AEI Tèxtils’ member Cintas y Pasamanería, S.A. (CINPASA) recently completed the technical developments of its novel smart electric shepherd tape minimum viable product for agricultural fencing applications.

 

The first prototypes were jointly developed between CINPASA and the German smart textile engineering ITP GmbH who provided support with electronics integration into the textile tapes.

 

All the developments and operational field testing and demonstrations were carried out during the 9-month “E-shepherd” project, which was technically and financially supported by  SmartEEs.

 

SmartEEs is a European acceleration program, co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 R&D&I programme, aiming to support European companies in reaching new untapped markets and grow their businesses by integrating flexible electronics into their products.

 

CINPASA is a leading provider of solutions with textile tapes to reinforce, to hold and to transport a different range of products. The company is now strategically committed to innovate its current offer by increasingly launching new product applications relying on digital and smart solutions.

 

In this context, during the project, CINPASA and ITP GmbH cooperated to develop a first product demonstrator for agriculture fencing in order to deter animals from walking through and damage fields and crops.

 

The “e-shepherd” is a game-changer solution that integrates flexible electronics like temperature and moisture sensors and optic fiber sensors within high-grade textile tapes. This product will enable a prompt real-time detection of fencing anomalies.

 

CINPASA’s network of contacts in farms and companies in the field are being leveraged in order to carry out larger series demonstrators to scale-up the solution.

 

CINPASA, as a member of AEI Textils - The Catalan Advanced textile materials cluster -, has received critical support and access to key networks in the preparation stage and during the deployment of the project.

 

Both parties will continue collaborating towards further developments of CINPASA’s business plan and scaling-up foreseen for this specific product. The support of the cluster is deemed crucial, throughout a substantial contribution with know-how in the advanced textiles’ sector and with expertise in strategic re-orientation within this field.