Deutsche Telekom is deploying NB-IoT to monitor infrastructure quality in Dusseldorf airport.
The airport carries more than 24 million passengers each year and is underpinned by a network of bridges, tunnels and buildings.
The German operator and sensor company BS2 Sicherheitssysteme, which came out of its hub:raum digital incubator, will build a digital monitoring solution to track the condition of the different kinds of infrastructure.
Deutsche Telekom gave the example of a bridge providing access to the airport’s tank farm, which contains more than 120 fuel tank trucks each holding 30,000 litres of kerosene. The daily commute of these trucks between the farm and the runways ultimately causes strain on the bridge.
The aim is to use the sensors to identify looming damage and preventing any traffic jams in fuel supply. Fifty sensors will be deployed to measure temperature, humidity and corrosion and send information in real time.
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Ingo Hofacker, responsible for IoT business at Deutsche Telekom, said: “Düsseldorf Airport is one of the pioneers in Germany that is using IoT technology for its road constructions at the airport.
“Networking of transport infrastructure is growing in importance. The new network of equipment and sensors is an ideal foundation for data transmission.”
Michael Hohenecker, Head of Data Management and Building Inspection at Real Estate Management, Düsseldorf Airport, said: “Previously, material samples were needed to gain information about a building’s condition – a complex method that usually involved destruction.
“We have a bottleneck here at the central tank farm. The digital solution protects us against unforeseeable damage to the access road and the disruptions to tank usage that it would entail.”