INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS


and causes an increase in friction amongst components, having an early indication of this can diminish the potential risk of fire or failure of the turbine. Built-in sensing technology can also be applied to identify and avoid turbines rotating too fast in excessively windy conditions - which can cause damage from overheating - either by triggering brakes or turning the direction of the blades to reduce airflow. Typically hazardous energy infrastructure


like power substations can similarly benefit from this type of remote monitoring. Even today, it’s not uncommon that inspection of this type of infrastructure is still carried out by engineers entering the substation itself. This poses an obvious and unnecessary risk - exposing workers to a high voltage transformer field - when remote monitoring can easily provide the energy company with everything it needs to know about the substation and how it is operating from afar.


Making a difference The development of industrial monitoring and condition control technologies has been accelerated beyond these traditional applications as result of the ongoing pandemic. Increasingly, we’ve seen constraints on access to working spaces that would typically be physically visited or used by people on a regular basis. Coupled with the changing nature of how people currently find themselves going about their daily lives, this has stimulated an increased demand for sensing technologies - especially in sectors where there is now an emerging need for systems that can support remote working or monitoring and improve safeties. One sensing technologies company has helped develop a resource originally intended to protect workers on construction and demolition sites from injury caused by excessive or prolonged vibration. Smart watches - that once monitored and recorded data to alert a person when they have been operating machinery for the


maximum recommended time, like a jackhammer - have been modified to help better monitor proximity. During the height of the pandemic, the device helped construction sites regulate social distancing, making it possible for construction companies to continue operating safely at the time. There have also been advancements in medical electronic equipment to support the remote management of vulnerable and elderly people. These include resources such as remotely accessed ‘vital signs’ monitors, dementia patient trackers and movement monitors. Crucially, this sensing technology is helping to lower the spread of disease and illness by allowing support and medical staff to remotely engage with patients - ultimately reducing the risk of infection and lowering the transmission of viruses like Covid-19. ‘Ruggedised’ systems capable of withstanding harsh environmental conditions are being applied in a number of creative and innovative ways too. For instance, advanced camera technology, mounted on the underside of rolling railway stock, is


helping to generate detailed topology of rail tracks that can help map rail beds and fixings. This data can then be used to analyse and monitor changes that may have occurred due to weather conditions or general wear to proactively maintain and repair sections of track - preventing the likelihood of an accident or derailment. Additionally, this technology now has the added benefit of removing the need for lengthy and potentially hazardous physical site inspections by engineers and helps reduce disruption to passengers caused by the temporary postponement of services whilst tracks are inspected.


What does the future hold? As well as the economic and safety benefits gleaned by remote sensing technology, we are beginning to see a range of innovative applications emerge that are pushing the envelope in terms of the technology’s potential uses. In Greece, a team led by Nottingham University is currently using remote sensing satellite technology to support local government in its bid to tackle modern slavery within the nation’s strawberry fields. By using real-time data collection to identify migrant settlements - which are often difficult to locate on the ground - the technology is helping authorities to tackle labour exploitation in areas where strawberries are harvested, using earth observation data to better inform operations management techniques. Groundbreaking examples such as this underline the vast range and uses of sensing technologies - not just for heavy industry and in the fight against Covid-19 but for the benefit of wider society. Just like the pandemic itself, the developments in industrial control and remote monitoring have the potential to permanently change the world as we know it.


CB Technology www.cbtechnology.co.uk


SEPTEMBER 2021 | ELECTRONICS TODAY 29


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58