Skip to Content

Rust Reporter

Wireless sensors probe the infrastructure.

Crumbling bridges often get that way because steel reinforcement bars have rusted within the concrete. A Charlottesville, VA-based company called Virginia Technologies has devised a system of networked sensors that can be embedded in concrete, tell when the steel is corroding and report the information through a wireless link-avoiding the need to drill holes or install probes that must be checked individually.

The networked probes are tethered to the steel bars and wired together before concrete is poured (photo). Each sensor monitors electrochemical factors that indicate rusting, such as changes in salinity, moisture and conductivity. If any one instrument detects a relatively high corrosion rate, it can check with neighboring sensors to gauge how far the problem has spread. Sensor readings travel by wire to a communications module, from which the data can be accessed wirelessly. The company expects to bring the sensors to market early next year.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI

The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models. 

Rogue superintelligence and merging with machines: Inside the mind of OpenAI’s chief scientist

An exclusive conversation with Ilya Sutskever on his fears for the future of AI and why they’ve made him change the focus of his life’s work.

The Biggest Questions: What is death?

New neuroscience is challenging our understanding of the dying process—bringing opportunities for the living.

How to fix the internet

If we want online discourse to improve, we need to move beyond the big platforms.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.