Moving with the times

The wireless enabled remote condition monitoring solution developed by Senceive, and whose origins began in UCL’s research laboratories, provided the engineers responsible for maintaining the railway line with high-precision, real-time information about the state of their earthworks asset.

As Graham Smith, Senceive’s CEO explains: “At Barnehurst, Network Rail used an array of wireless enabled tilt sensors and automated cameras. This integrated monitoring system responds to the first signs of earthworks movement by speeding up sampling and triggering cameras to send images and data to stakeholders, allowing Network Rail’s engineers to make critical decisions, plan their response and protect at-risk assets.”

Senceive’s technology platform integrates sensors, interfacing/algorithms, wireless platforms, gateways, data backhaul, and data into a flexible, extendable wireless solution that enables precise and reliable monitoring for challenging applications, providing customers with repeatable, high-quality asset performance data. Robust, durable, lightweight products are totally automated and contain thousands of algorithms to deliver features such as exceptional 10+ year battery life and automatic reaction to critical safety situations, alerting engineers and asset owners in order to help protect infrastructure and people.

The commercialisation journey from the development of early wireless sensing prototypes by researchers within the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (E&EE) at UCL, through to the company being widely recognised as the provider of industry-leading wireless enabled remote condition monitoring solutions was long and at many times highly challenging.

Dr Steven Schooling, Director of Physical Sciences and Engineering at UCLB commented, “at an early stage prior to spinning out the company, UCLB’s support helped the academic founders to scope out the unmet market needs that the technology might potentially address, and also provided Proof of Concept funding to support early prototype development.

 

“Once the company was spun-out in 2005, we worked closely with the academic founders and initial management team to unlock those early applications for the technology including introductions to Network Rail which led to early pilot deployments.

“In 2009, we identified Graham Smith as an experienced leader who had the desire to translate a promising technology platform into a solution that could satisfy un-met needs in commercially significant market areas. We worked closely with Graham and the wider Senceive management team as the company sought to create a robust and scalable wireless enabled remote condition monitoring solution that could enable users across industries ranging from rail to construction to gain information on their critical assets in a highly cost effective manner.

“The journey was long, intense and at times highly uncertain as the company sought to achieve the product/market fit that would eventually drive widespread adoption. Furthermore, with challenges accessing traditional forms of investment capital, the company’s funding runway was largely based upon investment from Graham Smith and UCLB, together with strategically important grants from Innovate UK and debt financing from the Rail Supply Growth Fund initiative. However, by late 2020, the clear technical and commercial benefits of Senceive’s technology coupled with the company’s exceptional customer service had resulted in a company which was growing fast both from a turnover and profitability perspective. Importantly, Senceive had developed a global client base with solution deployments in over 40 countries and had recruited a team of 60+ people based in the UK, Australia and the USA with deep technical and commercial skills. These factors led to the company’s acquisition by Canadian industrial technology group Previan (previously Eddyfi/NDT) in April 2021.

“Senceive provides a great example of the value that university technology transfer can deliver over the long haul, nurturing innovative businesses through their entire lifecycle, and helping them to deliver both economic returns and societal impact. I am immensely proud to have shared that journey with Graham and the rest of the Senceive management team.”

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