The same technology proposed to solve the Millennium Bridge 'sway' has already been developed and used by the Industrial Noise and Vibration Centre to control noise and vibration in industry. The reasons for using the sophisticated damper technique are the same in both cases - it is an elegant, cost effective engineering solution that does not affect the aesthetics or operation of structures or machines.
The solution involves attaching small, tuned vibration absorbers that cancel vibration at the point of attachment. On the bridge, they will add invisible support equivalent to that of a set of large concrete piers. Successful retro-fit industrial applications include 10-20 dB noise reductions on power presses, grinders and gearboxes at a fraction of the cost of the conventional techniques currently used. They have also been used to reduce vibration in pipework and other structures such as dynamometers by 90 per cent or more, eliminating fatigue and fretting.