The UtterBerry sensor system can improve the safety of construction sites by monitoring the infrastructure of both the project and the site to alert relevant workers when a harmful or fatal event occurs anywhere within the sensor networks coverage. Their work is in partnership with The Global Challenge Research Fund, funded by UKRI, which supports cutting-edge research to address challenges faced by developing countries.
UK firm UtterBerry tackling construction safety in the Philippines
It reflects the same trend seen throughout the Asia Pacific region, which accounts for 70% of work-related deaths worldwide.

Tested in the UK by Network Rail and Thameswater, UtterBerry’s small sensors, embedded in structures provide predictive tools to mitigate against a huge range of events from changing weather conditions to structural stability enabling better informed decisions about the operation of construction and manufacturing sites, enabling more employment stability and protecting the health and safety of workers on site.
The UtterBerry™ System consists of a collection of miniature, artificially intelligent, ultra-low power sensors. These wireless sensors self-calibrate to form a mesh network and relay data between each other, working as a family of sensors in any particular area which do not require a line of sight between each other. For real-time remote access to the sensor data, the sensors are supported by a Base Station providing connectivity to the Internet or Local Network.
The systems’ patented onboard Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) algorithms will gather and analyse any existing data to provide predictions for future physical changes in the environment.
The sensors, which can calibrate and communicate to each other within mesh networks, will be able to detect when the most subtle physical movements occur, alerting onsite personnel when the area becomes unsafe.

Collaboration
London-based smart sensor network company Utterberry and Connected Places Catapult partnered to explore the possibilities of bringing safer environments to the construction industry in the Philippines. The project, which competed with 300 submissions became one of 30 projects awarded grant funding to carry out a discovery phase to investigate the feasibility and demand for the Utterberry solution in the Philippines.
Connected Places Catapult brought human-centric design and impact assessment expertise to help gather insights from potential end-users/customers to validate the demand of Utterberry along with commercial networking opportunities aimed at preparing for future opportunities.
UtterBerry’s CEO & Founder is delighted with this achievement:
Benefits & Results
Within six months the project made great progress in uncovering learnings from research activities resulting in:
- Establishing and building strong relationships with industry organisations in the Philippines
- Opportunity to uncover the challenges, needs and demands from potential end users to validate assumptions and propose solutions.
- Identifying large scale construction projects to demonstrate the benefits of the Utterberry solution.
Connected Places Catapult have shared their excitement for the project:

If you’d like to find out more about the project or explore future collaboration opportunities please contact global@cp.catapult.org.uk