Summary:
Climate change adaptation and the preservation of critical infrastructure are among the key challenges facing European ports today. To ensure safe, efficient and sustainable operations, it is becoming increasingly important to have continuous information on the performance of quays, breakwaters and other infrastructure exposed to demanding environmental conditions.
In this context, INFRAWISE has emerged as a project led by the Spanish company Detektia, aimed at validating a new generation of infrastructure monitoring solutions based on the integration of space technologies and ground-based sensors. The project will assess how different data sources can be combined to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the condition and evolution of port infrastructure.
Detektia currently offers a solution based on InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) technology, which uses imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites to detect millimetric deformations in terrain and infrastructure over large areas. This technology enables continuous monitoring of slow and progressive movements, providing valuable information for asset planning and maintenance.
However, certain phenomena related to waves, wind, storms or operational loads can generate short-duration structural responses that require additional monitoring capabilities. For this reason, the INFRAWISE project will investigate the feasibility of combining satellite-derived information with data captured by high-frequency ground-based sensors, together with relevant environmental and metocean information.
The project is funded by the European FIERCE programme (Financing and Innovation Ecosystems for SMEs to Innovate for Raw Materials and Circular Economy Solutions and Using Downstream Space Technologies), a Horizon Europe initiative that supports European SMEs in developing green solutions based on space-derived data, including Earth observation, remote sensing and satellite navigation. Detektia was selected under the 1st Open Call of the Financial Support Programme within the Ideation category, which funds research projects focused on exploring new or early-stage concepts.
To carry out this validation, the project is supported by the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras (APBA), which, in its role as a port living lab and promoter of open innovation, will host the pilot demonstration over the six-month project period at the Ports of Algeciras and Tarifa. Specifically, two high-precision monitoring systems will be installed at selected infrastructure assets chosen for their structural and operational relevance. The solution will enable observations from different data sources to be correlated within a single analytical environment, facilitating a better understanding of infrastructure behaviour under different environmental conditions.
The initiative also benefits from the collaboration of DeepInsight Blue, a company specialised in infrastructure monitoring and risk management in port environments, which will provide the ground-based monitoring technology and its expertise in deploying technological solutions within ports. The project will generate technical, operational and market evidence on the potential of this hybrid approach, laying the foundations for the future development of advanced monitoring services aimed at enhancing climate resilience, optimising inspection activities and enabling more efficient management of port infrastructure.
Expected results:
- Validate a hybrid infrastructure monitoring solution combining satellite data, ground-based sensors and environmental variables within a single analytical workflow.
- Gain a more comprehensive understanding of port infrastructure behaviour, integrating both long-term deformation processes and short-duration structural responses.
- Enhance asset condition assessment capabilities and support preventive maintenance strategies and data-driven asset management.
- Generate knowledge and validate use cases together with Port Authorities, infrastructure managers and technical teams across the sector.
- Define a roadmap for the future deployment of scalable infrastructure monitoring services across European ports.
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