4.0 Technologies to transform classrooms

CLASSROOM 4.0 is the name of a learning space transformed by 4.0 technologies, and it is also the name of the new Nautilus product line that INEGI is helping to develop. These are «intelligent» school furniture solutions that, powered by the integration of hardware and software, will influence and monitor the well-being and health of students in the classroom, contributing to better school performance.

To make this idea a reality, Nautilus challenged INEGI to meet the technological challenges inherent in the adoption of 4.0 technologies in the classroom environment, and the Institute of Education of the University of Lisbon to contribute knowledge in the areas of pedagogy.

INEGI's team is therefore studying the integration of sensing, automation and communication technologies in school furniture. INEGI is responsible for designing the architecture for the data acquisition systems, the electronic and mechanical development of the system's constituents, and, finally, the creation and testing of prototype solutions and technological demonstrators.

Within the project, the partners will create work tables, chairs, a storage module, and a workstation for the teacher. Ricardo Seara Cardoso, responsible for the project at INEGI, explains that "the architecture of this system encompasses 3 levels: sensing through the network of sensors integrated into the furniture; network communication from the communication modules, and finally the treatment and management information through the connection to the server”.

This implies developing "a large number of sensors, responsible for acquiring data such as identification, temperature, noise and humidity, and communication protocols that later allow the transfer of data to the Classroom 4.0 digital platform".

In practice, sensing will allow, for example, to automatically control attendance and access to devices or storage modules, through the unique identification of the student. Another advantage will be the monitoring of environmental conditions such as CO2, temperature, luminosity and noise.

The CLASSROOM 4.0 – wellbeing resources project is co-financed under the PORTUGAL 2020 program and by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.