Our history A sense for innovation
For us, it all began in 1989. We started out small, just a couple of employees with a great idea. But thanks to a lot of hard work and a bunch of really talented and dedicated people we’ve come a long way since then.
As a world leading supplier of advanced sensing solutions for automotive, building management and security, medical and other markets, we’re always looking into the future and we are proud of our history. Here it is, in a nutshell.
- 1989 - we start out
IEE began developing innovative electronic sensors in Echternach, Luxembourg
- 1990 - intuitive sensors
We developed touch-sensitive Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) that can be easily activated and are intuitive to use. The person using these sensors has access to a wider range of functions through a simple touch.
- 1991 - passenger safety
We entered the automotive passenger safety market after being approached by German car manufacturers to develop a sensor that detects whether a seat is occupied by a passenger.
- 1993 - worldwide pioneer in passenger presence detection
We launched our automotive safety sensor, Passenger Presence Detection (PPD) – the first of its kind in the world. PPD detected whether or not there was an occupant on the front passenger seat and deactivated the airbag if it was vacant. The goal was to avoid airbag and dashboard replacement costs due to unnecessary deployment.
- 1994 - a move to child safety
After the success of PPD, we introduced Child Seat Presence and Orientation Detection (CPOD). This solution detected the presence of a child seat mounted on the passenger seat, and determined its orientation. If a child seat was detected, CPOD transmitted this information to the airbag control unit to disable the airbag.
- 1995 - worldwide pioneer in occupant classification
We started developing Occupant Classification (OC™), a sensor that monitored the occupancy of a vehicle’s seat and informed the airbag control unit if it was occupied by a child seat. This allowed the airbag to be deployed or deactivated depending on the type of occupant.
- 1996 - capacitive sensing
We began developing our capacitive sensing solutions.
- 1997 - another world first
We became a worldwide pioneer in advanced seat belt reminders, by launching our Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) sensor mat.
- 1997 - we go global
In 1997, we opened our first office outside Luxembourg, in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
- 2000 - 3D vision sensing
We began developing our 3D MLI Sensor™ technology, based on the optical time of flight (TOF) principle.
- 2001 - our first step in Asia
We set up an office and technical center in Seoul, South Korea.
- 2003 - looking out for pedestrians
In 2003, we began developing Protecto™ (now known as FastSense), a front-end sensing system that helps reduce the incidence of serious injury to pedestrians in the event of vehicle collision, and also supports early crash detection.
- 2006 - our globalization continues
To better service our customers, we opened locations in China, Japan, Germany, and Slovakia.
- 2007 - driver detection
For Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), it’s crucial that you can reliably detect whether the driver’s seat is occupied. To do that, we developed Driver Presence Detection (DPD).
- 2008 - next generation occupant classification
Following on from PPD and OC™, we introduced BodySense™ - our next generation occupant classification solution for smart airbag deployment.
- 2009 - counting people
We used our 3D MLI Sensor™ technology to develop People Counter (PC), a solution that determines the number of people within a specific area an determines their direction of movement.
- 2010 - protecting objects
Our next 3D MLI Sensor™ technology- based product was the Volumetric Object Surveillor (VOS), a system that reliably protects all types of valuable objects – from paintings and documents to three-dimensional objects like statues and sculptures - at all times.
- 2011 - active safety sensing solutions
We began developing an intelligent vision sensor, SenseAhead, detects pedestrians, vehicles and objects in a vehicle’s driving path and provides crucial input for the Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system.
- 2011 - preventing tailgating
The last of our trio of 3D MLI products, Tailgate Detector TDflex™, is an anti-tailgating system that ensure only authorized people enter a secure area.
- 2012 - support for automated driving
Our Hands Off Detection (HOD) notifies a vehicle’s Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) whether or not the driver has their hands on the wheel. This is information is important as, under the Vienna Convention, a driver must remain in control of the vehicle at all times.
- 2012 - a new heating solution
With comfort features becoming more important to vehicle owners, we developed SafeHeat, our self-limiting heating system using Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) resistance ink.
- 2012 - hands-free access
In 2012, we introduced another comfort feature Smart Trunk Opener (STO). This solution provides secure, automatic, hands-free opening and closing of a vehicle’s trunk or sliding door.
- 2013 - detecting forgotten children
Our next development was VitaSense a system that detects children left in vehicles and provides this information to the vehicle’s warning systems.
- 2014 - intelligent vision sensing
We are currently developing NightGuard - a night vision system designed to help a driver detect pedestrians, cyclists or animals on the side of the road, or crossing from one side to the other at dusk, dawn, or at night.
- 2015 - an addition to the group
We welcomed our new alliance partner ALL CIRCUITS to the IEE family in 2015. Through this acquisition, we now have a specialist in electronic manufacturing service as part of the IEE Group.
- 2015 - exterior radar
We are now developing a radar solution for exterior technology that offers unique solutions for Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) safety features.