This is a technical position paper stating Porritt Inc.'s engineering view. It is not a peer-reviewed publication and does not report experimental results. Where it forecasts capability, it is stating design intent rather than achieved performance.
Sampling discards the transient
A scan cycle is a low-pass filter. Fast mechanical events — cavitation onset, bearing spall, arc initiation — are attenuated or missed entirely between samples.
Encode change, not state
Event-driven sensors emit on threshold crossing at the transducer. Silence costs nothing; activity gets immediate attention. Duty cycle follows the process rather than the clock.
Temporal signature
A spiking network classifies the shape of an event over time rather than a scalar magnitude, which is what distinguishes a pump cavitating from a pump merely loaded.
Not yet demonstrated at plant scale
We are stating a research direction. We have not deployed this at scale in an operating facility, and this paper should not be read as reporting field results.
Training data for rare failure modes is scarce by definition — the events worth detecting are the ones that seldom happen. Transfer between machines and duty cycles is unproven. Certification of an event-driven protective function under existing standards is unresolved and would need to be worked with the certifying body.
Discuss the research.
We welcome technical challenge on these positions. Collaboration enquiries welcome.
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