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Post by Honorebu on May 3, 2016 23:41:13 GMT
 While ideas to leapfrog the infrastructural lapses in the country abound, we may need to acknowledge that a lot of us are still in awe of foreign products, regardless of quality and functionality. Especially as some local initiatives are only at best realistic on paper. However, in the light of this reality, one startup is quietly leveraging on technology with a view to wean Nigerians off this custom and give life to a ground breaking project that is sure to disrupt the usual practices in the energy sector. Enter Grit Systems Grit Systems is a startup that builds internet-enabled smart metres that offer users a simple way to quantify power consumption from multiple power sources — be it solar panels, generators, inverters or direct from the grids — and make informed data driven decisions on how best to power their facilities, reduce costs and protect power sources from improper use.
Grit Systems was founded by Ifedayo Oladapo who has vast experience in developing embedded power-train systems for the automotive sector, solar hybrid and auxiliary power systems for Dawn Fuel.
 He started the company a little over a year ago with just 2 team members (including himself). Within 6 weeks, they built their first device — the first generation GEPM — which was demoed at the CcHub’s Raspberry Jam event in 2014. The evolution of the GEPM (Grit Systems Energy and Power Monitor) L-R: 1st HW revision, 3rd HW revision, 5th last HW revision.
Their presentation definitely got the attention of the CcHub; Grit System was accepted into its incubation programme in 2015, with something around $15,000 to $25,000 seed funding . Grit Systems is also one of three startups that will represent Nigeria at the Challenge Cup regionals in Nairobi, Kenya.
How it works
The home-built technology, tailored to the unique requirements of under electrified communities, requires a firsthand installation by a trained Grit System’s personnel. Once installed, users can remotely view graphs, receive notifications and generate simple language reports about an arbitrarily complex power supply mix.
User Experience has been made simple on the Grit system. Users only see a web or mobile interface which is all part of the design by Grit Systems to make it extremely easy for the users. But while we were inside the company’s technical room, we were privileged to see how it goes down on Grit’s server (which transmits data by the second) from a demo detailing the frequency of power consumption and other real time data transmission for the day.
Use cases
The uniqueness of this technology is not limited to just measuring power or discerning its source. If the user provides relevant data about their generator for example, the technology can estimate fuel consumption, ascertain how the battery life of the inverter are decaying and also cross check the billings from utility regulator (PHCN) to see if those numbers actually add up.
It is also possible to configure SMS notifications for when someone switches on the generator when you’re not at home, power consumption on your inverter or generator is too low, when someone uses your generator outside of business hours, when there is an issue with power quality or when there is an imbalance in a particular phase distribution relative to the other. The scenarios are near endless and all these help reduce running costs.
Human error factor or identification of fuel theft also can be curtailed using Grits technology. Ifedayo gives an instance: “For a while, we had the security man write down what time he switches on and off the generator, so the other day I asked him how long the generator was on, and he replied 40 minutes. We checked the monitor and discovered it was 7 minutes. And what he had done, instead of detailing 1:03pm as the starting time for the generator he had written 1:38pm. So he had gotten the seconds and the minute mixed up”.
Environmental value/benefit
Given that power generators account for 75% of energy source in this part of the world, Grit Systems is on a research to find out how its technology could capture accurate carbon-dioxide emissions from generator and maintaining a balance ratio between generator usage in proportion to the amount of carbon emitted, thereby making our environment more safe to live in
Challenges
You all must been wondering if every thing there is to know about Grit Systems are pleasant stories. “It hasn’t been boring”, says Ifedayo, “but there has been no lack of technical challenges. Luckily we’ve got a very good team, but finding the right team members and with the right attitude was challenging”.
It’s difficult to find people with the right skill set and the right attitude”. Ifedayo adds. A pretty much good challenge when trying not to compromise quality I must say.
Prospects
The company has completed its beta testing phase which began in October 2015, of which Cchub, Afrinvest and Chicken Republic are currently reaping the benefits of the test. Ifedayo is confident that they’ve got a market viable device. All that remains is integrating the payment model in the next one or 2 months.
The company, for a start, is looking at servicing the business sector — hospitality, banking and telecoms — with a projection of hundreds of devices in 2016, and scaling to thousands of devices in 2017, by which time it must have reached a collaborative agreement with the distribution companies to make the technology available to households. Furthermore, the abundant presence of solar resources in this part of the world could have Grit Systems potentially pioneering a revolution marked by increase in solar hybrid power installations, as the company is looking to set up a solar power system for the offices, and use data from these devices to create a hybrid solar power system design.
While it is uncertain what Grit Systems will pitch at the regionals in Nairobi, Kenya, we can be certain they’d do more than enough to leave Nigeria proud at the end of it all.
Techpoint
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Post by Honorebu on May 3, 2016 23:44:41 GMT
Wwow! this is Kkkrazy.  . I wasn't even expecting internet of things in a country like Nigeria as early as this This is the real definition of a startup. How come I'm just seeing this I'm 100% sure that's professor omohayek  Her Highness gbe ori e wa sibi bayi  |
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Post by Honorebu on May 3, 2016 23:47:15 GMT
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Post by Honorebu on May 4, 2016 0:10:32 GMT
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Post by oduabachanal on May 4, 2016 0:30:39 GMT
Yeap, when I first saw IRON MAN. The best example of IoT is the A.I(J.A.R.V.I.S) that practically runs Tony Starks Lab/House control. Basically means the connectivity and interaction of physical objects over the internet in real time. |
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Post by oduabachanal on May 4, 2016 0:33:40 GMT
Here is a good article I found: How 'Internet Of Things' will let you live like Tony Stark in the near future.
Jan 19, 201670 views8 Likes1 CommentShare on LinkedInShare on FacebookShare on Twitter If you have watched the Iron-man movies (if you have not, go and watch them first) I am sure you would have envied the life of Tony Stark. I am also sure that you would have imagined yourself having a hyper-cool virtual assistant like Jarvis to run your house, car & every piece of technology for you at your command. Well, in that case I got some good news for you! 'Internet Of Things' is going to make that dream of yours into a reality. But what does this term 'Internet Of Things' mean. We could say that 'Internet of Things' (IOT) started when the number of devices connected to the internet became more than the number of people connected to the internet. Internet was earlier designed for two people to communicate with each other and share information. The best examples for this are early mailing and chat systems. Then came the next wave where humans could interact with machines and get the information that they require. The search engines could be considered as the best examples for this. The other more recent development that we could think of is the voice controlled user interface offered by Apple, Google and other tech giants. When you ask Siri to find you the nearest Italian restaurant it calculates your current location and gets you the location of the nearest Italian restaurant in your vicinity. We have advanced to such an extent that our phones can understand our questions and provide us answers by accessing the information stored in the internet. The next revolution in the world of Internet, the one that is happening right now is where machines or different things that are around us in our environment start to communicate with each other and share information over a secure network without having the necessity for any human intervention. IOT does not just stop with things sharing information with each other. It also aims to derive knowledge or insight from the information that is shared by things and take different actions based on the scenario. For better understanding I am going to use an interesting example: Tony Stark's virtual assistant in the IRONMAN franchise, 'Jarvis'. Jarvis could be considered the prototype of an 'Internet Of Things' enabled virtual assistant. Jarvis runs the house, the iron-man suit, his car and any piece of technology that Tony Stark owns. It also stays on top of Tony's health condition giving regular updates to Tony Stark. How does Jarvis do that? Jarvis not only has the ability to answer Tony's questions by accessing files stored on the secure servers and the internet but also has the ability to derive insights from the information that the sensors linked to the physical world provide. Tony's car, his phone, his house, his garage, the robotic arm in his garage all of these have sensors and are linked to Jarvis over a secure network and hence Tony could use Jarvis to control all of these with his command. Human beings have five senses - touch, sight, smell, sound & taste. There are five different organs in our body for each of these five senses. For instance, the nose is the organ which senses smell and communicates this information to the brain. Likewise in the 'Internet Of Things' world we have several sensors that are planted in the various things that we have around us. These sensors communicate to a virtual brain(a computer with Artificial Intelligence) like 'Jarvis' that has the ability to derive insights from the information that is got from the sensors. Let me give you an example to understand this better. Imagine a gas sensor that is installed in your kitchen. In today's world the gas sensor starts buzzing when a gas leak is detected. On the other hand if the gas sensor was 'IOT' enabled, it could call you on your phone and let you know of the impending gas explosion that could happen if no measures were take to avert it, it could close the main gas lines that come into the building considering that it is IOT-enabled, it could open the vents in your kitchen to let the gas out, it could shut down power to the entire house in order to avoid any electrical sparks from creating a gas explosion and it could alert emergency rescue services about the situation. We are talking about technology that could prevent disasters from happening while also creating backup plans should the worst happen. The icing on the cake is that all of this happens without any human intervention. So if you are someone who fantasized the way Jarvis worked and dreamed of someday owning a virtual assistant like Jarvis to run your home, the day is not too far. Still got doubts about getting Jarvis to run your home one day? Have a look at Mark Zuckerberg's 2016 resolution. To know how 'Internet Of Things' could redefine healthcare take a look at the following blog. How Internet of Things is redefining Healthcare If you have any innovative ideas how 'Internet Of Things' could change the way we do things today, go crazy on the comment section below. link |
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Post by Honorebu on May 4, 2016 0:34:31 GMT
Yeap, when I first saw IRON MAN. The best example of IoT is the A.I(J.A.R.V.I.S) that practically runs Tony Starks Lab/House control. Basically means the connectivity and interaction of physical objects over the internet in real time. Ah Oba awon techie leyin ooo. Se ko wa le?  |
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Post by oduabachanal on May 4, 2016 0:36:02 GMT
By the way, much respect to this guy. This is my kind of startups.
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Post by Her Highness on May 4, 2016 2:01:47 GMT
Wwow! this is Kkkrazy. . I wasn't even expecting internet of things in a country like Nigeria as early as this This is the real definition of a startup. How come I'm just seeing this I'm 100% sure that's professor omohayek Her Highness gbe ori e wa sibi bayi I'm surprise you know about IoT  Gaming geeks ain't supposed to know about that. im really impressed because IOT is still a new playground, even for developed nations. |
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Post by Her Highness on May 4, 2016 2:39:10 GMT
In layman's terms, IoT is any device that can access the internet/have network connectivity even though its main function isn't to have network connectivity. i.e my apple watch, fitbit, smart samsung fridge,etc. These products are just as susceptible (if not more) to security risk/breach as other products made specifically to connect to the internet. i.e Macbook pro, iPad, mobile phone etc. |
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Post by Omoluabi on May 4, 2016 4:32:49 GMT
I attended a church program sometime last November where the pastor was saying something about installing a technology that helps him reduce and monitor fuel consumption for the church's heavy generators. He didn't say too much about it but he was praising the young man behind the cool technology. I want to believe he was talking about this Ifedayo guy. The future is upon us and it's nice to see Nigerians taking a place at the table. With the desperation by Nigeria to find a solution to the energy crises, Grit systems happened on the scene at the right time and i hope Ifedayo and his team milk every single opportunity. Wish them the very best. |
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Post by Honorebu on May 4, 2016 21:12:52 GMT
Wwow! this is Kkkrazy. . I wasn't even expecting internet of things in a country like Nigeria as early as this This is the real definition of a startup. How come I'm just seeing this I'm 100% sure that's professor omohayek Her Highness gbe ori e wa sibi bayi I'm surprise you know about IoT Gaming geeks ain't supposed to know about that. im really impressed because IOT is still a new playground, even for developed nations.  |
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Post by omohayek on May 4, 2016 21:16:16 GMT
Wwow! this is Kkkrazy. . I wasn't even expecting internet of things in a country like Nigeria as early as this This is the real definition of a startup. How come I'm just seeing this I'm 100% sure that's professor omohayek Her Highness gbe ori e wa sibi bayi Heh heh, not quite (I'm more into AI/biotech) but what this guy is doing is very cool, I'll admit! This is the kind of product development that should really be looking at export markets from the beginning: I'm sure there's a huge demand out there for something like this all across Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Get a few companies like this selling their stuff abroad, and all the 'oyel' nonsense will soon be an afterthought. Investment in human capital to foster bright young people like Oladapo is where the future lies, not in digging up raw materials with volatile prices. |
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Post by Honorebu on May 4, 2016 21:22:28 GMT
Wwow! this is Kkkrazy. . I wasn't even expecting internet of things in a country like Nigeria as early as this This is the real definition of a startup. How come I'm just seeing this I'm 100% sure that's professor omohayek Her Highness gbe ori e wa sibi bayi Heh heh, not quite (I'm more into AI/biotech) but what this guy is doing is very cool, I'll admit! This is the kind of product development that should really be looking at export markets from the beginning: I'm sure there's a huge demand out there for something like this all across Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Get a few companies like this selling their stuff abroad, and all the 'oyel' nonsense will soon be an afterthought. Investment in human capital to foster bright young people like Oladapo is where the future lies, not in digging up raw materials with volatile prices. Instead of them to provide infrastructire for bright chaps like this to be able to maximize their potentials, they're looking for oil in chad basin  Yeye pipu. |
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Post by Her Highness on May 4, 2016 21:25:07 GMT
Heh heh, not quite (I'm more into AI/biotech) but what this guy is doing is very cool, I'll admit! This is the kind of product development that should really be looking at export markets from the beginning: I'm sure there's a huge demand out there for something like this all across Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Get a few companies like this selling their stuff abroad, and all the 'oyel' nonsense will soon be an afterthought. Investment in human capital to foster bright young people like Oladapo is where the future lies, not in digging up raw materials with volatile prices. Instead of them to provide infrastructire for bright chaps like this to be able to maximize their potentials, they're looking for oil in chad basin Yeye pipu. LOL we now have oil in Lagos o |
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Gaming geeks ain't supposed to know about that.
