Engineers Use Smartphone Apps to Measure Bridge Movements
Researchers at West Point military academy used data collected via a smartphone app to monitor bridge vibrations, with the goal of developing technology to replace visual bridge inspections, according to a report in New Scientist.
In a study, researchers crowdsourced data from smartphones, using GPS location data and accelerometers in the phones. The data were collected from 102 controlled trips across the Golden State Bridge recorded with two smartphones and from 72 uncontrolled Uber rides across the bridge. The results, suggest the researchers, could help bridge owners to develop maintenance plans that would extend life of service by 14 years or more.