Locating cracks in tunnel walls, monitoring landslides and
providing high-insulation clothing are just some examples
benefiting from space technology. Many such innovative
applications will be discussed by ESA and European companies
at the workshop ‘How space technology can provide effective
solutions for challenges in mountains’ in Innsbruck, Austria,
28-29 October.

The Roboclimber, a tele-operated climbing robot for remote
investigation of slope and landslide stability could
be particularly relevant for mountaineers. It can
automatically perform geological surveys by drilling holes
15-20 metres deep, a common practice to verify and
consolidate the stability of rocky walls and slopes. It
can even work at heights of 80 metres and inclination of
60-80 deg. The application uses know-how gained from ESA
missions in the fields of robotics and satellite attitude
control. Roboclimber is not only faster than conventional
manual inspection but more importantly, it can be sent
into unsafe and harsh environments.

The ground penetrating radar system originally developed
by ESA for planetary rover application on the Moon, has
been adapted to assess the rock mass integrity behind
walls such as in mountain tunnels and in mine shafts.
The technology to penetrate ground and produce images
of hidden structures, can locate fine cracks which could
lead to tunnel collapse. Currently the integrity of
tunnels and mines have been verified by visual surface
inspection and rely on human experience and intuition.
This new technology can “see” through walls and roofs
to identify cracks from a few millimetres to a depth of
more than one metre below the surface. In Canada, the
Harsh Environments Initiative has obtained very
successful results as part of the ESA Technology Transfer
Programme.

“More than 150 successful transfers of space technology are
already solving problems in non-space fields, and we have a
portfolio of another 450 ready for transfer and licensing,”
says Dr Pierre Brisson, Head of ESA’s Technology Transfer
and Promotion Office. “We want to create a tighter link to
industry and to work with them to find innovative solutions
to their problems profiting from already available space
technologies.”

The workshop is organised by ESA’s Technology Transfer and
Promotion Office with the Austrian Space Agency and ENVEO,
an Austrian company in Innsbruck. It is intended to be a
creative session between ESA and industry to identify areas
where space technology could provide effective solutions
to challenges faced in Alpine and other mountain regions.

Industrial companies and organisations involved in systems
for mountain activity are invited to participate. Firms
from Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Austria,
Finland, Italy and the Netherlands have already confirmed
their attendance. Suggested topics include:

* safety and security for search and rescue operations, navigation, avalanche and mudslide warning and prevention. Safety in tunnels, on roads and of cable cars

* leisure and tourism including necessity for warmth and insulation, communication and navigation. Alpine sport safety: skiing, rock climbing, hand gliding and trekking

* water resources covering water supply, storage and management and water quality

* new materials related to Alpine safety, adventure and extreme sports equipment

* ecology covering animal tracking, forest monitoring and flora production

The target of the workshop is to identify a number of new
projects related to Alpine activities and to establish
potential partnerships. Projects initiated as a result
of the workshop may be funded from a variety of sources
including ESA’s technology transfer programme.

Refer to the ENVEO homepage http://www.enveo.at/workshop
for more information or contact:

Helmut Rott, Thomas Nagler
ENVEO
Exlgasse 39/31, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Tel / Fax: +43 (0)512 937375
Mobile: +43 (0)676 9361565
email: office@enveo.at

David Raitt
Technology Transfer and Promotion Office
European Space Agency – ESTEC
Keplerlaan 1, PO Box 299, NL-2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands
email: david.raitt@esa.int

More information

* ENVEO Alpine Workshop
http://www.enveo.at/workshop/

Related articles

* Space-tech — a European future
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESAPH3094UC_index_0.html

* ESA Technology Transfer — Down to Earth
http://esapub.esrin.esa.it/br/br175.htm

* ESA Technology Transfer — Spin-off Successes
http://esapub.esrin.esa.it/br/br152/br152e.html

Related links

* ESA’s Technology Transfer Programme
http://www.esa.int/technology/

* Technology Forum
http://www.technology-forum.com/

* T4TECH
http://www.t4techonline.com/en/default.asp

IMAGE CAPTIONS:

[Image 1:
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESA9TVTHN6D_index_1.html]
This image shows the Roboclimer inspecting a near vertical
rocky wall. After a geological survey, a series of holes
is planned for the consolidation of the walls. The
objective of a tele-operated climbing robotic system for
slope and mountain wall monitoring and consolidation, is
to remotely and automatically perform deep drilling, thus
reducing operating costs and working time, while avoiding
human presence in unsafe and harsh environments.
Roboclimber is produced by a consortium of European SMEs,
and is build on expertise from ESA robotics missions and
attitude control of spinning satellites. Credits: D’Appolonia

[Image 2:
http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/ESA9TVTHN6D_index_1.html#subhead1]
This image shows CRIS (Crack Identification System) at
work in a tunnel in a Canadian mine during a resent test
campaign. It uses the ground penetration radar technology
originally developed by ESA for investigation of soil
structures on other planets. A special antenna has been
developed and allows a 3-D representation of the stone
surface identifying the location of crack location and
depth from several millimetres to a depth of more than
one metre below surface. Credits: RST