Normally we only focus on computer hardware but we also thought a smart bolt was worth a message. The technology for remote monitoring of screw connections has been developed by several Fraunhofer institutes in Germany, a research organization comparable to Dutch TNO and Belgian VITO. Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Cognitive Internet Technologies combined product.
A ring with a piezoresistive layer is placed on the bolt, which changes its resistance under mechanical stress. This Diaforce film was developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films. The resistor is shared with a head-mounted radio module that can send encrypted data to a base station miles away without using a lot of energy. The Mioty protocol used for this was designed by the Nuremberg Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits.
The most important application mentioned is the connections in a wind farm, either on land or offshore. Also other hard-to-reach objects or large structures such as bridges can be equipped with these bolts. The system can be set to send the status continuously, at a specified time interval, or when a change occurs. The system is designed for the European metric standard. Currently only available for M18 bolts, M20 and M36 will follow later.
Source: Golem
Source: Hardware Info
