Moniteye and Historic Environment Scotland Launch Project to Use Space Technology to Protect Scotland’s Historic Assets

This exciting project was launched on Friday 28 June at the Engine Shed in Stirling, which is Scotland's dedicated conservation centre (https://www.engineshed.scot/).

Speakers covered the challenges faced in managing and maintaining historically important assets including an update on Dynamic Coast - Scotland's Coastal Change Assessment project (http://dynamiccoast.com/) and overview of technologies that are currently being used and how satellite capability may assist.

An overview of the Engine Shed and importance of educational / school curriculum / showcase aspects was also provided.

The workshop also provided an overview of the satellite and space market and why it is important to the Scottish and UK economy. Speakers from representatives of the Scottish Government and Scottish Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications (SoXSA), The Bayes Centre, University of Edinburgh and the European Space Agency will provide an update on what is going on in this important sector.

Bringing together a range of partners from across the heritage sector, the project will explore the challenges faced in protecting historic sites from threats such as coastal erosion and ground movement, and how satellite capabilities can assist in monitoring and managing these impacts.

The project will build on the current use of innovative space and satellite techniques within heritage management. It will be using radar data from the Sentinel satellite to measure terrain movement and developing a methodology to apply this to heritage assets in Scotland for the first time.

The project will be focusing on specific case studies, including Skara Brae, part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, and Mavisbank Policies, the area of designed landscape laid out in the early 18th century around Mavisbank House in Midlothian. Skara Brae is vulnerable to coastal erosion related to climate change, while Mavisbank Policies are affected by localised slope instability, which can be exacerbated by changes in rainfall patterns.

Further details can be found at : https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/project-to-use-space-technology-to-protect-scotland-s-historic-environment-takes-off/

Moniteye Partners with ATT in US market

Moniteye is pleased to announce that we have partnered with US communications giant ATT. The partnership also includes IBM, with the 3 companies combining to help deliver the ATT Structure Monitoring Solution. More information can be found in the press relaease issued by ATT here.

This exciting project will begin with a trial run in the US city of Portland, Oregon. ATT had this to say about the trial: "The city will deploy AT&T Structure Monitoring. Working with IBM IoT Cloud, IBM Services and Moniteye, the city will deploy devices on various infrastructure in Portland with LTE-enabled sensors to remotely monitor structural behavior. The sensors, which measure things like temperature, tilt and cracks, also feature alert triggers to capture significant events. "

The partnership has been the result of a number of years of hard work behind the scenes enabling Moniteye to deliver a unique and innovative product that we believe offers huge value to infrastructure owners across the world. For more information please contact Alex Keal (akeal@moniteye.co.uk).

New product! Low cost GPS sensor added to suite of remote monitoring sensors

Moniteye, in conjunction with Nottingham Scientific Ltd (NSL), have developed a low cost GNSS sensor that provides x,y and z movement measurement to ~2mm accuracies. Currently in the trial phase, Moniteye are very excited to bring the product to market and believe that it has huge potential to bring all the benefits of GPS surveying techniques to the mass market. 

The device is able to be deployed in a variety of scenarios including:

• Earthworks, such as embankments, cuttings, flood defences, etc
• Construction sites
• The built environment, such as buildings, bridges, pylons, supporting structures and wind turbines
• Temporary structures, such as stands, seating, lighting, flood defences
• The natural environment, such as landslides, earthquakes, tremors, coastal condition/erosion, ice caps

The devices utilises satellite positioning techniques commonly used within mobile phones to deliver precise movement of at-risk assets. The device is battery powered and can be quickly installed with no on-site calibration required. Other benefits include an alarming feature, an ability to interface into existing asset management systems via an API and a fully user-configurable measurement frequency that can be altered over the air (OTA).

If you are interesting hearing more about the device and its possible applications please get in touch via info@moniteye.co.uk or call us to discuss further on 01572 770 780.

Tower Power Project Kicks Off

On the 5th and 6th of May, the 11 partners of the collaborative European project TowerPower met in Aix-en-Provence (France) to kick it off. The project aims to develop a remote real time monitoring system for the ageing diagnosis of offshore wind turbine structures.

This development meets a real demand from the offshore wind park operators looking for maintenance cost reductions by increasing time between onsite inspections. The project will last 3 years within a budget close to 2 M€.

Coordinated by the cluster Capenergies (FR), the TowerPower project will involve:

•   Associations having activities in the wind energy sector, who will carry out the dissemination and exploitation scheme of the innovation: Capenergies (FR), Cylsolar (ES) et Associazione Italiana Prouver non Distruttive – AIPnD (IT),

•   Pilot SMEs interested by the technology, who will contribute to orientate the research work: Kingston Computer Consulting - KCC (UK), Moniteye (UK), Teknisk Data AS (NO), WLB (CY) et TecopySA (ES),

•   Research centres in charge of the system design, development and validation: CETIM (FR), Innora (GR) et TWI (UK)

The bearing structure of offshore wind turbines includes one or several basement pile(s), a transition piece designed to face wave assaults and the mast. The main ageing phenomena observed are:

•   Instances of fatigue cracking in the support towers;

•   Flange bolts at the ends of the tower sections becoming loose;

•   Higher than expected levels of vibration, which could cause either of the above mechanisms;

•   Degradation of the grouted joint between the pile and transition piece in offshore installations.

Relying on a network of sensors of various natures, on amplifying electronics and on advanced signal processing algorithms, the TowerPower solution will enable self-learning of the normal behavior “signature” of the structure and to detect any deviation from the initial record. Meanwhile, the system will contribute to a better understanding of physic-chemical phenomena leading to flaws triggering.

The intellectual property generated through the project, including eventual patent applications, will be jointly owned by the participating associations, which may conclude licenses agreements with the participating SMEs, their member companies and even other companies in the world according to the business opportunities. Thus, Capenergies will benefit from a remarkable development instrument for its action in the field of offshore wind energy, regionally and beyond, in line with its strategic priorities and those of the PACA region in the frame of its “smart specialization”