In recent years improvements in sensor and automation technology have made it possible to design systems that can take control of the key parameters in and around the sludge dewatering process. By continuously analyzing the feed conditions and the output from the process, the overall performance can be maintained at its peak, 24 hours a day seven days a week. In the following article, Stephanos Michaelides presents one such system. Called Alfa Laval Octopus, it has been developed through a collaboration between Alfa Laval and DHV Water BV.