We make machines smarter and more efficient

Yesterday, everyone was online. Today, everything needs to be online. Ekkono Solutions specializes in edge machine learning and virtual sensors, and wants to make machines and vehicles smarter and more efficient. To do this, machines need to learn how they themselves actually work.

In Träslövsläge, Halland, Ekkono is a rapidly growing enterprise dedicated to creating a consciousness for machines sophisticated enough to make them bascially self-sustainable. And smart.

“We’re at a very interesting stage in technological evolution. Never before has there been so many shifts in technology as right now. You have AI, IoT, VR, blockchain, and so on, forcing companies to relate to and make active decisions about,” says Jon Lindén, CEO of Ekkono Solutions.

Yesterday, everyone was online. Today, everything needs to be online. Which is natural, according to Jon Lindén. Primarily, it has to do with IoT, or the Internet of Things. A lot of things already have their own mind in the form of sensors, making them capable of seeing, hearing and sometimes even feeling. Using IoT, they are connected and able to communicate with other things. Throw Ekkono’s software in the mix, and the things are able to learn and draw conclusions from the same data. The question is, how should the data collected be utilized?

Using this type of smart, connected machines and vehicles you’re able to plan for maintenance of products even before they eventually break down, and programe them to perform at the highest of their abilities, and as efficiently as possible.

Attractive workplace

Ekkono has a strong client base in Scandinavia, Alfa Laval, Husqvarna, Volvo and ABB are some of them. They also have businesses in Germany and Japan, while their main office is still in Halland, in Träslövsläge along the coast south of Varberg.

In 2016, Ekkono Solutions was founded as a virtual company since the four co-founders live in Varberg, Borås, Malmö and Madrid, Spain. Today, Ekkono has thirteen employees and even though the main office is located in Träslövsläge, working from other locations is very much welcome since the aim is to hire people with the best and most fitting competence, independent of where in the world that might be.

“To have physical meetings and working together in a particular place is important to establish a company culture, because without it, it doesn’t really matter who you work for. We just had a guy move here from Spain, and another from India. We’d love to gather as many people as possible here in Varberg in order for us to build this culture and unity,” says Jon Lindén.

So how do you get people from all over the world to come to Varberg?

“Well, thankfully, it’s not a very hard sell. If you value a nice lifestyle and you’re at a stage in life where you’re ready to start a family, Varberg is a very good place to live. We have a closeness to Gothenburg, an international airport, and nature just around the corner. Almost everyone from Sweden that I interview for positions have vacation memories from Varberg where they’ve gone to visit an aunt’s house at Södra Näs, spent summers at Läjets Camping Site, or chased waves in Apelviken.”

Make a real difference

Being able to foresee maintenance needs and optimize parts for repair in the way Ekkono’s technology works creates positive effects on the environment, if anything because of the energy efficiency. For example, the components of an air conditioner are always getting better, more efficient and demand less energy. But none of that matters if it’s used the same way in Spain as in Sweden.

“Naturally, climate is one thing. As well as different seasons, how many people are in a room – the AC will keep going. However, if the unit is able to learn what kind of environment it’s located in, what kind of comfort climate it’s supposed to be set on, and so on. If it had all this information, it could work proactively to heat or cool rooms efficiently, through AI,” Jon Lindén says.

Huge environmental benefits

Using AI, every individual AC unit can become more efficient in its use case. The collected amount of energy saved by applying this technology to AC units around the world, not to mention other types of machines, would be tremendous according to Jon.

“We’re all about maximizing the use of a machine based on how it’s supposed to be used. To prolong efficient production with efficient use,” says Jon Lindén and continues, “In order for this to become a reality, we feel it’s a question of mindset. To really understand that these products or machines can learn and become better at what they’re actually made to do. Technically, almost everything is possible, but it’s more a question of attitude and being open to change. This isn’t science fiction, and nothing is built in a day.”

Facts: Ekkono Solution AB

• Owners: The four co-founders, employees, Almi Invest, Walerud Ventures, Lindblad Venture and Etteplan Oyj.
• Business idea: Ekkono is a software company developing Edge Machine Learning, used to make machines, vehicles and other things smart and self-learning.
• Revenue: Just under ten million Swedish kronor per year.
• Geography: HQ in Träslövsläge outside of Varberg, global business with subsidiary in Germany and partner in Japan.
• Number of employees: 13
• Competence: Four PhD data scientists, and world leading embed software developers.
• Sustainability goal: For every client project to make their products more energy efficient and have a longer lifespan through proactive maintenance.
• Why Halland: Because one of the co-founders lives here – but also because of the region’s enormous quality of life