Remote Monitoring

2024 IBE

The objective of this project is to develop a remote monitoring dashboard for flow systems to improve maintenance processes for both military and commercial applications.

Team Members

Samuel York | Alec Kliem | Daniel Boehme | |

Project Poster

Click on any image to enlarge.

Watch the Project Video

Video Player Icon

Download the Project Summary

Poster Icon

Project Summary

Overview

The Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State works to develop technological solutions for its customers, mostly meaning the United States military. One obstacle that the military is facing is keeping track of fuelling, especially in dangerous war zones. Fuel technicians risk their lives to ensure that the fuelling of planes is done correctly to ensure that the pilots can carry out their duty. For this reason, the military has requested that a remote monitoring system be developed to allow for the fuel technicians to reduce their time in dangerous areas and to better keep track of the fueling of planes.

Objectives

This project aimed to develop a remote monitoring dashboard for flow systems, enhancing maintenance processes for both military and commercial applications. The dashboard, designed on PowerBI, facilitates data display from sensors via a Raspberry Pi, enabling remote access for monitoring flow control, current measurement, and leak detection.

Approach

  • First meeting with our sponsor Ed Crow to gain a better understanding of the goals.
  • Began concept generation and setting objectives and timeline.
  • We interviewed a friend of one of the group members that is a fuel technician in the Air Force.
  • Analyzed plane blueprints to get a grip on how refueling and storage is conducted.
  • We help multiple Zoom and Teams meeting with our sponsor and his colleagues.
  • Our dashboard was first modelled on PowerBI, just a basic draft.
  • Used a Raspberry Pi to extract data from the flow meter that was transformed into an Excel sheet.
  • We then finalized the results and imported them into the final dashboard display.
  • The dashboard now will display a scatter graph that will display points for each new measurement.

Outcomes

The remote monitoring dashboard is a go
based on a few important components:
• The project will have an estimated NPV
of $17,000,000 after about 7 years.
• The number of on-site fuel technicians
was reduced 50%, creating a safer
atmosphere.
• The project introduced a new
technology in a rapidly innovating world,
putting the military further ahead of any
other military.
• The dashboard will greatly improve the
safety and efficiency of monitoring and
refuelling airplanes.