Samhällsbyggarna, an association focusing on the development, building and management of Swedens future society, ran a feature about Raid Karoumi, the Research Director of CNets subsidiary IoTBridge and professor at KTHs department of bridge and steel construction written by Fredrik Hielscher.
An excursion into the fascinating world of bridge constructions and the opportunities new technologies create. Sweden has about 35.000 bridges, a population of constructions that is getting older, some structures over 100 years old, mostly railway bridges. The Swedish Transport Administration’s annual cost for the operation and maintenance of the bridges is around SEK 1.3 billion – a cost that risks increasing rapidly. But new advanced measurement and analysis methods can increase the life of bridges and result in fewer inspections and bridge reinforcements.Sensor-based condition assessment exists already and is used in many of todays products. In modern cars, you get a notifications about changes in the tire pressure, when it’s time to change oil or service the car, issues with system components. It’s the similar with bridges, the technology exists and is ready to be applied to bigger constructions to optimize maintenance and use.
