Datatecnics have secured Eurostars funding to create a robot that can perform minimally invasive application of temperature and strain sensors to the walls of buried water pipes.
To get the most accurate view on the health of a buried water pipeline, data-capturing sensors must be installed directly onto the pipe.
Currently, installing data-capturing sensors directly onto pipes requires resource-intensive excavations. Such excavations require extensive formwork and security measures and can cause significant disruption if the pipe is under a busy urban area.
Working in partnership with a Norwegian design house, the MINI-PASS project seeks to produce a robot that can identify the pipe and attach and install the sensor directly onto the pipe wall, transforming the deployment process.
This kind of sensor installation method would not only be safer for workers, but also more cost effective and environmentally friendly.
Eurostars is part of the European Partnership for Innovative SMEs, co-funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe.
Eurostars is the biggest international funding programme, purposefully designed for SMEs to collaborate on R&D initiatives to create innovative products, services, or processes for commercial use.
With 37 countries participating in the programme, project partners include SMEs, research centres, and universities.
Find out more about the project here.
