ULIS - Experts & Thought Leaders

Sofradir and its subsidiary ULIS announce their merger and new company name: Lynred. Lynred was created to respond to a need for an all-inclusive infrared (IR) product offering to the global aerospace, defense, industrial and consumer markets. In response to increasing market requirements, the company has attained a critical mass geared to shortening the time-to-market process of new products. Its US entity remains a subsidiary and has been renamed Lynred USA. Equipment integration support Lynred gives us more punching weight in R&D and increased visibility within the IR ecosystem" Lynred is the new identity under which its 1,000 staff will provide the widest range of advanced IR technologies to global markets, assure a long-term and reliable product supply and accompany client projects with the best possible IR design and equipment integration support. “Lynred will enter the market with a new vision for the future in an increasingly competitive market, which has seen the number of players double over the last five years,” said Jean-François Delepau, chairman of Lynred. “We are the established European leader in infrared technologies. Now, Lynred gives us more punching weight in R&D and increased visibility within the IR ecosystem. Thanks to the commitment of our employees in forming Lynred and increased support from our partners, we will be able to offer new attractive solutions to our customers.” Infrared imaging systems Lynred is actively pursuing growth in this market. The world military infrared imaging systems market was estimated at $8.5 billion (approx. €7.6bn) in 2018 and is expected to grow to $14 billion (approx. €12.5bn) in 2023. This translates to a global potential annual market growth rate of around 10% at camera and system level Extrapolated market data also indicates that the market for cameras for industrial and consumer applications has the potential to increase from $2.9 (approx. €2.6bn) to $4.1 billion (€3.7bn) in the same period. This translates to a global potential annual market growth rate of around 10% at camera and system level. Lynred will advance developments of next generation IR detectors with the €150 million ($167.4M) financial investment it is making in the Nano2022 project over the next five years. Smart buildings These IR devices will be designed to address trends in autonomous systems for smart buildings (workspace management, energy savings), road safety and in-cabin comfort of vehicles. Developments also include the very large dimension IR detectors needed for space and astronomy observations as well as compact and light IR detectors that can be used in portable devices and on drones. Lynred will continue enlarging its product catalogue, strengthening its R&D investments and hiring in support of activities.

ULIS, a designer and manufacturer of a wide range of innovative thermal image sensors, has announced the launch of ThermEye Building, a thermal sensor line for system integrators of detection and people counting equipment for connected buildings. ThermEye Building rangeThe new ThermEye Building range includes two new products: ThermEye-b90 and ThermEye-b120 The new ThermEye Building range includes two new products: ThermEye-b90 and ThermEye-b120. These 80x80 thermal sensors provide system integrators with advanced functionalities to detect presence (even when people are immobile) and localise and count people in order to improve capabilities in analysing human activity and communicate with relevant smart building applications. Coupled with a 90° or 120° field of view (FOV) lens, a single ThermEye Building sensor can cover a zone of 30 sq. meters (323 sq. feet), equivalent to a meeting room accommodating eight to ten people. The product range is configured with a conventional video channel (50 images per second) and features an intermittent mode that is compatible with low-power consumption applications. Thermal image sensing technology It only requires one AA battery to run a ThermEye Building sensor when transmitting an image at two-minute intervals. The advantage of running entirely on batteries means end-users can deploy these detections, people counting and localisation systems in both new and existing buildings. Energy management and fire safety The solutions developed for the ThermEye Building product line guarantee occupant anonymity and privacy The solutions developed for the ThermEye Building product line guarantee occupant anonymity and privacy, as there is no facial recognition. This is a plus for integrators wishing to use data to develop other future solutions for smart building applications that improve how facilities optimise space usage and energy management, detect potential fire hotspots and manage people flow during a fire. “ULIS is invested in the connected buildings market. This novel product demonstrates our commitment to bringing smarter sensing solutions to facility managers,” said Cyrille Trouilleau, smart buildings manager at ULIS. “We have extensive expertise and experience in designing reliable high-resolution thermal image sensors. We are now applying this know-how and industrial rigor to our mass market sensors. ThermEye-b90 and ThermEye-b120 are 80X80 resolution sensors offering the right level of added performance needed for intelligent systems. Our industrial platform based on a disruptive technology that drives costs down will allow us to produce several hundred thousand of these sensors every year for commercial applications.”

ULIS, a manufacturer of innovative thermal sensors, announces that its Thermal Activity Sensor (TAS) for detecting true presence and people counting has been selected by Irlynx for integration in its advanced smart building device, People Sense. Irlynx will field test ULIS’ thermal sensor in several pilot studies it is undertaking with GE Digital, NEXITY and SNCF, among other smart occupancy and people counting projects linked to optimising open space areas and reducing building footprint.  The global market for IR sensors in smart homes and buildings is expected to grow from $694 million in 2016 to $1068 million in 2022 (source: Sensors and Sensing Modules for Smart Homes and Buildings report, Yole Développement, 2017). Both ULIS and Irlynx manufacture thermal vision products to meet emerging needs in workspace management, energy management, security and safety. ULIS is the only manufacturer to produce, in mass volume, advanced occupancy sensors that give system integrators the flexibility to modify key parameters within the thermal sensor to match system requirements. Deploying and testing people-counting solutionULIS is the only manufacturer to produce, in mass volume, advanced occupancy sensors "ULIS is pleased to enable deployment and testing of a people counting solution using its newly designed Thermal Activity Sensor,” said Hien Pham Gia, Sales and Marketing Director at ULIS. “Irlynx has provided ULIS with additional opportunities to obtain valuable end-user feedback based on real-life experiences. This will allow us to confirm the key benefits of our sensor, as well as further strengthen its value proposition for facility managers.” Irlynx developed the electronics as well as the algorithm for the TAS to perform thermal video data analysis and to activate the people counting function. Irlynx’s task was made easier since in using ULIS’ sensors the algorithm could access raw data directly from the sensor. This eliminated the need for Irlynx to carry out complex calibrations. Unmatched value in smart market “Irlynx was looking for a partner with great technology and a good understanding of our markets, where cost is key. ULIS demonstrated that it could adapt its offer and address this challenge. Its technology allows us to deliver an unmatched value proposition to the smart building market, with a greater performance/price ratio than any existing people counting solution,” said Guillaume Crozet, VP Sales and Marketing at Irlynx. “We also deliver advanced human activity data such as people’s position and trajectories, and desk occupancy, increasingly of great interest among our customers.” Advantages of ULIS’ space occupancy sensor One key advantage a thermal sensor offers facility managers is that it comes without facial recognition, an important feature to preserve the anonymity and privacy of subjects, for example, when monitoring a building. Furthermore, compared to other thermal technologies, ULIS’ TAS offers a wider field of view up to 120°, meaning that fewer devices are required to cover large surface areas.Customers have several options available for tuning ULIS’ TAS for specific application requirements Customers have several options available for tuning ULIS’ TAS for specific application requirements. One option is to work directly on raw video data (true 14 bits parallel bus), which is easily interoperable with standard microcontrollers and low-cost FPGA. System integrators can also optimise the sensor’s power consumption and use it with a standard battery lasting three or more years. TAS offers the market a wide range of advanced functions beyond the detection function offered by lower resolution sensor alternatives. It can support numerous applications: People counting Localisation & people tracking Activity & posture classification True intrusion detection (reducing the number of false alarms) Real presence detection (distinguishing people from animals) Hot spot and fire detection