Building Wireless Sensors for Monitoring Equipment in Extreme Environments

Since manufacturers rely on various critical equipment, they often cannot effectively monitor each one. Major technical issues ensue if a problem goes undetected for long enough, making unplanned downtime almost inevitable. For many, the answer is wireless, internet-enabled sensors. However, standard designs are not built to operate reliably in extreme environments. Can engineers develop a solution that meets their needs without sacrificing other key benefits?

Sensors Must Be Built to Withstand Extreme Environments

Equipment monitoring within aerospace, automotive and defense manufacturing sectors is crucial but complex. Even the world's largest, most profitable companies still experience unexpected faults and unplanned downtime.

According to a Siemens report, industrial organizations from the Fortune Global 500 lose almost $1.5 trillion to unplanned downtime—a 65% increase from 2020. While this figure is already unacceptable, analysts suggested it could have been even higher. Predictive maintenance and Industry 4.0 sensing devices increased uptime.

Wireless Internet of Things (IoT) devices can detect even the slightest change in condition. For example, a physical node could flag a one-degree difference or an incredibly slight vibration—things a human would not notice. However, this level of sensitivity is only possible if the internal components are operating at their peak, which they cannot do when rapidly degrading under unusually harsh conditions.

Monitoring the state and condition of every piece of critical equipment is a demanding responsibility, making some level of automation and interconnectivity necessary. However, in extreme environments, maintaining the integrity of sensitive, battery-powered nodes is not always feasible.

The Value of Utilizing IoT Sensors for Equipment Monitoring

Robots can withstand dramatically higher temperatures than workers. According to the Health and Safety Executive Agency, 55°F is reasonable for strenuous work indoors. However, sensors are necessary to ensure breakdowns don’t occur when replacing humans with machinery.

Reducing unplanned downtime in industrial settings can enhance site safety, helping manufacturers foster a safe working environment. Early warning sign detection enables effective risk management, reducing the likelihood of a breakdown causing on-the-job injuries. This improvement translates to cost savings because it prevents workers’ compensation claims.

Wireless nodes are ideal for roles that are simply too dangerous for humans. An automotive part manufacturer with a global customer base demonstrated this fact after embedding them into brazing furnaces—which can reach over 1,000°F—to monitor fan condition.

In one case, the manufacturer received data suggesting equipment failure would occur within approximately 58 hours, so technicians were dispatched. Upon removing the part in question, they discovered blade disintegration that would have otherwise caused a breakdown. Their proactive maintenance strategy saved them three days of unplanned downtime. Considering how tight manufacturing deadlines are, avoiding this single accident could have easily saved them tens of thousands of dollars related to productivity and output losses.

Of course, performance improvement is another value driver. An articulated arm equipped with a six-axis torque sensor can sense multiple dimensions instead of just one, which enables it to locate, pick up, turn and transfer objects. It can detect tensile, rotational and compressive forces, making its movements more responsive and dynamic.

The Technical Challenges Holding Sensor Technology Back

If sensing technology is so efficient and lucrative, why do so few facilities deploy it consistently? The answer is simple—sensitive internal materials comprising the sensor itself are vulnerable to extreme force, temperature, electricity and radiation, among other things.

These weaknesses limit this solution’s applications in aerospace, defense, manufacturing and energy sectors. Embedding a wireless sensing device underneath a bridge is much easier than building something that can withstand hypersonic speeds.

For example, damage is likely if oil and gas equipment comes into contact with a concentrated amount of naturally occurring radioactive material unearthed by exploration activity, which is not altogether uncommon. Performance degradation is exponential, compounding with each exposure.

Either ionizing radiation or Gamma irradiation can damage semiconductor-based sensors in the long term. The damage persists even if the device is powered off because it causes an increase in off-state leakage current and voltage drift. As more internal components fail, readings become less reliable.

Wireless, internet-enabled sensor technology is evolving rapidly. Globally, research and development teams are refining hardware and software capabilities, enabling artificial intelligence integrations and resource consumption optimization. Other notable advancements are ultra-low-power operation, heightened connectivity, offline functionality and miniaturization.

However, wireless sensing technology for use in extreme settings lags behind. Preserving the key benefits of implementation is challenging when attempting to strengthen circuitry and packaging against exceptionally harsh conditions.

Incorporating the field’s latest technical advancements is out of the question for engineers struggling to make these devices durable enough, but it shouldn’t have to be. Already, organizations are looking toward solutions.

Advancements in Sensor Technology Enhancing Endurance

While technological advancement for wireless sensing solutions in niche manufacturing applications trails behind comparable devices in other industries, research and development are picking up speed. Some of the world’s brightest minds are creating anti-corrosion, radiation-resistant and thermal management solutions.

For instance, the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) granted BAE Systems—a multinational aerospace, defense and information security organization—a $12 million contract in 2024 for this very reason as part of its High Operational Temperature Sensors (HOTS) program.

According to DARPA researchers, today’s state-of-the-art physical sensors cannot function in environments exceeding 437°F because their metal oxide silicon components would melt. The HOTS program aims to develop a pressure sensor module with signal-conditioning microelectronics and an integrated transducer that can withstand over 1,470°F.

If BAE Systems can accomplish this task, they could transform future hypersonic and jet engine designs. Others could use those findings to accelerate their own work, helping countless industrial settings create hardware that can withstand harsh conditions.

The Future Outlook of Sensors for Equipment Monitoring

With some of the world’s leading engineers working on research and development, IoT devices will soon adapt to harsh operational conditions. Advancements in adjacent fields will likely help streamline progression.

That said, medium and large-sized organizations should not wait idly for others’ technical breakthroughs. They should be actively seeking ways to mitigate downtime. Investing in shock absorption and thermal management techniques is essential.