INNOVATION September-October 2022

A T U R E

F E

P HOTO : M INISTRY OF T RANSPORTATION AND I NFRASTRUCTURE ( FLICKR . COM / PHOTOS / TRANBC )

THE CHALLENGES OF SENSOR INNOVATION

“It was challenging…in the end, I was able to demonstrate that there is a solution that can be very easily implemented in the field,” shares Farooq. After five years of successful development, the dominant bridge sensor network challenges have little to do with technology and more with installation and acceptance. The first challenge is the need for an easy-to-install product that “is readily acceptable by the bridge owners— something that’s easy to install and integrate into their systems,” says Banthia. They are currently exploring how to refine a sensor that you don’t need to dig a series of holes to install, but can drill in. The latter concern has to do with infrastructure owners who have questions about reliability, durability, cost-effectiveness and privacy issues in terms of who has access to this data. Cost is a curious

3 2

S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2

I N N O V A T I O N