The social distancing function was added to an existing product: the patented Presence Control solution – which was also developed in Flanders by Ticto, a start-up that was acquired by RightCrowd. With that smart badge holder, companies can make sure that only authorized personnel are present in any given area at any given time. 

“Because we already had a solid base to work from, we were able to develop our wearable extremely quickly,” Bart Vansevenant, chief product officer at RightCrowd, explains. “In just 8 weeks, we went from the initial idea to a finished, marketable product. The best part is that we can serve both our existing customer base through a simple software update, as well as our new customers.” 

The reason why RightCrowd acquired Ticto and decided to keep all R&D activities in Flanders is the region’s excellent ecosystem. “We are located both in Ghent and on the Corda Campus in Hasselt, an innovative business community where many other forward-thinking companies are housed as well,” Bart explains. “It is truly a breeding ground for great ideas.” 

“Additionally, we were able to collaborate with COSIC, the cryptography department of Leuven University (KU Leuven), one of Europe’s most innovative universities and one of the top 100 universities in the world, on the initial development of our security product. We received government support as well: Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) provided us with funding to develop prototypes, and FIT (Flanders Investment & Trade) subsidies helped us participate in trade fairs to promote our product.