Technology and process innovation open the door to the future of home automation design: the installation of active ceramic tiles for monitoring building structures transforms the ceramic slabs concept into intelligent and smart elements, capable of self-monitoring and of monitoring the surrounding environment.
Casalgrande, 28 March 2024 – Gruppo Romani, one of the leaders of the Made in Italy ceramic tiles industry, presents the first-ever Smart Tiles, intelligent tiles capable of interacting with state-of-the-art home automation systems. This is the outcome of more than four years of research and investments amounting to about EUR 10 million. Given its coherence with the rationale of investing in research and sustainable development the project was funded by Mise and included technical partners such as Sacmi, Iprel, CNR, Trebax and Studio-IOT.
Originating from Gruppo Romani’s willingness to transform the natural ceramic slabs concept into intelligent and smart elements, capable of self-monitoring and of monitoring the surrounding environment, the project idea of active ceramic tiles for monitoring building structures, for which two industrial property patent applications have been filed, in Italy and in Europe, pioneers the future of design, applicable both to ventilated walls and raised floors.
Specifically, these are ceramic slabs that hold, in a special compartment created on the back of the tile, a microelectronic card fitted with MEMS (micro electromechanical system) sensors, capable of transferring collected data to Cloud. The sensorised tile, in addition to guaranteeing the technical specifications required by the UNI EN 14411 standard and the aesthetic qualities that are a distinguishing feature of Gruppo Romani’s products, enables integrated monitoring of programmed parameters. For example, when applied on ventilated walls, one may measure temperature, humidity, dew point, shocks or deformation induced by seismic events. Another type of sensor, installed in the event of laying of floating floors, will be capable of detecting possible overload, monitoring people flow, turning on perimeter alarms and interacting with weight sensor lights.
Giorgio Romani, President of Gruppo Romani, explains that “Nowadays we are witnessing the industry 5.0 revolution, and this invention projects our Group towards the exploration of new fields of application for ceramic slabs. Our work has mainly focused on the intended use of covering ventilated walls of residential and commercial buildings. The innovative characteristic of transmitting information on the most important structural and environmental parameters may open up interesting scenarios for many buildings in a safety and prevention perspective, offering a valid high value-added solution, presently one-of-a-kind.”
Gruppo Romani’s Smart Tiles will be produced in the 120×120 cm size, on-demand and customized to meet clients’ specific requirements.
Paolo Romani, the Group’s CEO, concludes that “I must thank the two co-inventors for the success of this ambitious project, namely our Industrial Director, Mr. Alessandro Berselli, as project manager, and Mr. Marco Bonvino of Studio IOT, who has developed the microelectronics component, and of course all our collaborators who have participated in all the experimental, prototyping and testing phases.”
Gruppo Romani
Gruppo Romani, that started producing 100% Made in Italy ceramic surfaces more than 55 years ago and has 3 production plants, supplying 86 countries, with a total consolidated turnover of approximately EUR 130 million in 2023, is a trendsetter in the industry. Innovation, safety and limitation of ecological impact, achieved as a result of its strong focus on experimenting with new technologies, demonstrate the company’s firm commitment to the efficiency and sustainability of production systems and of the final product.
