Identified commercial applications for the proposed sensor system include monitoring temperature in motors, gear boxes, and other hard to access locations in heavy industrial equipment, fixed wing aircraft, and rotorcraft. Vehicle health monitoring systems being developed utilize sensor data to predict component lifetime, detect incipient failure, and trim maintenance costs by reducing inspections and unnecessary component removal and replacement. Measurement of temperature is one key parameter measured in VHM systems, and ASR&D is discussing further development of the proposed technology with a major aerospace firm. Additional potential applications exist in down-hole drilling, military equipment, landfill monitoring, and civil infrastructure monitoring.
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