Israeli Startup FeelIT Offers RetroFeel to Detect Structural Damage
Germany’s Henkel Adhesive Technologies has just invested $5 million in the new company.
FeelIT RetroFeel
FeelIT is an Israeli startup which develops structural sensing technology which can detect changes in any material and analyze the data. In doing so the startup can help prevent companies preempt breakdowns saving time and money. Germany’s Henkel Adhesive Technologies has just invested $5 million in the new company.
Founded in 2017 by Dr. Gadi Konvalina, Dr. Meital Segev-Bar, and Prof. Hossam Haik from the Technion University and based in Haifa, FeelIT Technologies has developed RetroFeel. The company calls this a unique product which uses “revolutionary” nanomaterials-ink printing technology.
The nanoink is printed on a flexible sticker that is attached to the equipment and becomes its “electronic skin.” FeelIT boasts that RetroFeel is glued to equipment in such a way that it senses structural state and material changes in real-time.
For example, the state of pipes in manufacturing lines can be monitored without halting the factory production.
The main difficulty in monitoring any changes or slowly developing damage in factory machinery is the size of such machines. The larger a device and the more complicated it may be then the more difficult it is to see its many components. In order to check them for any damage like corrosion or cavities these machines must be taken apart and taken off line.
Feelit states that it has developed a highly sensitive, flexible, printed nanomaterial sensor that is applicable on static and rotating machinery parts. It says that this sensor can measure strain in ultra-high resolution, as well as other parameters such as temperature, vibration, and pressure. Based on an industrial IoT platform for real-time remote sensing of structural changes in mechanical assets, the system serves as an ‘electronic skin’ that alerts on critical structural and operational anomalies in advance.
“We consider this a major leap in our ongoing financing and strategic efforts,” says Feelit CEO Gady Konvalina about the new investment. “Henkel is an exceptional strategic partner, and this collaboration is sure to yield significant opportunities for both companies. With Feelit’s growth potential and Henkel’s industry expertise and market reach, our unique nanotechnology will be able to benefit a broad relevant client base. The partnership has already begun opening up new opportunities in the oil and gas industry and working with Henkel’s MRO unit will help us to develop even more verticals and applications.”
Henkel Adhesive Technologies is a leading provider of MRO solutions in more than 800 different industry segments. Adhesives and sealants under the well-known Loctite brand improve the maintenance of production machinery and equipment for example in steel mills, car factories, mining equipment or power turbines around the globe. The products are designed to help manufacturers limiting cost-intensive unplanned production line stops.
Read more about: FeelIT, Henkel Adhesive Technologies
