Zehnder develops energy-efficient solutions for climate control that offer a high level of comfort with heating, ventilation, cooling, filtering and humidity control. Zehnder was seeking a spectacular presentation for the introduction of a new, innovative ventilation system that offers comfort and saves energy. They needed an interactive and attractive looking trade fair presentation. However, the design and realisation formed a huge challenge and required a wide range of expertise.
We needed input from many disciplines to integrate all the required functions in the interactive presentation. On top of this, the deadlines were short and the ventilation system was still being developed. This meant that product information was available rather late, while the presentation still needed to give an accurate impression of what the final system would offer. All good reasons for Zehnder to call in Demcon.
Demcon worked on the project together with 52DN in Enschede. This software company develops mobile applications for Smart Industry, energy, healthcare, construction and business service projects. 52DN specialises in the latest smartphone and app technology that makes working with machinery and equipment easier and smarter.
The trade fair demonstration comprised an interactive presentation linked with a trade fair unit, which was an open, transparent version of the ventilation system. The presentation was available in two versions, an extensive version for a large display that linked to the trade fair unit and a simpler version for tablet/smartphone. The objective was to inform the market in an interesting way about the advantages that this innovative ventilation system offers users, such as comfort and energy savings.
The presentation contained all the ventilation system’s features. An example of a feature that offers comfort and energy savings is the heat exchanger that preheats the ventilated air. During the presentation, when a user selected such a feature on the screen, the system’s 3D model was shown on the screen and an animation started. The animation showed the unit rotating slowly, transforming into an exploded view, and ending in an infographic with technical details about this feature. At the same time, the relevant ventilation system component was illuminated. The multi-colour LED lighting ensured that the control was linked to the interactive presentation.
All this placed high requirements on the implementation and programming of the demo, all of which needed to satisfy the Zehnder style guide guidelines. As the trade fair presentation worked perfectly, the project was concluded within the set timescale and to Zehnder’s complete satisfaction. Three different versions of the trade fair demo have now been made and presented at multiple trade fairs and Demcon has also implemented a minor update to ensure that the demo remains compatible with the ventilation system developments.
In follow-up projects, 52DN has produced a number of apps for Zehnder for the smart heating and ventilation system control. Demcon has now developed a gateway for the communication between the ventilation system and peripheral equipment. This shows that we have total command of the protocols for domotics, or household automation. Just like Demcon demonstrated in the trade fair demo project: we offer a wide range of competencies, from industrial automation to embedded electronics and industrial design.
