Mantis is a stringer-mounted sensor system that monitors conveyor idler bearings using ultrasonic and vibration sensing. It detects bearing degradation weeks before conventional methods, giving maintenance teams time to plan replacements instead of reacting to failures.
Each sensor node mounts directly to the conveyor stringer, acoustically coupled to the steel structure. Bearing vibrations propagate through the idler frame into the stringer, where the sensor picks them up without any contact with the roller itself.
Ultrasonic sensing detects early-stage damage — spalling, contamination, lubrication breakdown — in the frequency range above human hearing. Integrated vibration sensing tracks later-stage mechanical degradation as it progresses. Together, they cover the full bearing degradation timeline from first signs of damage through to replacement decision.
Why Wired
Conventional wireless condition monitoring sensors cost $150-300 each, need batteries replaced every few years, and lose connectivity in the steel-heavy RF environments around conveyors. Monitoring a full conveyor gets expensive fast, and power constraints mean each sensor can only capture and transmit simple trending data.
Mantis takes a different approach. A single wired bus runs the length of the conveyor inside protective conduit, with sensor nodes at each idler group. Power and data share the same cable. One cellular modem per conveyor handles the backhaul.
This architecture dramatically reduces the per-monitoring-point cost, which changes the economics of how many bearings you can afford to monitor. Instead of instrumenting a handful of critical positions and hoping for the best on the rest, you can monitor the full conveyor. And because the nodes aren't power-constrained, they can capture and retain full waveform data — not just summary statistics — giving you the acoustic detail needed for confident diagnosis rather than just an alert that something has changed.
Built for the Environment
Sealed stainless steel housings designed to meet IP67 ingress protection. Continuous cable protection along the full conveyor run. Modular connections at segment boundaries for easy installation and reconfiguration. All components rated to 85°C or above.
The system is designed for permanent outdoor installation on working conveyors in quarries, processing plants, and mine sites. Pressure washing, granite dust, diesel splashes, and conveyor vibration are the design conditions, not exceptions.
What You Get
Bearing health reports for every monitored idler position, with trending over time. Traffic light status — healthy, watch, replace — that maps to how your maintenance team already thinks about bearings. Audio playback of the acoustic signature at each sensor location, so an experienced fitter can listen, verify, and compare to how it sounded yesterday.
No dashboards that require a data scientist. No alerts that cry wolf. Information your team will actually use to make replacement decisions.
Looking for Field Trial Partners
We're preparing to deploy Mantis on working conveyors in the Perth area in mid-2026 and we're looking for partners who want to be involved.
We scope the trial together: which conveyor, how many monitoring points, what you want to detect, and what success looks like. We install and maintain the hardware, collect data over an agreed period, and deliver bearing health reports with actionable recommendations.