RVheat: Hands-free Heating System for RVs

Project Description

The project intends to integrate smart textiles in the interior of caravans and motorhomes in order to create a hands-free heating ecosystem.

How the RV heating system works

The RVheat system will be able to improve and balance thermal perception, energy efficiency, and comfort of the living conditions in recreational vehicles (RVs) without any manual intervention of users. It will be fed by different data coming from vehicle sensors and autonomously adapt the temperature inside the vehicle, in accordance with the information received.

MACH device that will control heating elements.

Development and SmartX support

RVheat developers aim at modernizing existing heating solutions by bringing in the benefits of flexible and wearable electronics (FWE), which will be fully integrated (embedded) in the existing textile elements of RVs. Within the project, the companies will identify and analyze the best integration approach, as well as the main end-user needs.

The testing phase of RVheat

Thermal camera outcomes

SmartX funding will be used during three development phases: the initial evaluation stage supplying technical and non-technical KPIs, use cases, and development approaches; the implementation phase for engineering and production of the solution itself, implying the majority of costs for both companies; and finally, the integration and validation phase with the solution deployed in real vehicles and tested by an established group of end users in real environments.

By the end of the project, ComSensus and Embro expect to deliver a fully operational solution ready to be released to the market upon completed certification and compliance processes.

Textile elements for the RV heating system are provided by Embro.

Meet the team

The RV heating system is developed by two SMEs: ComSensus from Slovenia and Embro from Germany.

ComSensus is a high-tech SME founded in 2011 as a spin-off of the Jožef Stefan Institute, enabling the opportunity to leverage mutual synergies emerging from innovative research. The core business of ComSensus is focused on the development of highly customized products and IoT solutions for remote and real-time monitoring and control, predominantly for the energy and automotive segment and their cross-sectors with mobility and smart homes.

Embro focuses on the development and production of next-generation textiles and embroidery for application areas including the sportswear, industrial protection equipment, automotive, medicine, and furniture sectors. Embro’s team is mostly composed of expert engineers, specialized in the integration of semiconductor components into textiles.