RFID and Nanotechnology to fight earthquake

Filed in archive Implementation on April 16, 2007

Yes, what you have read above is absolutely true!! A combo of nanotechnology and RFID is being used to fight nature. Under a project funding by European Union a high tech villa is being built on the mountainside of Greece and it will be able to defy tremor shocks with the self healing cracks in its walls and keep a tab on the vibrations with an intelligent sensor network.

Professor Terry Wilkins, Chief executive, NMI stated:

What we're trying to achieve here is very exciting; we're looking to use polymers in much tougher situations than ever before on a larger scale.

The walls of the house will be constructed using innovative load bearing steel frames and high strength gypsum board. In order to keep a watch on the construction wireless battery less sensors and RFID tags will be used for collecting data such as humidity, temperature, gas levels and any vibrations or stress pertaining to the construction and in case of any trouble will give advance warning to the residents so that they can flee away. These walls have nano polymer particles and in case of an earthquake if cracks develop the particles would change into liquid under pressure, flow into cracks and solidify for forming a hard material. In case the building crumbles due to tremors the sensors will let you know the source of the fault. Called as the Intelligent Safe and Secure Buildings it is expected to be completed by 2010. Hopefully both these technologies in combination will be able to save thousands of life which are lost due to this natural calamity which has been known to cause death and destruction on a vast scale. People living in high seismic zones stand to benefit from it because when an earthquake strikes it brings down buildings like a pack of cards and a number of life gets lost in the rubble where they get trapped.