URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Spring_2016_Melissa-McCarthy

“I like to see things happen that we used to think were not possible.”

- Tao Wei

Tao Wei, assistant professor of electrical, computer and biomedical engineering at the University of Rhode Island (URI), is working to advance what he calls “one of the most revolutionary technologies of the future.” Wei sees a day when structures from buildings to entire cities could rely on a network of sensors to detect problems, replacing trained personnel to create “smart cities.” For the past year, Wei has been working to advance sensor technology through an $850,000 grant awarded by the National Science Foundation. His goal is to develop a network of sensors and sensing systems that can translate information such as temperature, strain and stress gathered from the architecture of cities. “In the future I believe that the real-time monitoring of all infrastructures, everything from your vehicle to gas pipeline infrastructures, will give you an edge to better manage the whole city,” Wei says. The ideal smart city would be one layered with sensors that could link everything from highways to homes to sewage systems with a series of sensing systems — computer systems that could not only store the information being gathered in the cloud, but also independently process and react to detected problems.

Tao Wei Assistant Professor

Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering

Spring | 2016 Page 33