What the OffRoad scout looks for
Every day the scout detects opportunities in off-road machines β agriculture, construction and municipal equipment β where electric traction, electrified work functions, air/vacuum & fluid handling, thermal management, on-board energy or intelligent autonomy create value for a Sonceboz electric motor, actuator or compact mechatronic subsystem. The guiding question is simple:
Does an off-road machine move, actuate, pump, cool, power or automate a function that Sonceboz could drive with an electric motor or actuator?
What makes an opportunity relevant to Sonceboz
Sonceboz is a Swiss mechatronics company that designs and manufactures compact, integrated electric motors, actuators and subsystems at automotive quality and volume. An off-road opportunity rises when a function on the machine β traction, a hydraulic or work movement, an air/vacuum or fluid duty, cooling, energy conversion or an autonomy actuator β is electrified, motorized or sensed, in a segment not vertically integrated by incumbents. It is not a whole-vehicle or pure-software watch: the value must live in the electric drive of the function.
OffRoad domains scanned
the item'soffroad_domain classificationScoring & publication gates
base score /10 + confidence bonus Β· thresholds read live from /healthThe OffRoad base score is out of 10 β the sum of two axes: technical & competitive relevance (0β7) + business interest (0β3). Both components and a score_breakdown are stored on every item. On top of that base, a confidence bonus of +1 or +2 can be added, so the effective score that decides publication can reach up to 12 (see the confidence-bonus block below).
- 7 β Direct commercial opportunity: an OEM or manufacturer explicitly seeks a supplier/partner for a motor, actuator, electric compressor / vacuum pump, scroll technology, or pump/fan integration.
- 6 β Direct competitor signal: a competitor launches or announces a product directly comparable to Sonceboz β smart LV/HV motor, smart actuator, scroll compressor, vacuum pump, EC fan/motor in a relevant power range.
- 5 β Target OEM electrifies: an agriculture / construction / municipal / mining / off-highway OEM electrifies a function or changes motorization/actuation technology, supplier unknown.
- 4 β Adjacent technology that is relevant but whose power range or component type sits outside Sonceboz's likely segment.
- 3 β General market trend with an indirect link (e.g. an electrification outlook) Β· 2 β vague sector news without technical detail Β· 1 β very weak background signal Β· 0 β unrelated to motors, actuators, pumps, fans, compressors, vacuum or electrification.
- 3 β Strong potential: high volume, or low volume but high-value / high-ticket component (large-series platform; premium industrial vacuum pump in small series).
- 2 β Medium volume or value β a fair but not exceptional opportunity.
- 1 β Low volume and low unit value (isolated prototype, cheap actuator, limited niche) Β· 0 β no identifiable commercial dimension (e.g. academic research with no near-term industrial application).
Confidence bonus β +1 or +2 on top of the base score
The two axes above are unchanged. On strong-but-incomplete signals the agent may add a confidence bonus of +1 or +2, so the effective score (base + bonus, up to 12) is what is compared to the publication threshold (β₯ 7). The bonus lets a well-sourced, clearly relevant signal be published even when a secondary detail is still missing β instead of being held back on the watchlist.
- +1 β well-sourced & relevant, one secondary element missing: e.g. the exact supplier, the volume, the power range, the commercial calendar or a full technical detail is not yet confirmed.
- +2 β very strong signal, two secondary elements to confirm: a targeted OEM or a directly interesting function, but two secondary details remain unconfirmed. Deliberately rare.
Every item promoted this way is flagged confidence_promoted and carries its base score, the bonus, the reason for the bonus, the missing information, and a Sonceboz action worded as a validation step β never as an acquired commercial fact.
public_min_score, watchlist_min_score and ignore_below_score live from /health (initial values: public 7, watchlist 4, ignore below 4). They live in the SQLite meta table and can be retuned without touching the site.Publication quality gate β a good title is not enough
Reaching the score threshold is not enough. To be published, an item must also clear the quality gate: relevance_score β₯ 5, business_score β₯ 1, a usable canonical_url, real (or well-corroborated) source content, and every public field concrete:
- value_proposition β the actual product/function and why it creates off-road business value.
- technical_relevance β names the electromechanical function: motor, actuator, drive, scroll compressor, vacuum pump, fan β or the electrification of a hydraulic / pneumatic / mechanical function.
- sonceboz_relevance β the concrete subsystem Sonceboz could supply, develop, benchmark or monitor.
- technical_details β source-supported technical facts, not paraphrased marketing.
Anti-hallucination
The agent never invents volumes, contracts, tenders, customers, suppliers, technical details, regulatory implications, a Sonceboz opportunity, a market link or a publication date. When a fact is missing or uncertain it is left empty or explicitly flagged as uncertain in technical_details, and the item stays on the watchlist rather than being published. A day with zero public items is valid β the bar is never lowered to fill the digest.
Queried sources
160 sources Β· 12 types Β· rotated, not all scanned dailyScanned daily Β· strict 24 h window
OEM newsrooms, off-highway press, patents, regulationsWeekly rotation
motor/compressor suppliers, sector reports, standardsDuring active event windows
otherwise recorded OK_ZERO_RESULTS / NOT_TESTEDHow sources are reached & how far they are trusted
/source-health.Company classification
the item'scompany_size categorycompany_size is an operational dashboard category β not a legal ownership status
A global OEM, large industrial or electronics/materials group, automotive Tier-1, vehicle manufacturer or major consumer brand is never tagged βPrivate companyβ just because it is privately held, family-controlled or not explicitly listed. If the raw value says or implies a global/vehicle OEM, a large automotive/industrial supplier, an electronics/materials or industrial group, or a Tier-1, the category is Large OEM / group. βPrivate companyβ is reserved for ordinary private commercial actors that are none of the above.
Method & constraints
how signals are trusted- Paywalled content β no paid credentials are used: only titles, abstracts, public pages, RSS or metadata. The scout never claims to have read full content when it has not.
- Blocked sources β logged
BLOCKEDand never bypassed; an official source or public corroboration is sought instead. - Semiconductors β watched but strongly filtered, to avoid "electronics-only" items with no physical-interaction value.
- No invention β if the API returns nothing, nothing is fabricated. Early days can legitimately produce few or no items; the scout runs daily at 04:00 UTC.
- Images optional β an item may have no image; the layout never breaks when
image_urlis empty.
My editorial grade (A β E)
personal Β· one per news itemOn top of the automatic score above, you can give each item a personal editorial grade from A to E, straight from the feed β via the violet pill on the right of each card. It reflects your judgement after reading, independent of the algorithm's score. It is unique per item: a single value at a time, editable or removable. Use the "My grade" filter to instantly find your best picks.