Tekon Electronics, a unit specialized in wireless sensor technologies of the Portuguese group Bresimar Automação, a second generation company of the Breda family, extends its borders to the extreme cold of Antarctica, thus adding six continents and more than 20 countries in its path of internationalization, thanks to a team of 120 workers that allows a turnover of around 8 million euros.
Together with the French partner Instrumentys, Tekon Electronics created and developed an advanced solution for the French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor that guarantees to monitor and maintain the ideal temperature in the process of supplying food, equipment and fuel to the Concordia station, which remains inaccessible during the rest of the year.
The French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor periodically organizes crossings in Antarctica, between the Robert Guillard station and the Concordia station, to ensure these supplies.
With a distance of 1,100 kilometers between the stations and an average outside temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius, the polar crossings take place four times during the austral summer (between December 21st and March 20th) and can last up to 25 days (round trip). ), which require a high level of preparation and care, due to the rigorous conditions of the Antarctic continent.
As the company explains on its website, one of the biggest challenges of each of these trips is to keep all the wagons at a controlled temperature. Therefore, it is crucial to measure and monitor the temperature of equipment and consumables within the supply train.
The wireless temperature measurement system is composed of PLUS wireless transmitters; TWP-2UT; Gateway WGW420; PIM101 IoT Module and Tekon IoT Platform Software.
The lack of internet communication during crossings was considered, leading to the installation of the Tekon IoT Platform software on a local computer, instead of being used in the cloud.
The rigorous polar conditions required the application of a reliable, robust and independent system, so the installation of Tekon Electronics sensors was the ideal solution, operating autonomously down to -40 °C, without the need for cables, and together with the software Tekon IoT Platform.
Tekon Electronics' project "proved the high performance of its products in scenarios with adverse conditions, in which there is no room for error", underlines Margarida Amaral, "business unit manager" of the Aveiro brand, highlighting "Tekon's worldwide presence, which now encompasses six continents”.
Source: Bresimar Automação / Tekon Electronics / Jornal de Negócios / AIP
Photo: Jean Yves Vitoux / Instituto Polar Francês
