Meeting the Great Infrastructure Challenge
Advancing Remote Monitoring with Satellite Technology
Dr Andrew Lees and Dr Skevi Perdikou
Australia’s vast and often remote infrastructure networks pose significant challenges for monitoring and maintenance. Traditional ground-based inspections are costly, time-consuming, and logistically complex. Satellite remote sensing technology is transforming this landscape by providing efficient, scalable, and continuous monitoring solutions for critical infrastructure, including transport networks, mining operations, and water management systems.
This presentation explores the technical foundations of satellite-based remote monitoring, focusing on key methodologies such as Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) for ground deformation detection, optical and multispectral imagery for environmental assessments, and soil moisture mapping for geotechnical risk management. The integration of these technologies offers unprecedented insights into structural stability, subsidence, and geohazard susceptibility, allowing asset managers to make informed, data-driven decisions.
About the speakers
Dr Andrew Lees Founder of Geofem
Andrew earned a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Southampton, followed by a PhD in centrifuge modelling and FEA of soil-structure interaction. After working as a geotechnical engineer at Mouchel International, he moved into academia, spending over a decade as a lecturer at Frederick University, Cyprus. In 2007, he founded Geofem. He is an active member of the NAFEMS Geotechnical Working Group, where he authored their first guidebook on obtaining parameters for numerical analysis, He also authored a widely recognised textbook on geotechnical FEA, published by the ICE in 2016. Additionally, he participated in the redrafting of Eurocode 7.
Dr Skevi Perdikou CEO of Geofem
Skevi has 20 years of experience of applying satellite remote sensing techniques to civil engineering. Her combination of remote sensing and civil engineering expertise enables her to adapt state-of-the-art satellite technology to the needs of the infrastructure, mining and energy sectors. She obtained BEng Civil Engineering and MSc Geotechnical Engineering degrees from the University of London (City) and a PhD in Satellite Remote Sensing from the University of Southampton. She has coordinated several innovation projects on satellite remote sensing for the European Space Agency and has successfully completed commercial projects across the globe.
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