NARL launches cloud-based bridge safety system

2015/10/08

The world’s first cloud-based early warning system for flooding and bridge collapses was unveiled Oct. 6 by National Applied Research Laboratories in New Taipei City.

Using precipitation forecasts and real-time data collected by underwater sensors, the mechanism is capable of issuing alerts six hours ahead of potential disasters. It is expected to safeguard the nation’s 20,000 bridges from torrential rain caused by monsoons and typhoons.

Chang Kuo-chun, director of NARL’s National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, said the application represents the efforts of six departments working together for six years.

“We developed an array of waterproof and collision-resistant sensors that can be installed 20 meters below bridge abutments,” he said. “The sensors transmit live feeds to a cloud computing database in Hsinchu for assessment of flow velocity, sedimentation, structural vibration and water levels.”

The database is connected to the local traffic control system, which immediately shuts down at-risk structures in emergency situations. A trial has begun on the Mingzhu, Sino-Saudi and Ziqiang Bridges along central Taiwan’s Zhuoshui River.

According to Chang, a set of sensors is estimated at NT$1 million (US$30,619) per bridge and/or elevated span, with the mechanism capable of monitoring structural integrity in the event of earthquakes and other scenarios.

“We believe the application can find wide-ranging uses in the global disaster prevention market,” Chang said. “Patents have been acquired in Japan, the U.S. and mainland China, opening the door for this technology to further promote Taiwan know-how abroad.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=237505&ctNode=2194&mp=9)