## 1 Introduction  
The buried utility pipeline infrastructure is the primary asset of a network owner and operator. Its maintenance, both in terms of attention to its physical components and to its operational state, is of the utmost importance to minimise disruption to the infrastructure and the population in its locality. Consequently, routine monitoring of the performance of the infrastructure (both physically and operationally) is essential to the planning of its maintenance. In an ideal situation, a monitoring system, introduced into the utility/pipeline infrastructure, would warn of impending failure. Existing systems broadly achieve the above aims, but they lack accuracy due to the limitations of the technology involved. In addition, they are expensive to introduce and may cause water quality problems. It should be noted that utilities and their maintenance should not be treated in isolation since utilities are generally laid beneath roads, and hence maintenance and emergency repair operations often seriously disrupt road users.  
Another issue with existing systems is that currently, water distribution systems are only monitored at discrete points in the distribution network. Due to the costs of these measuring stations, it is not possible to monitor the whole network and hence it can sometimes be difficult to identify local problems with the system, such as corrosion failures or leaks, until they are either reported by the customer or are visible at surface level. If the network could be monitored more extensively, for example via a large number of miniaturised sensors incorporated into the pipe material, within coatings on pipelines or within the ground around pipes, it would allow a more proactive, and ultimately cost-effective, management regime of the whole network. As current technology is not available for a distributed monitoring network, alternatives have to be investigated. Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) technology has shown its potential in many different applications: aerospace, automotive, home entertainment and biomedical, to deliver small, cost-effective sensors [1-3]. It has therefore been identified as an ideal technology for the wide, distributed pipe network system, where large numbers of low-cost sensors will be required, as one of the key advantages of MEMS technology is that large numbers of sensors can be manufactured at very low cost. With suitable electronic communication systems, either built into a pipe-traversing pig (pipeline inspection gauge--pig) or located at regular intervals along a pipe, which can detect the sensor signals, and with appropriate transmission and interpretation, such so-called _smart_ pipes become possible. The MEMS sensors need not be sophisticated, but due to their large numbers, will allow for the comprehensive monitoring of the whole network.  
This paper primarily concentrates on initial results of a proof-of-concept prototype smart pipe system which was built and buried in the summer of 2009 on the University of Birmingham, UK campus. The focus was to show that such a system is theoretically feasible, even though much research is still required into individual components of the system. At the same time, initial results of the research carried out on communication, power and miniaturisation of the sensors are provided.