How Kimera Computers designed an industrial edge platform for the continuous monitoring of critical infrastructure.
We have no time to lose—tell us right now: where were you on August 14, 2018, at 11:36 AM?!”
No, this isn’t a scene from a crime movie. This is a story about industrial PCs, processors, RAM, and edge processing. Technical stuff, in short. If this is your bread and butter, grab a coffee and a cigar: the story is about to begin. I’ll wait for you…
There are events that leave an indelible mark on history, changing the habits and behaviors of people and, in our case, companies. These events are so unforgettable and emotionally powerful that everyone can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing at that exact day and hour. Think of September 11, 2001, or August 14, 2018.
Our story begins right here: at 11:36 AM on the eve of the Ferragosto holiday in 2018, the Morandi Bridge in Genoa collapsed.
The news has already told enough about what happened that day. What we are talking about today is the impact that the bridge collapse had on the industrial PC sector, and even more so on Kimera Computers .
It is not our job to find out why it happened. What I feel confident stating, however, is that it was impossible to foresee that a structure like the Morandi Bridge could collapse like a sandcastle built by a child with a bucket and molds on the beach.
From the Morandi Bridge Collapse to the ANAS SHM Program
This tragedy forever changed the way institutions and governing bodies monitor bridges and viaducts. Periodic checks or traditional inspections done “whenever time permitted” were no longer enough:
- Manual inspections
- Periodic checks
- Visual inspections
- Scheduled analyses
These outdated approaches relied on visual checks carried out from aerial work platforms, offering only summary verifications of cracks, deformations, water infiltration, deterioration, and the state of the joints.
A new approach was desperately needed! A system capable of:
- Monitoring bridges and viaducts 24/7
- Collecting data in real time
- Analyzing anomalies before they became structural failures
- Ensuring long-term operational continuity
Clearly, the new commandment for bridge and viaduct safety is: prevent the unpredictable.
As a result, ANAS and state institutions launched a major technological transformation through SHM (Structural Health Monitoring) programs.
The goal of this vital initiative is to transform bridges and viaducts into constantly monitored infrastructure through:
- Advanced sensors
- Continuous data acquisition
- Edge computing
- Intelligent analysis platforms
Why Infrastructure Monitoring Demands Fanless Industrial PCs
In a Structural Health Monitoring project, a standard computer simply won’t cut it.
Critical infrastructure demands:
- Fanless industrial PCs
- Rugged edge systems
- Hardware engineered for 24/7 operation
- High operational reliability
- Remote management capabilities
- Resilience against dust, vibrations, and extreme temperatures
When a system must operate inside outdoor enclosures installed directly on bridges and viaducts, every single component must be selected with extreme care.
Because in these contexts, system downtime is not an option.
The Challenge: Designing Reliable Edge Systems for Extreme Environments
And this is precisely where Kimera Computers enters the story.
One of Italy’s leading system integrators involved us in a project with operational requirements that were completely outside the standard scope of Kimera Computers ’s day-to-day orders. Our mantra has always been: maximum customization to 100% satisfy the customer’s needs. Nothing more, and above all, nothing less than what is needed for maximum productivity.
We realized immediately that this project was jumping from the local leagues straight to the Olympics, with no intermediate steps. The bar was being raised significantly. However, armed with the experience and knowledge acquired over years of hard work, we felt ready for the challenge.
The goal was to design an edge platform capable of working under critical conditions that were completely different from a traditional IT environment.
The systems would be installed inside outdoor enclosures directly on the monitored infrastructure. This meant guaranteeing:
Requirement | Operational Need |
Operation | Continuous 24/7 |
Temperature | From -20°C to +70°C |
Environment | Outdoor |
Cooling | Fanless |
Management | Remote |
Resilience | Vibrations and dust |
Initially, we joked about it. We’d say, “This computer literally has to work in the middle of the street!” But as they explained the project to us piece by piece, we realized that the joke was actually the real challenge we had to win.
The issue wasn’t just supplying an industrial computer; we had to design a reliable edge platform for a critical national infrastructure.
Edge computing is a architecture where data is processed directly at the point where it is generated, instead of sending everything to a central server or the cloud.
The Edge Architecture Developed by Kimera Computers
- Sensors detect vibrations, movements, temperature, and deformations.
- The data is sent to an Industrial Edge PC.
- The UCL PC immediately processes the information locally, eliminating the need to continuously stream everything to a distant data center.
- The data is then finalized on the SHM Cloud Platform.
Finally, we had a clear blueprint to design the solution for monitoring viaducts and bridges. It was no trivial task, but that’s exactly what made it exciting. We needed industrial PCs that could work under extreme conditions—under the scorching August sun and through freezing winter nights—without any drop in performance.
UCL Peripheral Node
The UCL systems were tasked with acquiring and managing data from the sensors installed along the viaduct.
These are industrial edge nodes designed to:
- Work 24/7
- Operate in harsh environments
- Ensure long-term reliability
- Minimize maintenance and the risk of failure
Edge System for Local Data Processing
The Edge system aggregated and processed the information collected by the peripheral nodes locally before sending it to the SHM Cloud.
This is where edge computing truly made the difference.
Edge Computing: Why On-Site Data Processing Makes All the Difference
Edge computing is a model where data is processed right near the point of generation, without the need to constantly transmit everything to remote servers or centralized clouds.
In infrastructure monitoring, this means:
- Reducing latency
- Increasing reliability
- Ensuring operational continuity
- Keeping the system active even during network outages
In critical infrastructure, simply “transmitting data” isn’t enough.
You must guarantee that the system continues to work stably, reliably, and continuously every single day, under any environmental condition.
Component Selection: Reliability and Bespoke Design
Hardware selection couldn’t be based on simple technical datasheets.
Every component was handpicked by the Kimera Computers technical team to strictly comply with the project’s operational requirements.
Component | Objective |
Fanless industrial PCs | Eliminate mechanical failures |
Rugged Edge Systems | Guarantee 24/7 continuity |
Remote management | Reduce on-site interventions |
Industrial hardware | Long-term stability |
Our technicians focused heavily on:
- Component selection
- Validation
- Operational reliability
- Platform customization
Because when it comes to infrastructural safety, there is no room for compromise.
Made in Italy and Customization: The Kimera Computers Method
The entire project was managed by the Kimera Computers technical team in Italy—from initial design and hardware selection to the final validation of the platform.
We feel we have won a great challenge, proving that we belong in the big leagues of Professional PCs. This has given us the resources, energy, and credibility to position ourselves for increasingly larger and more complex projects.
Why Choose Professional Industrial PCs for Mission-Critical Applications
This experience has further reinforced a belief that Kimera Computers has held for years: professional industrial PCs are not just computers.
They are tools engineered to guarantee:
- Operational continuity
- Reliability
- Stability
- Productivity
- Profitability of workflow lines
For this reason, mission-critical applications require:
- Fanless industrial PCs
- Rugged edge systems
- Edge AI PCs
Hardware designed to truly perform out in the field
Do You Have a Complex Industrial Project? Let’s Talk.
Every critical infrastructure has distinct needs. That is precisely why we design custom hardware platforms tailored to the actual operating environment.
Tell us about your project. It could become the next Kimera Computers case study.
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