POFSensor SIGNED

Project "POFSensor" data sheet

The following table provides information about the project.

 Partnership

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Map

 Project objective

Optic fiber (OF) sensors have a widespread use in several industrial sectors, such as construction, wind energy and shipbuilding, to monitor both the structures’ manufacturing process and their overall condition throughout their use, thus improving their quality, reliability, safety and durability and reducing production and maintenance costs. Still, the available OF sensors are based in silica glass fibers which, due to their fragile nature, often fail in-use. In this sense, there is an unmet need for an OF sensor which can withstand the harsh conditions in which structures are manufactured and/or used. SHUTE has developed a novel polymer optic fiber (POF) sensor system that, due to its properties, can be used in a wide range of hard or soft engineering structures, such as concrete structures and composite materials, providing a real-time monitoring sensor system with higher sensibility to stress and strain, ability measure humidity and more mechanically robust to harsh environments. In addition, our POF sensor system can be tailored to fit other applications and market segments. Together with an unprecedent potential in multiple industrial segments, SHUTE’s POF holds important competitive advantages, such as flexibility and stretchability, sensitivity to humidity, higher sensitivity to stress and strain, and tailorable to user’s requirements. Nevertheless, to secure swift development and successful commercialization, SHUTE needs to partner with key stakeholders to demonstrate the POF sensor performance and reliability. In this context, we believe SME instrument will be crucial to position our POF sensor within the OF sensors market and to confirm the high economic value of our unique technology. The accomplishment of SME Phase1 and Phase 2 project objectives will maximize the value of our POF sensors within the selected markets and lead to a significant business opportunity for SHUTE – revenues are expected to be around €10.4M, within 5 years of market approval.