Connected through Bluetooth to an app on a handheld device, the sensor provides real-time information about the machine condition. It will be used at the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre, where it will measure vibrational signatures on specific machines. The data acquired will be analysed to provide an early indicator of machine instability.
Ian Bain, Sensor-Work’s managing director, said: “BluVib lets engineers continually assess the health of their machines, allowing them to actively prevent breakdowns and optimise their performance. For example, if you placed a BluVib sensor on the rotating part of a wind turbine, there would be no requirement to regularly climb the turbine to assess its condition.”
BluVib was created with the help of CENSIS – the Scottish Centre for Sensors and Imaging Systems. Ian Reid, CENSIS’s chief executive, added: “BluVib has huge potential in a number of sectors, particularly in oil and gas and the petrochemicals industries, where maximising efficiency is extremely important for international competitiveness.”
The project is said by CENSIS to be its 50th since its inception in 2014.