Connectivity – Somewhere Across The Sea
150 years of fixed and wireless connectivity changing our world
Sir Daniel Gooch was in the news this week when a blue plaque was unveiled at Windsor & Eton Central Station in his honour. Sir Daniel coordinated the transatlantic cable link between Great Britain and the United States, In effect, Sir Daniel was Project Manager for the first successful major telecommunications cabling project.
“…Project Manager for the first successful major telecommunications cabling project.”
Sir Daniel worked for Isambard Kingdom Brunel whose ship SS Great Eastern had the task of laying the cable across the Atlantic. This was the first transatlantic that worked for any length of time. 1,852 nautical miles of single conductor cable laid on the seabed and commissioned in 1866 was in operation until 1872. Six years may seem like a short life span but its predecessor installed and commissioned in 1858 only lasted three months.
This was an amazing engineering project that paved the way for modern International communications. Sir Daniel delivered the first successful transatlantic communications link in what some refer to as the Victorian Internet.
“…it was simple and effective and incredible to think how our industry has progressed in 150 years.”
While on the subject of the sea, our MD Steve Hodges has been making the most of his love of the sea over the past week sailing around the channel. While he was at sea he maintained contact with the Astro team using his satellite telephone. It may resemble the early mobile ‘brick’ phones but it was simple and effective and incredible to think how our industry has progressed in 150 years.
It is easy to take satellite technology for granted but so many of us depend on it day to day for our satellite navigation systems and telecommunications in difficult to get to places. Satellite communications are not ideal as they are severely limiting in terms of bandwidth, latency and cost. But, when there is no other connectivity option such as in the middle of the sea it is a great means of staying in contact with the shore and it is a lifeline in emergencies.
“It was great to hear of such an amazing engineering feat virtually on my doorstep.”
Almost 150 years after Sir Daniel Gooch project managed the delivery of the first lasting transatlantic cable I learned of another amazing engineering project. I didn’t even know London Array existed until one of the IET event organisers mentioned it during an Internet of Things presentation at Surrey University in Guildford. Having heard the synopsis of the October presentation I decided it was worth a trip around the M25 last Wednesday in the evening rush hour.
It was great to hear of such an amazing engineering feat virtually on my doorstep. Lucy Horner, Technical Assistant at London Array explained how 175 wind turbines and two substations were installed 20km offshore in the outer Thames Estuary across an area of 100sqkm. London Array has the capacity to produce 630MW of electricity, sufficient to power almost half a million homes for a year.
By pure coincidence, the presentation was in the same week Mr Hodges sailed close by London Array in a Force 6. As a result, he didn’t get any photos of London Array but he did capture the Maunsell Forts.
“…this qualifies for the Internet of Things on a grand scale.”
Lucy went on to explain how the foundations were laid for each element of London Array to support a transition piece and then the turbine. The turbines were assembled in situ with the blades being installed last. The assembled turbine weights in at 480 tonnes and the hub sits almost 90m above sea level. The blades sweep an area one and a half times the area of the football pitch at Wembley Stadium.
Although not directly telecommunications or IT related the turbines are all managed through a web browser. In addition to this there are many sensors feeding back operational and status information to ensure the turbines maintain optimum efficiency and can be taken out of service if there is a risk of damage. Lucy embarks on a big data project next year to analyse the data collected from the turbines to gain a better understanding of the installation which will lead to more improvements. In my opinion this qualifies for the Internet of Things on a grand scale.
Useful links…
Sir Daniel Gooch
London Array
Maunsell Forts
