NEWS SENSORS
Surveilling aging infrastructure using fiber-optics Somni Solutions, a small startup from The Hague, provided fiber-optic tilt sensors for the new Genoa bridge, which recently reopened, two years after the tragic collapse. CTO Remco Nieuwland explains how his company acquired this prestigious assignment and why we should start monitoring our own aging infrastructure. Jessica Vermeer
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Credit: Somni
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n 14 August 2018, the Morandi bridge near the Italian city of Genoa collapsed during a rainstorm. When it was opened in 1967, the number of vehicles and their average weight was much lower than it is today. Bridges were typically designed for a 50-year lifespan. The Morandi bridge failed just under 51 years after its opening. After the collapse, the leftovers were demolished and a new bridge was built. The construction of the replacement was completed in April of this year. Somni Solutions, a small startup from The Hague, provided glass fiber sensors that will monitor the misalignment of the pillars. These sensors will give much-needed insight into the condition of the new bridge. “Monitoring with glass fiber sensors is pretty standard in China and Japan,” says Remco Nieuwland, CTO of Somni. “But in Europe, we’re lagging.” He has seen some pilot projects but no permanent setups for bridge monitoring. “In Europe, we seem to need an actual disaster before we’re willing to prevent further damage.” When Somni started initial discussions with the customer, the sensor design wasn’t yet finished. Acquisition of the assignment took about a year and the startup spent that time sketching, developing and gaining the customer’s trust. After one year of hard work, the long-awaited purchase order finally fell in favor of Somni. Nieuwland: “It hasn’t been easy, but we were highly motivated to get this assignment and show the world our capabilities.”
The two sensors within each set are placed at a 90-degree angle.
