Fascinating Application Proposed
Smartphone data from drivers could help spot when bridges need urgent repairs
The system could provide live structural data more cheaply and quickly than existing methods—and help engineers prevent catastrophic collapses.
By Tammy Xuarchive
November 3, 2022 Technology Review
Smartphones could be used to monitor the safety of bridges much more quickly and cheaply than currently possible, providing engineers with data they can use to fix the structures before they become dangerously unstable.
Usually, bridges’ state of repair is monitored in one of two ways: either engineers visually inspect them for cracks and faults, or sensors collect data about their vibrations and movements. But a new method developed by researchers at West Point Military Academy avoids the need for either by collecting accelerometer data from smartphones in cars as they drive over the bridges.
In tests that involved driving across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and a reinforced concrete bridge in Italy, they found that just two smartphones could provide data of similar accuracy to 240 stationary sensors. The phones pick up on naturally occurring vibrations from the bridges, allowing researchers to monitor their structural changes over time. Their research is described in a study published in Nature today. ... '
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