Detecting short circuits by going back in time

It took EPFL researchers only three minutes to detect and locate a short circuit triggered intentionally in the power grid serving Fribourg Canton. The researchers, using a computer and a single sensor, spotted it by 'going back in time' to find the origin of the problem. Their highly promising method could make it easier to manage complicated power grids, especially those incorporating renewable energies. Swiss power utility Groupe E agreed to trigger a short circuit in its power grid so that EPFL researchers could test their revolutionary technology. Their approach uses time reversal to spot a disturbance in a grid, and it requires nothing more than a sensor coupled with an algorithm - making it potentially cheaper and more efficient than existing systems. The tests were carried out on the high-voltage substation serving the city of Cressier in Fribourg Canton. A team of EPFL researchers working inside the substation connected a computer to a sensor that had been installed at a specific point in the grid.