Sensors, instrumentation and measurement science underpin advances in all areas of engineering, science, technology and medicine. Sensor-enabled technologies are all around us. Often we are not even aware of them or even realise what they do.

The average passenger car today has more than 200 sensors monitoring everything from speed to temperature, tyre pressure to assistance with parking. Compare this to just two or three decades back when a car might have had just a handful. In mobile phones, sensors play a vital role in enabling us to use touch screen or even voice activated commands. Supermarkets use sensors to know when they need to open more tills to save you waiting.

Technology has changed rapidly as a result of advances in sensor deployment – sensors are smaller, lighter and cheaper. However, the potential applications are even more exciting - what will our mobile phones be able to do by 2020?

We are one of the UK’s leading research centres for sensing and instrumentation. Our expertise is truly multi-disciplinary covering technology used within aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, energy, environment and health. The emphasis of our activities lies in the design, development and integration of instrumentation to tackle engineering measurement problems.

Currently, we are applying our expertise in the following areas:

  • Structural Health Monitoring – for reliability in areas ranging from land and air transport to civil engineering to superconducting magnets.

  • Legislation Compliance – how sensors can be used to help meet and monitor compliance with regulations and standards in areas such as airworthiness, greenhouse gas emissions or environmental pollutants.

  • Efficiency Improvement – how sensors can provide data to enable improvements in efficiency of aircraft, motor vehicles, wind turbines, industrial processes and manufacturing.

  • Performance Improvement – can sensors help make structures and vehicles faster, quicker or lighter?

  • Consumer Goods – accelerometers, touch and imaging sensors used in products such as mobile phones and games consoles.

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