RFID Helps Build a Strong Foundation for the Tower

As engineers rebuild the site of the New York City 9/11 terror attacks, they will pour tons of concrete into the foundations of five new skyscrapers.

The builders have come up with a new and innovative way to monitor the hardening, or curing, process of the concrete. They are tossing active RFID tags with temperature sensors into the liquid concrete. Engineers can use the temperature data to calculate the exact hardness of the concrete.

The sensors on the tags collect and store temperature data, and the active signal on the RFID tags is readable from distances as far as 400 metres – even through six metres of concrete. 

Using a handheld reader, an engineer can download the data and have it analyzed quickly before making a decision on whether to proceed with building.

Engineers will use about 20,000 RFID tags during the construction of 1 World Trade Center and buildings in the same complex.