Established in February 2016, Neuron soundware delivers smart diagnostic solutions based on the acoustic analysis of machines in several industries including the energy sector. The company currently employs twenty experts and its revenues amounted to almost half-million Euro, last year. The solution from the house of Neuron currently uses artificial intelligence to recognize impending mechanical problems in machines, thereby preventing breakdowns of critical manufacturing equipment.
The organization uses AI methods in order to understand audio signals. Neuron developed a diagnostic technology for early detection of broken machines.
Industry 4.0
Neuron’s innovative audio diagnostics technology consists of special IoT recording and edge computing hardware (nBox & nCard), sensors and microphones, AI algorithms, and analytics and monitoring software platform. The company has collected millions of recordings of different machines hums and thousands of failures noises to provide the best possible accuracy. Neuron is following the Industry 4.0 and predictive maintenance wave in the European industry. It is proud to work on implementation of its technology with customers like Airbus, Siemens, ŠKODA AUTO, BMW, Daimler, innogy and LG.
Neuron provides following services ;
- Machine Monitoring Service: Neuron’s solution works for many types of machines such as engines, compressors, pumps, turbines, cranes, robots, and many others.
- Quality Monitoring Service: With this system, Neuron helps its clients to make their end-of-the-line quality testing processes better, which eventually improves its client’s overall quality control.
Serving the Needs of OEMs
Neuron developed the Acoustic Lab offering in order to better serve the needs of industrial OEMs; Neuron soundware can adapt various equipment. As an organization, Neuron likes to work on custom projects, as it has just the right mix to make it work, which includes dedicated experts in IoT and Machine Learning, unique sound processing and research, continuous development, and years of industry experience. The organization is also leveraging technologies like Internet of Things (mix of cloud and edge computing), Artificial Intelligence (neural networks, deep learning etc.) in order to make its solutions much more resourceful.
Additionally, Neuron has been co-developing advanced monitoring solutions and services with several industrial partners.
The Cool Quotient
Since its inception 4 years ago, Neuron soundware has bagged multiple awards and accolades. During this short period the organization has been awarded by Startup and Idea of the Year 2016 in The Czech Rep, #3 FORBES TheNextBigThing, accepted to Plug and Play in 2017. Neuron has also received EUR 600k investment by VC fund J&T Ventures in 2017, completed Airbus Bizlab program in Hamburg and was also named Cool Vendor in Acoustic Technologies for Predictive Maintenance by Gartner.
Additionally, it completed SAP I4.0 Accelerator program in Berlin, awarded 3rd place in PowerUp! CEE Startup Competition by InnoEnergy, and raised 5.75 million Euros to further expand its business activities.
The Innovative Leader
Pavel Konečný, the CEO of Neuron soundware kick-started his career in the IT consulting company named Accenture, where he participated in more than 35 technological and strategic projects for 25 clients on 3 continents. Pavel was considered one of the most innovative members of the team who designed the innovation every day. Colleagues were frequently asking why he didn’t try to start his own business, but they got the same answer for 10 years: “I’m waiting for the computers to be so powerful that artificial intelligence can be used efficiently.” At-last the moment came 4 years ago, when Neuron soundware, a Czech start-up came into foray – that listens to machines by using artificial intelligence that can predict failures and malfunctions of machines.
Satisfied Clientele and Investors
“We deployed the solution to a fleet of CHP units. We’ve been seeing positive results and hence we are now evaluating long-term business benefits for the whole group.” — Jan Regner, Manager of Information Systems and Technologies Division, MVV Energie CZ.
“Neuron is one of a few companies in acoustic emission analysis which is able to compete with top class Israeli and US companies. During its short existence it has developed a unique database of sounds which are used for training of its proprietary neural networks.” —says Petr Míkovec, managing director of INVEN CAPITAL.
“We are passionate about the Neuron story and the team. Predictive maintenance is a hot topic for many complex industrial systems, however, practical solutions are still hard to find. The Neuron technology could be a game changer in this space, having substantial impact on industry efficiency across several verticals.” —says Abel Galacz, CEO of Lead Ventures.
“You cannot plan production efficiently without predicting unpleasant events in operation. The early diagnostic tools are crucial for managing any modern utility company. That is why we believe Neuron soundware technology contributes to our reliable operation,” — says Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of ČEZ and Director of the New Energy and Distribution Division Tomáš Pleskač.