Exia

Executive summary 

The main project of Exia Belgium, the Active Sideguard™, is an innovative blind spot accident avoidance device for heavy trucks, using electrostatic sensors technology for detecting cyclists and pedestrians. Bringing their expertise in automotive safety software and embedded software development, Tremend team members became partners with this ambitious startup and helped its founders turn its ideas and early prototypes into a fully functional product and bring it to market.

The client 

Exia Belgium is a technology spin-off initiative of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Department of Electronics and Informatics (ETRO), in collaboration with iMinds vzw Belgium.

Exia aims to be an independent R&D-driven provider of blind spot accident avoidance sensor technology for heavy goods vehicles (HGV), municipal vehicles, busses, coaches, and other oversized vehicles. The company’s innovative electrostatic sensor solutions contribute significantly to the safety of vulnerable road users, optimizing vehicle operation costs while reducing the financial implications of maneuvering damage.

Business Challenge 

The challenge was to develop their product, The Active Sideguard™, from scratch, helping the startup turn its ambitious idea into a functional product and put it on the market.

Solution delivered by Tremend 

Security systems for Automobiles

Technologies

C#

* IDE: Visual Studio

* .NET Framework: Windows Forms

C

* Embedded C for Microchip PIC18 (8bit MCU) and Microchip PIC24F (16bit MCU)

* IDE: MPLAB X IDE with Microchip XC8 and XC16 C Compilers

* Protocols: Serial RS232/RS485 communication, SPI: SD/MicroSD card library, USB: WinUSB Device

* Other: PIC18 and PIC24F bootloaders, Flash Re-Programming, interrupt-driven i/o, PWM (pulse width modulation), ADC (analog to digital converter)

Results 

Exia’s collaboration with Tremend leads to the complete development of their product, The Active Sideguard™. With an ultra-flat form factor, robustness with regard to mechanical damage, and immunity to atmospheric disturbances, the solution is now put on the market as a cost-effective stand-alone solution for blind spot accident avoidance that integrates with minimal modification into new as well as existing vehicle fleets.