of their project, we realized that some changes in terms of software were required. As soon as we are done testing it, we will deliver our proposed solution to them – this will happen in the very near future,” Jens Alsted Hansen explains.

Ready to enter new projects with CISS

At H. Jespersen & Søn they have been in contact with Jens Alsted Hansen and his colleagues at CISS so often that they are certain CISS will deliver a solution that can bring their product across the finish line.

“We certainly expect to have a finished product ready for our customers during the summer of 2010,” Henrik Mikkelstrup says and continues:

“CISS turned out to be exactly who we needed. They gave us fresh eyes on our problems, and their advanced academic level means that they can help us onwards, too. Without them, our development phase would have been significantly longer and more difficult. We have established a collaboration, and I have a good feeling about CISS. If we turn out to need help some other time, I will not hesitate in spending some of the company’s own resources on drawing on their expertise.”