REVELIO – Data collection platform development

Company name

Elettrotecnica Rold Srl,

project title

Revelio - Data collection platform development

dimension and location

Medium enterprise - Nerviano (MI)

PARTNER

Cefriel

technologies

Digital backbone

IoT smart connected product

Founded in 1963 by Rocchitelli Onofrio and Loro Dolores (whose initials form the name ROLD), Rold has been producing innovative components and technology for household appliances for 60 years: washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, ovens, and cooktops.

The problem

In Italy, an average of 595.3 grams of food is wasted per person per week. Among the causes stated by the interviewees in the Waste water survey, it emerges that 47% of people do not remember the food they have at home (and especially in the refrigerator), which is, therefore not consumed before its expiry date and deteriorates.

On the one hand, wasting this huge amount of food is considered immoral. On the other hand, it has economic impacts on the household economy. According to REDUCE Project report studies, the economic value of household waste in Italy exceeds EUR 15 billion per year; of this, EUR 11 billion is attributable to food waste. To this must be added the waste along the entire supply chain, both for production and distribution (over 3 billion).

To date, there are several applications that seek to engage individuals and families in gamification actions to reduce the environmental impacts of everyday actions. This approach, however, requires a very strong commitment on the part of the consumer, and therefore makes these solutions effective only for particularly pro-active users who already have the intention of being more responsible with respect to food waste. To date, there are no high- market penetration solutions available that aim to make people aware of the food available to them in their refrigerator or larder and its risk of availability in order to encourage more sustainable behaviour.

The solution

The REVELIO project intends to introduce to the market a solution capable of overcoming the limitations of existing solutions to help reduce food waste and encourage conscious choices with respect to nutritional and food consumption habits.

The project’s ambition is to develop a flexible, low-cost and accessible solution to make people aware of the state of food in the home, thus encouraging the acquisition of responsible behaviour for a healthier life and both healthy and sustainable food consumption.

The strength of this solution is inherent in its dual capability: being an object that can be integrated into household appliances, and at the same time a stand-alone system and therefore aimed at the B2C market.

Compared to the current market, REVELIO introduces a solution that can support users in reducing food waste and increasing their awareness without requiring them to manually enter information about what is available in the larder or refrigerator and in particular what has been placed in a particular food container.

The data acquired will be objective and factual, based on the actual state of food storage.

Technologies

Gas, humidity and temperature sensors
IoT (smart and connected products)
Cloud and Digital Backbone
Machine Learning

REVELIO is based on a combination of different types of sensors that acquire specific data. This data is used to develop Machine Learning algorithms to recognize the category of food and assess its state of preservation. This combination of technologies enables REVELIO to recognize the food in the different containers and to inform the user about both the nutrients and the actual state of the food.

Desired Impacts

Contribute to reducing household food waste by developing a solution to guide the user in conscious food consumption.
Increase in-house expertise in the context of food data acquisition and analysis.

Benefits for the company

The REVELIO project represents a real boost to ROLD’s competitiveness and can foster company growth through the possibility of

Extend its reach within the household appliances market. In fact, ROLD will be able to offer its customers, who are major manufacturers of household appliances, an innovative solution that goes beyond the limits of the solutions currently on the market and allows them to monitor the state of food consumption and acquire useful information to optimize conservation processes. REVELIO will enable ROLD to enter the food preservation market segment that is currently still little explored.
Respond to increasing consumer demand for more sustainable behaviour and reduced food waste. By also focusing directly on consumer needs, ROLD will be able to consolidate existing partnerships with the B2B market and enter the B2C market.
To position itself in the market as a strategic partner capable of devising innovative solutions that meet environmental and social sustainability requirements. ROLD has always been regarded as a partner capable of developing innovative solutions. Thanks to REVELIO, ROLD will have the opportunity to strengthen its brand reputation and increase the number and opportunities for partnerships with major appliance manufacturers. Through data collection, it will in fact be possible for ROLD customers to improve the performance of their products/appliances in terms of food preservation.

Entering the B2C market. Thanks to REVELIO, ROLD will be able to enter the B2C world, through the creation of a smart stand-alone product that can be used by consumers to increase their awareness of the state of stored food and reduce the environmental impact.