Eyes in sky to read electricity meter

Agencies / Sep 30, 2008, 00:01 IST

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Scientists have begun work to commercially produce a tiny and cheap satellite that could collect readings from your electricity and gas meters.

Scientists have begun work to commercially produce a tiny and cheap satellite that could collect readings from your electricity and gas meters.
The CubeSat, with sides measuring just 10cm and weighing the same as a large bag of sugar, could also collect data from remote locations such as wind farms, the Herald and Channel 4 reported on their websites on Monday.
The 1kg devices, which can be constructed with off-the-shelf electronic components, have traditionally been a cheap way for universities to research outer space. They are launched by piggy-backing on to larger satellites when they take off and using solar panels as power sources once in space.
But Strathclyde University scientists have teamed up with Glasgow space firm Clyde Space to develop an advanced version of the tiny satellites.

Clyde Space would like to commercially produce them, and the university team hopes to use the partnership to launch Scotland's first satellite. Scientists estimate the CubeSats would be 1000 times cheaper than their larger counterparts. Mechanical engineer professor Colin McInnes, who is involved in the project, said that the devices could collect readings "from things like gas meters or electricity meters".

The project is still at the research stage, however. The group has funding for two years and started research in July. The satellites could collect data from any "remote locations", he added.
"You would have a little box with a radio transmitter which would send data from some remote wind turbine or wind farm to be picked up by the spacecraft and then relayed back," he said.
A large conventional satellite costs hundreds of millions of pounds, he said, and a CubeSat could be as cheap as ��200,000. Clyde Space chief executive Craig Clark said: "This project is going to be a key contributor to the success of Clyde Space and the growth of the space industry in our country."
The project is being supported by a Knowledge Transfer Partnership - a scheme to help companies access knowledge and skills within the UK - funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

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