A project to compare and combine data from underground Internet of Things (IoT) and satellite-based sensors has been launched in the UK. The aim is to provide better early warning of potential dangers, improve the safety of mining operations and augment environmental and postmining observation. The project is being funded by Britain’s Space Research and Innovation Network for Technology (Sprint).
It is being jointly undertaken by the University of Southampton and global specialist IoT technology company Worldsensing. Together, they plan to develop a means that, at large scale, will monitor mine surface displacement, and do so cost effectively. They will achieve this by integrating ground- and underground-based sensor networks with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data provided by a new constellation of European satellites.
“This Sprint project is a tremendous opportunity to transform our research into a real-world application,” enthused University of Southampton remote sensing professor Jadu Dash. “The testing that we can deliver in different contexts and the analysis of this open-source data are key to developing a processing chain that can be handed over to Worldsensing to use.”
“We are pleased to have this opportunity to cooperate with the University of Southampton,” affirmed Worldsensing senior EU project manager Denis Guilhot. “All of the work that they will produce within the project will provide a new perspective for us as our wireless monitoring system gives us insight on what’s happening underground, while their satellite-based data will complement that with information on what’s happening on the surface.”
The University of Southampton will contribute to the project its expertise in remote sensing, data storage and processing. Using these capabilities, it will analyse, synthesise and evaluate the data in the SAR information datasets. It will do so by employing high-specification computers, and both licensed and open-source remote sensing and Geographic Information System software.
The Sprint programme is led by the University of Leicester and also involves the universities of Edinburgh, Southampton and Surrey, as well as the Open University. It is funded by Research England and the Scottish Funding Council. The University of Southampton is ranked as one of the world’s Top 100 universities and has a student body numbering some 24 000, drawn from more than 135 countries. Worldsensing is a company that uses wireless sensors and “real-time software solutions” to provide its clients with real-time information on which they can base their operational decisions.