UPittISC Workshop

Mission

There is an increasing need for infrastructure sensing to enable the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0. The infrastructures are essential for the nation’s safe and secure operation, including power generation, energy transportation, power grid, civil structures, and renewables. Existing sensor technologies are not adequate to meet increasing need for monitoring; therefore, new sensor technologies need to be developed. As sensor technology matures, technology transfer and deployment become more important, requiring engagement of industry and workforce development including training and educating highly skilled, interdisciplinary scientists and engineers capable of working at interfaces between disciplines. The UPitt Infrastructure Sensing Collaboration (UPISC) workshop will focus on existing collaborations and future partnership opportunities related to development and advancement of sensor technologies for critical infrastructure monitoring, spanning energy delivery and storage (e.g. natural gas, oil, H2), electricity grid, conventional and renewable energy generation, and carbon storage.

Goals

The goals of the workshop are to increase awareness of existing on-going research and collaborations with University of Pittsburgh and regional stakeholders in the following areas:

1) Development of novel sensor technologies as solutions to infrastructure sensing needs; 
2) Regional collaboration to promote workforce development in the emerging sensor area for near-term R&D capability needs and future deployment and commercial needs;   
3) Engagements with industry and stakeholders, regarding sensor technologies and related technology transfer;  
4) Team and collaboration partnerships capable of responding to funding agencies’ and industry’s call for sensor technologies.

Scope

The workshop particularly seeks to focus on the following areas:
1. Multiple sensing platforms with spatially distributed sensing capability (e.g. optical fiber sensing, passive wireless sensors, electrochemical sensors, chip sensors)
2. Spanning sensor technology development areas from fundamental principles of sensor materials to prototypes in field validations, prototypes in field validations,
3. Coupling with physics-based modeling and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled sensor networks and digital twin technologies for specific infrastructure needs.

Impact

The workshop seeks to promote intelligent infrastructure sensing for the following impacts:
1. Predictive monitoring before infrastructure failures occur (structural, electrical, etc.)
2. Mitigation of green-house gas emissions,
3. Enabling large-scale H2 transportation,
4. Supporting needs for a robust and resilient electricity and natural gas transportation and delivery system,
5. Early detection of environmental contamination.