Project 102: Blue Water (BW), United Kingdom |
|
1/2. Basic Project Identification Highlight Summary: Selected category:
6 Water Reference
website: http://neale.thomas.net/
· Name:
Dr Neale Thomas · Organization: FRED Ltd · Address:
Aston
Science Park · City, State:
Birmingham · Zip Code:
B7 4BJ · Country:
United
Kingdom · E-mail:
Neale@Thomas.net · Telephone:
+44 121 471 4149 · Fax:
+44 v121 471 4149 |
3. Background, Process, Innovations, Achievements Background, goals & objectives: Natural films also act as concentrating carriers of pesticides,
metals and microbiologicals as potential health hazards. Dilute films are
more effective in wave damping than condensed and collapsed ones, so
detection thresholds to O(ppb) are accessible in principle, at least in terms
of depth ratio for surface monolayers riding on 1-10m water columns, Most
typically optical contrast will be judged from binarised diffuse greyscale
mainly as visible band measures but IR and UV are being considered, as is
glint density for wave-slope spectral comparisons with high resolution
radars. Immediate intention is to verify these basic principles prior to
commercialisation as continuous area monitor for quality assurance and to
gauge digestive / dispersive accommodation as well as more obvious warning of
catastrophic incursions. BW will also augment policy protocols entailing expensive
spot-sampled laboratory assays by targeting need as location and frequency of
assays. Project Team and Skills: Technology/innovations component(s): The central principle here is that whilst slicking is certainly stochastic
when sampled on the small and short scales of established assays, there are
larger and longer intrinsic and quasi-coherent scales set by local boundaries
and diurnal cycles for which morphologies and persistence reflect the balance
between inputs and removals by dispersion and digestion. The aspiration is that by monitoring behaviour over extended
periods from weeks upwards, expectation patterns of behaviour will be
accumulated by which departures can be gauged as to whether they may be
merely outliers or be deemed significant as deterioration or improvement
trends in site health as balance between loading and capacity. Targeted Groups/ Beneficiaries: Achievements : Phase one has confirmed adequacy of CCTV for capture and
algorithmic retrieval of slicks as fuzzy features. Phase two, in progress, is to demonstrate robust reliability for
representative site implementations. Phase three, emerging, is to furnish friendly presentational
interfaces. However, phase one was arguably the pinch-point for credibility
because whilst the others demand professionalism they do not entail any
significant inventive steps beyond widely established capabilities. The
really clever bits still to be demonstrated entail introduction and
validation of generalised measure indices for estimation of quality, trend
and thresholds for assay sampling. That said, harsh reality is that the so-called HCI
(Human-Computer Interface) will dictate commercial outcome because only by
generating product-based resource will the science be given a proper chance to
prove itself in the sustainability stakes. Problems addressed/overcome: BW is by no means particularly problematical in this respect but
fact is that any delay or difficulty is immensely frustrating to the
inventive party held to ransom against IPR deadline costs on patent
protection never knowing whether his baby really was worth its bathwater
until deals have actually been done ~ or not because deals are seldom done
until the real risks have been largely eliminated courtesy of prolonged
proving! In sum, the science is certainly satisfactory and the algorithms
are arguably adequate but neither will count as consequential until
commercial consoles have been proved to procure public participation. That’s
undoubtedly the major barrier for Blue Water! Verifiable indicators: Perhaps add here that an important emphasis within the EC
project is public education and awareness as an evolution of Blue Flag, their
longstanding icon of public trust on safety of bathing beaches. The
expectation is that friendly consoles will be installed not just as a
makeover of old-fashioned meteorological display stations but to use BW’s
pole-mounted cameras as lures for inquisitive kids of all ages to access …
not merely images and explanations but also as internet gateways for improved
awareness … and not just on the friendly faces of the EC but to access pages
and pictures featuring all kinds of tourist and resident services and
entertainments. This complementary agenda must conceal BW’s scientifically
sophisticated core content if its beneficial capability is to win its
deserved adoption rapidly and widely enough to match the financial rigours of
delivering novelty to the market and consolidating its presence there. |
4. Project Oganization, Backing & Economics “Owner(s)” of project: Owner, collaborators- further information: Imaging for continuous field assessment of surface water quality
accesses major gains in economy and assurance over established sample-and-assay
protocols. This evident commercial prospect persuaded BMT (see website) to
act as coordinator for an EC proposal and the EC in turn were persuaded by BW
as evident extension prospect for their European Blue Flag policy on bathing
waters. FRED and BMT packaged the partnership from their complementary
networks. FRED sourced academic partners skilled in image analysis and
physicochemical transport dynamics of coastal oceanography. BMT sourced
commercial partners skilled in maritime technologies and user-interfaced
web-based presentational software. BMT also recruited key beneficiary
partners - a municipal tourist authority and a major utility corporation. FRED now needs commercial connections to cover costs of patents
and prospective products in return for equitably shared rewards. Submitting organization or person: : Location of project implementation: Cyprus (Yermasoyia Miramare) - seaside bathing area Sardinia
(Porto Torres) - power station cooling water Italy (River Po) - power station
cooling water Scale of project site: Scale, further information: Beneficiary residents and tourists - handfuls to 10s of 1000s pa
/ unit Savings on blind spot sampling - 10s of 1000s US$ pa over 5
years but dwarfed by resort income enhancement from boosted confidence BW has a top tourist authority and a major utility as pilot
beneficiaries Start and/or duration of project: Economics/Finance, Cost of project: EC-IST caters only for RTD proving of principles and prototypes Funding is needed for demonstration and commercial conversion Source(s) of financing by %-age: More on finance: Endorsement by Stockholm Partnerships is a crcuail component in
confidence building for attraction of key conversion investment. Self-Sufficiency / Longer term financial plan The pinch-point for BW’s survival will be its earliest possible
adoption as transfer technology venture. Such endorsement is vital for
consolidation of patent protection needed for assurance of reasonable return
on the risk of conversion investment. |
5. Lessons of the Past & Looking to the Future What next? However, water watching for environmental, safety or security
purposes has not been pursued by any authorities ~ indeed, it would be so
unusual as to be deemed eccentric apart perhaps by angling enthusiasts. Now
however, there is the prospect of the BW concept being adopted worldwide for
what will be a new channel of information about the natural environment and
our impact on it ~ indeed, with increasing incidence of climate warming
revenge events also its impact on us! This development is entirely to the
credit of the EC for the courage of their conviction in adopting BW for a
proof of principle project. Anything with even the slightest sniff of novelty
gets nowhere nowadays without institutional endorsement and that’s why
endorsement by the Stockholm Partnership will be crucial to BW’s pull-through
from proofing via prototype to product. Potential for replicability : The Melbourne Docklands Authority also expressed interest in BW
for monitoring marina waters for pollutants and for litter to minimse waste
on uneccesary clean-up forays, also as a policing aid against boating
misbehaviour within their environs. Of course BW can be replicated because its underlying principles
are generic. Indeed BW is not merely replicable but readily extensible to
infra and ultra wavebands for speciation guidance from insolation and
fluorescence. More furturistically, BW is also envisaged as a homing trigger
for LIDAR interrogation of volatiles in adjoining air and even for wave
spectral assays via glint density for modulus estimation. Do’s and Don’t?: BW deserves to survive and prosper on merit as a communicable
coveyance for wider and deeper public perception of sensible science via
webbed intelligent consoles. Nowadays sadly, worthiness always needs commercial cladding to
cover its costs with added value, envisaged here to come from promotional
pages akin to those o commercial webservers but configured to featire
especially resort-centred servcies, events and amenities. A souvenir slick
picture was enclosed with the original submission and hopefully has been
retained via the following arcance html instruction. Technology Sharing/Cooperation Prospects: Best bet as candidate partners will be sector specialists
established in imaging / sampling for detection / inspection / monitoring /
analysis most probably for environmental purposes or possibly as spinout for
a visionary industrial applications supplier looking to diversify on the back
of climate warming for example. Media Coverage Stockholm Participation? Some aspects would have to be contrived for illustrative
purposes, if necessary using net-relayed images from a remote site and backed
up by CD-ROM records as sensible contingency … and of course a poster display
oriented to accommodate Partnership priorities. |