Sensor-EDGE - High-performance on-site sensor and data system for multimodal monitoring applications on critical infrastructure

Motivation

Against the backdrop of an aging infrastructure, assessing the condition of structures is becoming increasingly important. Public safety and security, in particular, depend on a functioning infrastructure. Not least, the structural integrity of civil engineering structures along transportation routes (road, rail, river)—such as bridges, tunnels, roads, ports, locks, etc.—is in some parts severely compromised due to their advanced age, associated environmental influences, and ever-increasing loads.

Problem Statement

For safety reasons and to enable predictive maintenance, continuous monitoring (SHM) of critical structural areas using various sensors is increasingly being employed in addition to structural inspections (manual inspections per DIN 1076). However, these sensors generate large, complex volumes of data that must be interpreted individually. To date, the raw data has usually been sent to servers, where it is analyzed and evaluated by experts. This results in high energy costs due to the need for storage and computing capacity. Furthermore, most structures lack the infrastructure for the continuous transfer of large amounts of data, making rapid on-site evaluation virtually impossible.

If all important information is to be made available directly at the structure, an energy-efficient monitoring system is necessary. This system must have high computing power, utilize specialized algorithms—often supported by artificial intelligence (AI)—and thus provide civil engineers with relevant information for evaluation in real time. At the same time, operators could continuously receive a pre-evaluated overview of the structures’ status with a significantly reduced volume of data.

Solution

To address this challenge, Fraunhofer IZFP has developed “Sensor-EDGE” as a high-performance on-site sensor and data system for the multimodal monitoring of critical infrastructure. Thanks to the use of powerful microelectronics, the Sensor-EDGE is capable of storing as-is data, inspection results from structural inspections, and sensor data from continuous monitoring in a database, processing this data into higher-value information, and making it available to structural inspectors or civil engineers in real time. This eliminates the need to transfer large amounts of data via a server. As a result, it enables a more accurate assessment of the condition of infrastructure structures and significantly facilitates predictive maintenance.

Sensors

The following sensors can currently be used: If other types of sensors are required, please contact us.

• Acoustic emission (AE) sensors
• Strain gauges (SG)
• Temperature sensors
• Weather station
• Humidity sensors
• Vibration sensors
• Ultrasonic sensors
• Displacement sensors (magnetostrictive or laser distance)
• Traffic monitoring using LiDAR sensors

Advantages

• By using a high-performance FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), up to 32 individual sensors can be operated in parallel.
• Additionally, other sensors or sensor networks can be connected via standard interfaces such as Ethernet or Bluetooth.
• The FPGA enables initial sensor- and application-specific preprocessing with significant data reduction.
• The database used allows for automated long-term analysis and the use of classical and AI algorithms to generate high-value information.
• Automated transmission of status information to operators.
• Flexible adaptation of the data format to the needs of operators.
• Data transmission to operators can be flexibly routed via various communication interfaces, such as LoRaWAN, LTE, 5G, Wi-Fi, etc.

Applications

• Monitoring of bridge structures, tunnels, roads, and railways
• Monitoring of ports, wastewater treatment plants, stormwater retention basins, dams, etc.
• Traffic monitoring and real-time load estimation for bridges
• Monitoring of wind turbines and wind farms