Interview with Eduardo Dueñas

1. What is the expected role for you in the project?

Hi, my name is Eduardo Dueñas, founder and CEO of Metrica6. Our role in the MIMEX project is to develop the electronic components of the racks of the system. They are the parts that identify the objects that are taken from the shop. They ensure the difference in the values of the weight in every shelf and, then, identify those differences in weight with the MIMEX’s catalog. Our role is to develop all the electronic components for the measurement of the product. Also controlling the light signal from the racks, meaning all the lights that help the user visualize and, also, helps the manager to see if there is a problem with any rack or any shelf. This problem might be, for example, that there is a lack of certain products or that has been a product that the user has wrongly located into a different shelf from where this product was taken. So, all these areas are part of our expertise. Besides the development of most electronic components, besides these two that I’ve mentioned. We are also in charge of the quality assessment of all MIMEX infrastructure, mainly the certification or accomplishing the CE marking validation in order to make the system feasible to be commercialized in all European Union. We are going to take the test of the main components in MIMEX and, if there is any sign we have to change or any modification we make it happen, so by the end of this project the system also has the CE making. Finally, we take part in the business model creation to generate a way to exploit this technology in all European Union and abroad. We’re also working in the IPR. We have expertise in this área. We are in charge of WP4 too. This package is related to industrialization to the MIMEX system.

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2. What are your previous areas for work that explain your involvement in the project?

We are an R&D company specialized in product development, mainly for the Smart City and Smart agro environments. We have been working for almost a decade in developing different technologies from ideas to products or services that are in the market. We develop all the ideas for conceptualization, design, and prototyping in the electronic part, programming, mechanical, etc. In all that areas we apply our engineering background to transform these ideas into prototypes, then to test, and then to the final design. In this final design, we also incorpórate all the packaging, documentation, manuals, user guides, etc. Those are needed for the products to be commercialized. Normally, the final stage of this development is the CE marking or other certifications or standards that need to be applied to the products for their commercialization. We also address all the business or consulting areas regarding this kind of innovation and market analysis, benchmarking studies, IPR, etc. We also help other companies to found their projects with public funds or private investment. We participate in many collaborative projects at an international level, so this is the key for MIMEX itself. With these services, we can have an analytic vision of all ideas or that all development of taking a project from a concept to reality in the market. Our background is really well prepared to accomplish this MIMEX project.

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3. What are your soft skills?

The team participating in MIMEX from Metrica6 is well known and very charismatic. It’s a cross-sectorial team with experts in different areas from engineering to marketing or business administration and there are many soft skills that are applied in this project. One of them is communication. Communication is maybe not the most important but is very very relevant in the initial estate of the project to make other partners, potential clients, or

stakeholders know more about what we are developing. We also have to communicate frequently and efficiently to the European Commission the evolution of the project, so maybe communication is one of the most important features or habilities skills that we have. I also think that it would be more important in the exploitation phase after the project is finished because we have to deliver the value proposition first as a message and then, afterward, as a reality to our customers and partners working in the project. Considering that, in this project, we will involve manufacturers, installers, public entities, stakeholders, or customers. There are a lot of actors working on this project and communication among them will be a key feature.

Our expertise also relates very well with the resiliency to adapt to different changes and situations, this is also an important soft skill because we have to adapt to new changes. That is something that we have perfectioned during the pandemic and it’s very important for MIMEX considering that we are working in a very innovative environment, not only for us, also for the market. We have to be prepared and open-minded to gather all the feedback from customers and from the market to transform those comments and ideas into realities as soon and as cost-effective as possible. Being resilient is also a good soft skill to approach this Project.

I would remark that those two are maybe the most interesting soft skills that Metrica6 incorporates into the consortium.

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