e2ip Technologies named as CES 2021 Best of Innovation Awards Honoree

Montreal, Québec, December 15, 2020 – e₂ip technologies today announced that it has been named as CES® 2021 Innovation Awards Honoree for its Engineered Electromagnetic Surfaces (EES) technology in the Smart Cities category. The announcement was made ahead of the first-ever, all-digital CES 2021, the world’s most influential technology event, happening Jan. 11-14, 2021.

The CES Innovation Awards program, owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products across 28 product categories. An elite panel of industry expert judges, including members of the media, designers, engineers, and more, reviewed submissions based on innovation, engineering and functionality, aesthetics, and design.

e₂ip Engineered Electromagnetic Surfaces (EES), developed in conjunction with the Communications Research Centre of Canada, are thin, semi-transparent plastic sheets that reflect, redirect, or block specific radiofrequency waves. These low-cost flexible sheets can be deployed on outdoor or indoor structural surfaces (buildings, signage, interior walls…) to augment, direct, or inhibit specific telecommunication services (5G, Wi-Fi…).

In the case of 5G networks, e₂ip EES sheets reduce deployment costs and facilitate network deployment by reducing the number of antennas required to ensure omnidirectional 5G access to mobile users and fixed location access points. e₂ip EES printed sheets do not require power and reduce the need for additional small cell antennas – traits highly needed in a 5G NR environment. EES provide an economical opportunity to better manage infrastructure for telecom operators, heads of Smart Cities, and managers of large venues.

EES surface designs are tailored to each network’s specific needs and depending on the design of the surface, EES can act as a band-stop, band-pass structure, reflect signals at varying angles, or act as a diffusing or as a focusing instrument. These properties of EES can then be used to enhance the propagation of mm-Wave signals and help improve the overall reliability of the underlying infrastructure.

“Innovations in engineered surfaces will support the growing demand expected with the introduction of 5G communications and IoT. e₂ip is poised to become a dominant market contributor, helping building owners, smart city and infrastructure providers manage their growth while balancing their investments,” says Anna-Marie Marasliyan, Vice-President Technology, Products, and Marketing.

“Our DNA in chemistry and printing functional electronics are at the heart of the EES innovation, enabling us to embed printed electronics in structural surfaces that enhance 5G network performance and reduce network deployment costs,” said Eric Saint-Jacques, e₂ip CEO, “EES is another example of our close collaboration with the Government of Canada research teams to create transformative value for our ecosystem of market-leading customers and partners”.

The CES 2021 Innovation Awards Honorees, including product descriptions and photos, can be found at CES.tech/innovation. Additional honorees will be revealed during CES 2021 on Jan. 11, 2021.