Can a nekton drive?

Can you swim?
Are you insulted if I call you a "nekton"?
Well, I hope the answer is "yes" to the first question. And if you read on, then maybe the answer is "no" to the second.

Nekton refers to all the swimming organisms in a the ocean. These are able to move independently of currents of water, as opposed to plankton that just float along. So I hope that you and I both belong to that first category - I for sure can swim.

But what has this to do with driving? Well drive can be many things. In this context it refers to the apparatus that modulate electrical current to run ship propellers via electrical engines, so called variable frequency drives. A few years back I became aware that actually a large number of modern vessels use electricity to drive their propellers. This creates flexibility compared to running the propellers on the shafts of (e.g.) diesel engines, and more recently it interfaces nicely with rapidly developing energy storage technologies (like batteries).

Last week the company I work for launched a new low voltage variable speed drive for marine applications, like supply ships in the oil industry. And this new product is called "NektonDrive" (press release in Norwegian). This is a change from the typical names they operate with, like 800xA, ACS6000, PMS, and so on.

So why this sudden use of a name that can be pronounced? Well, as the product's project manager told me (my translation):

"It is a fantastic connection with what we are doing,

and many wonder how we found that name"

And what has this got to do with me, you may ask? Well, the name is the result of a naming competition. And who won? Well I did!

Internet of Things on the High Seas

In the beginning of March I travelled to Gibraltar to board a LNG tanker. My task was installation of temperature sensors in the engine room so that key parameters could be monitored remotely, via satellite link wherever the ship is sailing.

A LNG tanker is a tanker for Liquid Natural Gas, the fossil fuel of the future. Not only is LNG a key ingredient in industrial processes and an important energy source - new regulations are also helping LNG becoming an important fuel for ships in order to reduce the pollution profile of international shipping.

On a LNG tanker the cargo is also used as fuel for propulsion. Although the cargo is kept liquid at the boiling point of the gas (-161 degrees Celsius), there is always some liquid that turns into gas, and this gas is used for energy production. The alternative could be to have separate fuel and use energy to convert the gas back to liquid, but that is both more complicated and more expensive.

Anyway, the development of LNG based propulsion in general and LNG tankers in particular is eager to understand how the energy in the gas is converted to useful work or wasted as heat. Traditional installation of temperature sensors rely on electrical wring. This can be both costly and time consuming. Therefore wireless technology can be very interesting, but a wireless sensor network can meet significant technical challenges deep inside a metal ship.

But the installation was successful - everything worked (and works) fine. In addition to making the temperatures available remotely, the information is also available in the vessel’s control room. This way it will no longer be needed for a member of the crew to walk around to take readings at each sensor.

The "Internet of Things" (IoT) is a popular technology topic nowadays. Many hobbyists are experimenting with instrumenting their homes, semiconductor companies are developing new and better components, and traditional industry are joining the IoT bandwagon. Compared to the popular image of IoT the size of the sensor and the transmitter in the picture may seem bulky. But this equipment is meant for an industrialized environment with high temperatures and vibration, so good packaging certainly seems to be a good idea!

School map from the scrap heap of history

I was inspired to buy a map from one of the Fretex stores run by the Norwegian Salvation Army today.

What was I thinking? It certainly wasn't what I was looking for. But back at the office I see that this map was from before the fall of the iron curtain, and that it is printed in German Democratic Republic. Although the Nordic countries are in focus, the map also contains parts of East Germany and some SSRs that since have regained their freedom. "Freedom from what?" you may ask, and I will point you here as a start. Since I don't have wall space for it at home, I think it will stay in my office.

I'm on sugru.com

I while back I made a cable to connect a JTAG test system to a proprietary DSP board. The cable has a Molex type connector in one end and a RJ45 in the other (not Ethernet), but the Molex side looked vulnerable with bare cables soldered to pins.

So I took some Sugru I had lying around and covered it up. I posted the result on their site, and today I discovered that my contribution is featured on the front page. If you look at the picture you can see my design in the lower left hand corner, see Make a 14-pin, 2 row connector.

Sugur is really a fantastic material, and I look forward to finding more uses for it.

Applications of EPICS in food supply chain management

I'm presenting at the workshop Applications of EPICS in food supply chain management in Oslo 16. November. This workshop is based around the work done by SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture, Matis and TraceTracker (where I work) in the eTrace project. I hope to see you there if you are interested in the use of EPCIS for applications like traceability, sustainability, logistics optimization and supply chain management!

TraceTracker Data Uploader and the 5 step model

Earlier this week I had a customer in central Europe wanting a canned version of a product demonstration I just gave them. Well, the raw material proved too large to be distributed in email, so I ran it through Windows Movie Maker before uploading it to my YouTube account. I guess I should have used the TraceTracker account, but I forgot. Anyway, according to rumors it was a great success.

If you need a manual way to upload traceability information to the Global Traceability Network you can take a look yourself here.

My favorite meeting facilities

Occasionally I experience things that I really like. This time I have discovered my favorite facility for meetings. A bit impractical as it lies in Germany while my work is based out of Norway. However, I am willing to travel when invited!

The building pictured on the right lies in Ludwigshafen in Germany. It is referred to as Gesellschaftshaus, which means something like "party house", but these days it is also used to house business meetings. Not only are the meeting rooms agreeable and well furnished. There is also a restaurant there where one can have both lunch and dinner served. And the food is very good.

Last week I enjoyed a meeting there for the second time. Travelling down on the 24. August was a bit difficult, as a storm closed down Frankfurt airport before I was scheduled to land and my train to Mannheim was delayed.
But the meeting, lunch and dinner the next day at the Gesellschaftshaus was a pleasure!

Earlier visits to Ludwigshafen have been alluded to here and here. At least!

Present in the pixels

The eTrace project is over. Just before Easter the project had its final meeting in Gothenburg. The plan was that I should be there presenting How can EPCIS provide faster and more efficient traceability operations and increase the ability to perform precise and reliable recalls in case of food scares. But alas, I had to attend a meeting in the US instead.


But to my surprise I was present in the pixels, as one of the presentations included a picture from a meal we had during that particular pilot in Simrishamn in May last year. And it is me in the picture, using my phone. And the meal was excellent!

Lunch in the land of additives

This was my lunch yesterday.

Yet again I was consulting in Ludwigshafen. With its main industry there I guess it may be referred to as the land of additives, although the range of chemicals produced covers much more than just additives to food and feed.

Looking at the food on my tray I have the feeling that additives were not playing a big role. In fact, I think I should be able to copy the dishes myself from natural sources and spices. The meal was very tasty, and it refuelled us so that we could continue our work efficiently.

Red fish - red fish - red fish

In 2010 Greenpeace added Rose fish to its seafood red list because it is being sourced from unsustainable fisheries. Well, in the middle of August I did some project work in Iceland where they obviously process this fish. I think the ones on this picture were sorted away from production together with some friends.

But I don't think I have ever seen so much fish at the same time. I wouldn't be surprised if the Icelanders could keep us all with fish if they were given the chance, provided of course it was sustainable!

Anyway, given that my hosts keep the project going I expect other Rose fish to end up as EPCs in a EPCIS system before the end of the year.

By the way, in Norwegian Rose fish is called uer.

The train in Spain stays mainly in the plain ...

Some weeks ago I took at trip to Spain to look at tomato harvesting and ketchup production. To get from Barcelona to Zaragoza I and my colleague travelled with the AVE, Spain's high speed train service.

It was breathtaking - home in Norway we have one of the crappiest train services I have ever encountered. And in Spain I travelled at 300km/t and more (I saw 301!).

I sincerely hope that Norway can start investing the profits from the North Sea in infrastructure. That may help the nation when we go back to being a poor country again, when we again depend on wood and fisheries. Nobody uses paper any more, and for how long will it still be advisable to eat fish? But with decent roads, rails, education and so on - who knows, maybe we have a future?

Are Swedish lampposts cold in summer?

Check out the image on the right. It shows a lamppost with a knitted cover. I found a number of such lampposts on a visit to Simrishamn in Sweden in early May. They were nice, but why? Are the lampposts cold in summer, or had they just forgotten to remove them after winter?