The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)
Technology relevant to critical infrastructure and cities and built environment: what it can do, the constraints it faces and its consequences for people and institutions.
Fig.How a finding is reviewed before it is published. Design, not a record.
Innovation at Critical Infrastructure is the evaluation of technology relevant to critical infrastructure: the need it addresses, the evidence behind it, its constraints and its consequences for safety, rights and the environment. Promising work can be built in Nexus Foundry and tested in Nexus Universe; nothing is called proven before test and review, and no product is endorsed.
For innovation and practical technology, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on night lights, true-colour imagery and population density with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on Western Europe; 3 further NASA layers wait in the list.
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Layers 3
Infrastructure exposure, for this page
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NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
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For innovation and practical technology, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on night lights, true-colour imagery and population density with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on Western Europe; 3 further NASA layers wait in the list.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.
Layers and dates
Which problem does the technology address, and for whom?
What has been demonstrated, under what conditions, and what remains untested?
Cost, skills, infrastructure, data and governance requirements.
Effects on safety, rights, equity and the environment.
| Technology | What it could change | What remains to be shown |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure digital twins | Testing operations and restoration before events | Data sharing, fidelity, cost of maintenance |
| Satellite monitoring of asset deformation | Early detection of structural problems | Interpretation and false alarms |
| Microgrids for critical facilities | Continuity during grid outages | Cost, maintenance, fuel |
| Predictive maintenance analytics | Fewer failures from deterioration | Data quality, operator capacity |
Promising work can be built in Nexus Foundry and tested under controlled conditions through Nexus Universe. No technology is described as proven before it has been tested and reviewed.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Technology readiness level | A scale from basic principles to proven operation that describes how mature a technology is. |
| Responsible innovation | Anticipating and governing the effects of new technology together with society. |
| Testbed | A controlled setting, from a lab rig to a field site or sandbox, for trying a technology before it meets real conditions of use. |
| Interdependency | A two-way dependency between infrastructures, such as power needing telecoms for control while telecoms need power to run. |
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.