required. Seating is limited.
WHISPER Energy, a startup aiming听to bring to market听a wireless sensor platform, will be presented听at the University of Colorado Boulder's 2024 Embark Showcase on Jan. 24. Developed听by a multi-institutional team under the leadership of Professor听Gregor Henze, the听innovative technology seeks听to optimize energy consumption in both residential and commercial settings听by intelligently adjusting听usage based on听detecting human presence.
In 2023, Henze was听selected听as听one of 12 entrepreneurs for the inaugural听Embark Entrepreneurs in Residence program for his听Wireless Home Identification and Sensing Platform for Energy Reduction (WHISPER) technology.听
Embark, CU Boulder鈥檚 startup catalyst听for deep tech ventures, connects entrepreneurs with groundbreaking听innovations. The program offers selected entrepreneurs intellectual property (IP) rights, salary support, grant funds听and introductions to investors.
Galen Williams, formerly an Entrepreneur in Residence at Venture Partners at CU Boulder and now affiliated with the University of California Riverside,听will lead WHISPER Energy.
We spoke with Henze about the project.
When did you start working on WHISPER?
The WHISPER technology听was the outgrowth of my Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E ) project from 2017 to 2021, which was part of the SENSOR program.
What does Whisper's听sensor platform do?
Many regions of the world rely on听heating, ventilation听and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems to provide productive, comfortable听and healthy indoor environments through听automatic building controls. The increasing use of HVAC systems globally, driven by听climate change, population growth and industrialization, has led to a surge in energy consumption. Unfortunately, these systems often operate continuously听regardless of human presence, resulting in听unnecessary energy consumption. The heating, ventilation听and cooling of unoccupied building spaces significantly contribute to the environmental impacts associated with carbon-based electric power generation, requiring urgent attention. We developed the WHISPER听system to address the energy and power demand triggered by human presence in homes.
WHISPER incorporates a maintenance-free and privacy-preserving human occupancy detection system. It utilizes听a local wireless network of battery-free environmental, acoustic energy听and image sensors employing听RFID backscattering technology. These sensors are strategically placed in homes to monitor and听record empirical data for various听modalities,听transmitting the information听to a base station. At the base station, machine-learning algorithms, including a hierarchical sensor fusion algorithm, infer human presence based on the received data.听Results from the prototype system demonstrate a听human presence detection听accuracy exceeding 95 percent, with ongoing commercialization efforts suggesting approximately 99 percent听accuracy.
Using machine learning, WHISPER enables various applications based on its binary occupancy prediction. This听allows听situation-specific controls targeted at both personalized smart home needs and contributing to opportunities for modernizing the electric grid.
Why did you develop WHISPER?
The original intent was to develop a technology that reduces unnecessary energy consumption in homes as a result of conditioning homes while unoccupied. Accurate occupancy detection was crucial听to prevent听users from disabling the system, in other words we needed to minimize false negatives (incorrectly assuming the house is empty, potentially annoying occupants)听as well as false positives (wrongly assuming the house is occupied, leading to听unnecessary energy consumption). At the end of the project we discovered additional applications for the versatile听sensing platform that relate to indoor air quality and assistive technology for the elderly who wish听to remain听in their home听and smart grid applications.
Whisper Energy is actively working听to develop solutions based on this听sensing platform to address the challenges of creating healthy and energy-efficient homes and workplaces.