ISTIMES · Integrated System for Transport Infrastructures surveillance and Monitoring by Electromagnetic Sensing

The aim of the proposal is to design, assess and promote an ICT-based system, exploiting distributed and local sensors, for non-destructive electromagnetic monitoring in order to achieve the critical transport infrastructures more reliable and safe. This has the overall aim to developing a high situation awareness in order to provide real time and detailed information and images of the infrastructure status to improve decision support for emergency and disasters stakeholders. The system exploits an open network architecture that can accommodate a wide range of sensors, static and mobile, and can be easily scaled up to allow the integration of additional sensors and interfacing with other networks. It relies on heterogeneous state-of-the-art electromagnetic sensors, enabling a self-organizing, self-healing, ad-hoc networking of terrestrial sensors, supported by specific satellite measurements. The integration of electromagnetic technologies with new ICT information and telecommunications systems enables remotely controlled monitoring and surveillance and real time data imaging of the critical transport infrastructures. The proposal will be based on several independent non-invasive imaging technologies based on electromagnetic sensing. Sensor cross validation, synergy and new data fusion and correlation schemes will permit a multi-method, multi-resolution and multi-scale electromagnetic detection and monitoring of surface and subsurface changes of the infrastructure . The architecture will be based on web sensors and service-oriented-technologies that comply with specific end-user requirements, including economical convenience, exportability, efficiency and reliability. The system will adopt open architectures and will make efforts to achieve full interoperability. The system will be tested on very challenging test beds such as: a highway-bridge and a railway tunnel.