Press Release

BEENIC GmbH becomes a partner in the funding project SUITE

  • Funded project of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy runs until the end of May 2022
  • Intelligent assistance solutions for elderly people, based on smart meters and smart home devices
  • BEENIC takes over tasks and role of Fresh Energy with its BEENERA brand

BEENIC GmbH, a start-up in the EWE Group, has been a partner in the SUITE funding project of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the Smart Data Management program since the beginning of May. The project develops and tests assistance systems that apply machine learning and artificial intelligence in the smart home and use data from intelligent electricity meters, the smart meters, and smart home components. The aim is to offer assistance systems to elderly people who live alone, with the support of which they can lead a self-determined life at home for longer. An assistance system for a satisfied and happy life in your own four walls, based on smart meter data, is new worldwide and will be significantly developed within the framework of this funding project. In addition to the consortium leader Vonovia, Hakisa, hager Group, Institute for Communication Technology (IKT), German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and now BEENIC are consortium partners in the SUITE project, which will run until the end of May 2022.

BEENIC has been active on the market under its BEENERA brand since 2020 and replaces Fresh Energy GmbH as a partner in the project. The company has taken over essential assets of Fresh Energy, thus completing its own offer and developing it further for household-related, data-based services. “We are very pleased that we can work together with the technology partners within this funding project. The project fits almost perfectly with our BEENERA roadmap,” explains Ralf Walther, Head of Portfolio Management at BEENERA.

Assistance systems for the elderly enable self-determined life at home

The SUITE project develops intelligent, adaptive assistance services based on smart meters and building automation data and lays the technical foundations for residents of rental apartments to be able to flexibly book intelligent comfort, assistance, and energy efficiency functions, as well as value-added services in and with a smart home, without major structural interventions being required. It is therefore the basis for innovative, data-driven business models in the smart living environment. For the desired services, additional sensors are also used in the apartments, for example to record individual household appliances. The aim is to create a consistent, easily configurable and individual service from the user’s point of view. Machine learning based on smart home data and other components from artificial intelligence enable the service to be individually adapted to the habits and needs of users.

The technical basis of SUITE is an easily configurable technology kit, which makes the construction of data-driven, AI-supported, intelligent applications in and with a smart home considerably easier than before. The modular technology system initially consists of a smart meter, selected smart home sensors and actuators, processes from artificial intelligence (AI), an intelligent standard system or digital twin – a status system with the current status of the sensors and actuators of the smart home, their history as well as AI-derived, abstract signals with a specialized user portal for interaction. When setting up the technology kit, long-term interoperability, easy interchangeability and the ability to integrate new components as well as user-friendliness are key. The aim is to do without additional hardware as far as possible and to obtain sufficiently reliable information from the power consumption data alone.

Artificial intelligence for more user comfort

Machine learning and other processes from artificial intelligence compare previously individually recorded training data with the data of the current situation in the household. In this way, a signal with agreed fixed if-then matrices can be triggered much more flexibly and individually in the event of deviations from the normal state. Bookable assistance functions are implemented and tested using the example of rental apartments. Raw data is processed according to strict data protection criteria.

Smart services for fluent adaptation to requirements without stigmatization

The service offerings should range from comfort and energy monitoring functions to assistance functions or emergency services, in order to introduce users to smart services slowly and in a smooth transition from “comfort”, “assistance” and “energy” and to avoid any stigmatization towards the need for assistance. In this way, many technical and organizational barriers can be avoided and user acceptance can be significantly improved. In a user portal, the users themselves determine the degree of data sharing as well as the desired functions, services and contact persons. “We deliberately refrain from cameras in the apartments, as well as extensive structural measures in order to keep the entry barrier low. The customer must be able to see the added value with little interaction with the app, without feeling monitored. We achieve this with lean hardware equipment and intelligent adaptation to individual usage habits,” says Filip Milojkovic, project manager at BEENERA and responsible for SUITE.

More information about the funded project (in German only)

https://www.suite-projekt.de/de-de/das-projekt

https://www.digitale-technologien.de/DT/Redaktion/DE/Standardartikel/Smarte-Datenwirtschaft-Projekte/SDW_suite.html

Your contact

You are welcome to download and use our media and documents for the purpose of your own editorial reporting. Please consult us about any other uses.

Ina Buchholz
Press officer
Ina Buchholz