The team is using data from existing subsea installations to build a huge data library of sounds. The more sounds, the better the predictive capabilities of the system.
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Like other Industrial Internet technologies, it could help customers detect problems before they get out of hand and pare down unplanned downtime.
The deep water ear, officially called Subsea Condition Monitoring System, is known as the cage because it looks like a large birdcage (see above). The design uses special crystals that respond to sound wave vibrations and convert them into electricity. (Engineers call this effect “piezoelectricity.”) One ear can listen to sounds within a 1,600 foot radius.