SHM system integration and supporting algorithms

Sustainability of urban structures is dependent on quantitative and reliable information of their conditions, such as levels of deterioration and safety. The structural health monitoring (SHM) system has been extensively studied to acquire the health data and provide information. The SHM requires modern technologies to extract the relevant information relevant to the health of a structure from the enormous amount of data gathered by the system. In this paper, integral components of the SHM systems are presented which have been developed and studied in our laboratory for several years. They include a smart sensor network for data acquisition and a database server for data storage and management together with diagnosis and prognosis applications. This paper aims to introduce the concept of the integrated SHM system and the related technologies. Sensors and networks, however, can be extended to more novel roles for civil and building engineering applications, such as detecting and recording the histories of environmental conditions and activities of the residents. Among many potential applications, we are particularly interested in using robots as moving sensors to gather information in living spaces. The information obtained by robotic sensors is used to record any activities in the living spaces as "genes", to transform the environment and its "genes", and to pass on selected information to future "generations" of living spaces. We call this concept "biofication of living spaces." We are extensively studying to evolve the concept to be applied to real buildings.