British petroleum (BP) presented its prestigious Digital & Communications Technology (DCT) Helios awards to BP teams that collaborated with Emerson Process Management to develop innovative wireless technology. The Helios Award Program recognizes the digital technology projects that add value to BP’s operations and the communities it operates in around the world. The DCT Helios award in the Performance category was presented for wireless innovation at BP’s Cherry Point refinery in Washington State.

Working collaboratively, the BP/Emerson team developed the first intrinsically safe, mote-based system to capture measurements in BP’s challenging refinery environments. Motes are sensors with built-in power, memory and communications ability that can gather a vast amount of sensory input and communicate it over a self configuring wireless network. The wireless system cuts the cost of installing sensors by an order of magnitude, enabling increased monitoring to improve maintenance and safety.