Welcome to F97.BE!

Hello, I’m Erik Schmidt — a lifelong tech tinkerer, systems thinker, and builder of things that run smarter. Based in Eynatten, Belgium, I bring together a formal education in Mathematics, Informatics, and Political Sciences with more than three decades of hands-on experience in building resilient, elegant, and efficient solutions — both in hardware and software.

Over the past 30+ years in the IT world, I’ve architected systems that people rely on when failure isn’t an option — from critical infrastructure to intelligent automation. One of my proudest collaborations was with my late business partner Dr. Rein Scheele: together, we developed the AT Mobimeter for the Dutch Government — a visionary model for usage-based vehicle taxation that was years ahead of its time.

My online journey began in 1989 — long before browsers or bandwidth — when I started my studies in Aachen, Germany. I was one of the minds behind the German FidoNet, helping to engineer one of the earliest decentralized communication networks, where messages were passed node by node in a world still running on dial-up and DOS.

Throughout my career, I've bridged the worlds of sales and software development, translating agile business processes into robust technical solutions. I've authored several publications across Europe, sharing expertise in network security, monitoring technologies, and risk assessment.

I work fluently in English, German, and Dutch, and I can hold my own in French too. This has allowed me to collaborate and teach across borders, whether I’m writing code, technical documentation, or leading training sessions.

Currently, I'm deeply involved with CAM-AI Ingenieurbüro für intelligente Sicherheitstechnik, where I focus on artificial intelligence for camera systems. Professionally, I serve as a software trainer for an English company, guiding and assisting employees in effectively utilizing an internally developed ERP system.

On the side, I design and build tailored software and hardware systems that revolve around solar forecasting, intelligent EV charging, and home automation. My work bridges code and circuitry — from soldering sensors to writing Python scripts that talk to solar inverters, wallboxes, and weather APIs.

I leverage REST APIs, machine learning, and real-time data pipelines to optimize energy usage and predict solar yields. My backend logic runs on Linux-based systems (like Raspberry Pi and Ubuntu), and my UIs are built using clean, responsive HTML/CSS dashboards for easy display on any screen — including full-screen info panels in the living room.

Technically, I’m fluent in:

• Python – for automation, forecasting, data processing, and backend glue
• JavaScript – for interactive frontends and live dashboard updates
• Java, C, and C# – for lower-level integration, hardware interfacing, and enterprise environments

Whether it’s tweaking inverters, tuning charging algorithms, or wiring relays to respond to cloud forecasts, I enjoy turning smart energy concepts into working, reliable systems.

And yes — I'm old enough to still remember Assembler, Fortran, and Pascal. I cut my teeth on systems like the Commodore 64, Z80-based machines, and finally the legendary PDP-11. Like me, they may be retro now — but they taught me everything about structure, logic, and efficiency. And those lessons still run deep.

Most recently, I’ve immersed myself in the world of artificial intelligence — not as an abstract academic pursuit, but as something deeply practical. I train models that predict solar energy production, optimize electric vehicle charging behavior, and make smarter automation decisions based on real-time data. Whether it’s tuning a Random Forest to squeeze accuracy from forecasts, or experimenting with neural networks on edge devices, I build intelligence that lives close to the metal.

For me, the magic lies in connecting code, circuits, and now AI — turning raw data into insight, and insight into action.

I live in a solar-powered home with my artist wife and our daughter, surrounded by electric cars, local cooperative energy investments, and a deep personal commitment to sustainability. I proudly support Ecolo, Belgium’s green party, and believe in building not just smarter systems — but a smarter, more sustainable world.

Oh — and when I’m not coding or soldering something together, I’m probably hunting down vintage postcards or rare books.