About SmartBrick
SmartBrick is a new industrial IoT sensor designed for affordable and accurate monitoring of civil infrastructure such as quay walls, foundations, and buildings.
SmartBrick monitors tilt and other physical parameters with high precision and transmits this data wirelessly to an online control center. Its unique combination of precise daily measurements, cost-effective and scalable production, integrated AI, and ultra-low power consumption results in a fully wireless, easy-to-install, battery-powered, and cost-efficient monitoring system.
SmartBrick is an award-winning concept from the City of Amsterdam’s innovation competition and was nominated for the Co-Build Awards. It is currently being successfully implemented in cities such as Amsterdam and Leiden.
SmartBrick on Quay Walls
"Currently, bridges and quay walls in our city are monitored and supervised in a traditional way. This is done on only about 10% of the city while the remaining part is not without risk." Says Casper van der Peet, technical manager monitoring bridges and quay walls at the municipality of Amsterdam and project leader of the innovation competition in Amsterdam. "The SBIR was created to develop innovative techniques and methodologies that will enable us to monitor all of our bridges and quay walls in a cheaper and more efficient way. Smartbrick is one of the four winning and promising techniques from the SBIR that can hopefully help us move forward with this task."
From award-winning concept to practical application
What began as an innovative idea within the SBIR competition has grown into a proven solution for managing urban infrastructure. SmartBrick, developed by Althen Sensors & Controls, is now actively used in practice. In both Amsterdam and Leiden, the smart sensors continuously monitor the condition of bridges and quay walls.
The real-time data provides municipalities with valuable insights into the structural health of their infrastructure. This allows maintenance activities to be better planned and reduces the risk of unexpected damage.
In 2020, forty-six parties participated in the SBIR innovation competition, of which eight advanced to the first phase. In July 2021, it was announced that Althen, together with three other participants, was among the winners — achieving the highest score overall. The solutions were further developed and tested in real-world conditions.
After completing the final project phase in July 2022, SmartBrick was further implemented in the municipalities of Amsterdam and Leiden. The technology has since evolved from a promising concept into a proven system for bridge monitoring and quay wall inspection.
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