#IoT4TheGrid: new frontiers for the Internet of Things

It’s called the Internet of Things, or IoT, a broad definition encompassing all applications that connect everyday devices to each other and the internet in order to perform certain functions and collect data. Such technologies are already found in many homes, where voice-activated light switches, remote controlled thermostats or video surveillance systems connected to smartphones are now commonplace. But other than this kind of IoT, which is oriented towards the end consumer, there is another kind of IoT—equally important and currently in development—the Industrial Internet Of Things.

The landscape is different here because the Industrial IoT shifts in line with different aims (and quantities)—like collecting extensive data, speeding up processes, contributing to the management of a business—all thanks to very advanced sensors. Terna, operator of the Italian electricity transmission grid, is one of the companies which has decided to pursue this mission.

Terna’s project is called #IoT4TheGrid, and its aim is to use the grid to monitor national territories in real time through the use of IoT technology. Behind its development lie two requirements: on the one hand, the need to collect data for the safety and management of the local electricity system, and on the other, the need to prevent emergency situations. This started last February with experimentation in Veneto, where in 2018 storm Vaia caused significant damage, to power lines and more besides. The system involves a new strategy for using Terna’s infrastructure as a digitising apparatus, thanks to innovative digital instruments placed on the pylons: weather stations, pull sensors, accelerometers and inclinometers applied to cables and wires.

By collecting information in a uniform manner and cross-referencing it, it is possible to exponentially increase the effectiveness of the solutions but, above all, have a depth of analysis and a much broader overall view of processes and territory. At the same time, the project promotes both financial and environmental sustainability, thanks to the use of a single infrastructure for multiple purposes, and social sustainability, enabling local governments and businesses to provide services in an interconnected system. The challenge is a complex one, especially for the multifaceted nature of IoT nowadays in Italy. In operational terms, the necessary skills to manage such a market, one without functional and long-standing solutions, are absolutely essential.

Precisely for this reason, Terna asked for support from startups and SMEs in the sector via the I4G - Innovation For the Grid Call for Innovation. Created alongside Digital Magics, a business incubator supporting start-ups in the tech world, the Call took place entirely online and received over 40 applications, from which only 10 finalist startups were selected. The research was aimed in particular at solutions able to integrate with Terna’s monitoring grid, with a focus on sensors, analytics algorithms and energy harvesting systems for power lines.

“We started developing these systems two years ago in order to integrate them with emerging technologies so as to optimise their operation, as well as our own work”, explained Maurizio Marini, Terna’s Head of #Iot4TheGrid, during the final of the Call for Innovation. The final winner was Insensus Project, a startup that developed a structural monitoring and predictive maintenance system based on sensors which could be adapted to different geometries. In addition to a € 15,000 prize, the startup will now have the chance to collaborate with Terna and develop its own project at the Turin Innovation Hub, along with other small companies selected by Terna to further the Internet Of Things.