Smart thinking – CSIC opens doors for the Science Festival

Visitors to the Department of Engineering enjoyed a range of smart activities when CSIC and the Laing O'Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology opened doors for the Science Festival

Image: Dr Liam Butler demonstrates smart sensing at CSIC HQ as part of the Science Festival

Hosted by CSIC team members and researchers from the Laing O’Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology, the hands-on and family-friendly activities showcased a range of smart technologies including: an instrumented suspension bridge that demonstrated dynamic strain; a CSIC-developed data acquisition system featuring acoustic emission sensors and accelerometer that displayed a real-time signal on contact with the sensor; the mixed reality world of the Microsoft Hololens; a short film about the creation of the first ever ‘Smart Tunnel’; and a video showing some of smart sensor technology embedded in the James Dyson Building that is home to CSIC.

Dee Dee Frawley, Communications Manager of CSIC, said: “This is the first time CSIC has participated in the Science Festival and we were delighted to attract so many visitors to our activities.

"The structural health of infrastructure is an essential component to the smooth-running of society and CSIC’s fibre optic systems and data analytics create self-sensing assets by enabling buildings and structures to communicate performance in real time. Visitors were very interested to see how technology is making our infrastructure and construction smart.”