About Sensitivus

Sensitivus office

Sensitivus designs innovative sensor systems for robotics, medical, and for electric bikes and small electric vehicles to improve both safety and ride feeling. Our solutions are custom-made and flexible to fit any mechanical design, and scale to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.

PEOPLE

Rolf Østergård
Founder and CEO, M.Sc.EE.
Rolf Østergård has an impressive background in entrepreneurship in both Denmark and the US. He has professional experience from a wide selection of assignments, mainly in the communications industry (telecom, cable modem, satellite). Specialized in digital and analog hardware and has a great deal of experience in the development of system architectures combining embedded software, digital FPGA/ASIC, analog, and HF electronics.

Learn more about Rolf here.

Kristian Lindberg
Founder and CTO, M.Sc.EE.
Kristian Lindberg is an experienced entrepreneur with experience in product design, power electronics, mechanical design, strain gauges, and a host of other area. He is a proud alumnus of the Technical University of Denmark, holding an M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and a half-finished PhD.

HISTORY

Sensitivus builds on 9+ years of experience with strain gauge based sensors in many different forms and shapes. Starting with very robust low-cost power meters. Later developed both brake sensors, and later focused on accurate torque and angle sensors.

Torque and angle sensors are vital when developing electrical bicycles in order to ensure the riders a seamless, safe, and natural ride.

Everything at Sensitivus is designed for low costs: technology, manufacturing process, etc. This is also why we don’t try to build a brand and sell to cyclists directly. It is simply much more efficient to leverage brands that are already in the market. The product is the technology required to integrate the power sensor into new and exciting products.

We are located in the number one bike country: Denmark. Here we grow up with bikes as an integral part of daily life. Some get more serious about it, and all have very intimate first-hand experiences with the tough life of bike components: salt, snow, rain, etc. We bring this experience into the design along with the simple, yet advanced technology.

Sensitivus means “sensitive” in Latin, just in case you were curious.

MILESTONES

2015 – BORN

Founded as Sensitivus Gauge ApS focussed on selling power meter technology directly to brands.

2016 – CROWDFUNDING

Launched Team ZWATT as a “test brand” for consumer-facing activities.

Ran successful crowdfunding campaigns on both Kickstarter and Indiegogo (top 1% of all Kickstarter campaigns worldwide). Introducing rechargeable batteries and a novel magnetic charger for two power meter products: Zimanox (arm-based) and Zpider (spider-based).

2017 – BRAND VALIDATION

Two well-known brands launched power meters based on our technology at the Sea Otter Classic bike show. This was covered extensively by the media.

2018 – CARBON

Introduced a carbon spider power meter under the Team ZWATT brand based on the Zpider product using an FSA K-Force Light crankset.

2019 – MTB CARBON

Started shipping a carbon MTB power meter named ÿding (spindle-based) under the Team ZWATT brand.

2020 – B2B REFOCUS

Announced the one-time license for full non-exclusive access to the mature and proven $6 power meter technology. All schematics, source code, and everything needed for integration and further development of all aspects of power meter products.

Selected for the world’s lightest power meter crankset – the 325g THM Carbones Clavicula all-carbon crankset.

2021 – TORQUE SENSOR

Started shipping the most responsive low-power zero friction contactless torque sensor for e-bikes. Based on new and innovative technology combining the best from power meters and RFID technology. 100% customized for a perfect fit for new e-bike designs.

2023 – ANGLE SENSOR

Shipping of sensors with an additional absolute angle sensor, based on the same inductive frictionless technique. Absolute angle sensors can make cadence sensors redundant as they provide accurate, real-time data about the position of the pedals.

2024 – INDUSTRY REFOCUS

Relaunched to cater more to the industrial part of the market. Torque is a vital parameter in smart motors, robotics, and e-bike drives.

FOUNDER

Sensitivus was founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Rolf Ostergaard (M.Sc.EE). Here are a few fun facts about Rolf and his career as an electronic engineer and entrepreneur.

Ever seen the movie Everest?

This is based on a true story from events in 1996. A satellite phone plays a key role in one very touching scene where Rob talks to his pregnant wife while dying on the mountain.

Fun fact: Rolf designed about half of the electronics in the real satellite phone used in 1996.

Do you play golf?

Golf pros know the Trackman radar tracker. This incredible device tracks a standard golf ball with amazing accuracy and displays the complete 3D path of the ball. It even measures the starting spin of the ball.

Fun fact: Rolf designed the electronics for generation 1 and part of generation 2 for Trackman.

Are you a space nerd?

If you like space stuff, you may have heard about the LISA project by ESA. With their own words, LISA will be the first observatory in space to explore the Gravitational Universe. It will gather revolutionary information about the dark universe.

Fun fact: Rolf designed part of the electronics for a prototype tested on earth. Believed to be the most accurate instrument designed ever.

Besides power meters, Rolf has designed all kinds of products for companies such as Thrane & Thrane in Denmark and 3COM in Silicon Valley, California as well as a number of different startups. Rolf also runs EE-Training to teach expert-level signal integrity for engineers designing the fastest electronics for tomorrow across the globe. Rolf is listed on a few patents and acts as a board member and advisor for local companies doing hardware-related products.