A strategic partnership between Elite Innovation Centre Transport Systems Catapult (TSC) and research and technology organisation TWI has been announced, focusing on condition and structural health monitoring in transport infrastructure.
The partnership will see a new 'Smart Asset Management' business unit set up under the TSC and based at TWI's state-of-the-art facilities in Cambridge. The TSC is aiming to incorporate the expertise of TWI to develop self-sustaining transport infrastructure and technology. To achieve this, the TSC and TWI will utilise the Internet of Things with the broad range of monitoring technology already being developed by TWI.
The TSC is already incorporating a wide range of data into city scale digital models to aid transport planning - including things like traffic flow, pedestrian simulations and pollution sensors. Areas such as ultrasonic monitoring technology used on railways and vibration sensing will feed into this and potentially open the doors to Intelligent Transport Systems which can maintain themselves in an efficient and cost effective manner.
There are also huge implications for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) where condition and structural health monitoring could help to ensure self-driving vehicles are safe over long periods of usage.
TSC CEO Steve Yianni explained:
'At the TSC we are developing the world of Intelligent Mobility, where journeys are seamless, transport is smart and connected, and delays and congestion are a thing of the past. A vital component in achieving this is the long term maintenance of the system, and the partnership with TWI will strengthen our offer and allow us to develop sustainable and cost effective solutions in this area. By incorporating condition and structural monitoring technology into the Internet of Things and Smart City infrastructure, we can look to a future where transport systems can help maintain themselves as well as providing an efficient service for travellers."
TWI Chief Executive Christoph Wiesner said:
'The close collaboration and co-locating of TSC with TWI will enable the sharing of information, skills and expertise for the generation of cutting edge research for smart transport systems, and enable us to focus our industry expertise in asset safety and reliability through mathematical modelling and sensor systems on the development of the next generation of technologies and specialist engineers. This initiative complements and enhances the Structural Integrity Hub established and managed by TWI.'
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