Wearable technology such as sensors in shoe soles, special watches that keep an eye on your health and tracking devices sewn into bulletproof vests sound like the cutting edge in research and innovation in technology right now. However, we don’t need to go far away to see it in the making as these innovations are being developed by HandsOn Systems, a Maltese company, and exported to international markets.
The We Care Live healthcare service combines a state-of-the-art pocket-sized device that uses a GPS and links through GSM mobile networks to a call centre that operates 24/7 to enable users to be in touch wherever they are.
The core business of the Qormi-based company is research and innovation in technology, with substantial investment in research and development of new systems. There is no re-selling of other people’s solutions or legacy systems.
“We see ourselves as a telematics company, providing machine-to-machine communication systems,” explained Geoffrey Farrugia, chief executive officer of HandsOn Systems, which provides the device for We Care Live.
“This is the future. We are already hearing about so-called ‘Internet of Things’ and ‘Web 3.0’ and with our cutting edge research we are contributing to this pioneering technology. There is little justification in re-inventing the wheel by using the same wheel. We provide the full cycle of technology, from research to design, manufacture and implementation.”
The company’s research and development areas include vehicle telematics (vehicle electronics, sensors, diagnostics, engine tuning and remote sensing), GIS/GPS technologies (real-time tracking, mapping, routing, satellite imagery, geofencing), wireless technologies (GPRS, 3G, satellite and Wi-Fi), RFID (asset tracking and tagging); mobile and web applications, and security solutions (emergency response, fuel anti-theft, control room software, panic systems and collision detection).
At the beginning of this year HandsOn Systems started operating outside Malta and has already established a clientele in Italy, Libya, Sweden, the UK, Macedonia, Croatia, Qatar and Australia, where the sightseeing buses in Melbourne use technology developed by the Maltese company. Opening up these markets complements the company’s vision of reaching out of Malta with its innovative technology.
My dream is that the company one day gets listed on the stock exchange
“Malta is a very good test base for research and innovation. Our size and economic environment promote certain development but then we have to face economies of scale. A turnover based solely on the Maltese market wouldn’t support our research and development efforts,” insists Mr Farrugia.
The company has just 14 employees but the number is rising as it delves further into the development of new products and expands its international markets.
“I am a firm believer that technology alone is not enough. Without the right contacts and human support it cannot take you anywhere. Therefore we invest in support systems as much as in the technology itself.”
After launching the well-established and popular motor vehicle tracking system used by black and white taxis in Malta and the We Care Live product, HandsOn Systems is currently developing systems that bring together GPS and RFID. Such systems would be used to keep track of objects and do inventory management as never before. One such example, shown to iTech, involved the sewing of a small waterproof RFID tag to hotel towels to keep track of their usage on the premises and when they are sent to the laundry. The tracking is done in real time and the system can be applied to any garment.
A follow-up project to the We Care Live product in healthcare involves the development of a watch rather than a portable device and embedding a sensor in the sole of a shoe. The latter would benefit dementia patients who could forget to carry the monitoring device with them. The sensor would consist of a GPS and accelerometer to provide the location of the patient and alert the carers in case of a fall.
Another ambitious project is embedding a tracking device into bulletproof vests. If hit by a bullet the vest would send an alert signalling an attack on the wearer and thus request support.
HandsOn Systems chairman Tony Debono has ambitious plans for the company. “I am a seasoned man in the field of technology and yet I feel as if I am on the first day on the job, surrounded by people who have interesting dreams and want to make them real. My dream is that the company one days gets listed on the stock exchange!”