Remotely Controllable SHM System for a Concrete Box-Girder Bridge

Many bridges are located in rural areas where conventional Internet services are not readily available. 3.5 generation mobile telecommunication technology, HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), is currently commercialized in 55 countries to make the Internet access possible in anywhere the mobile phone service is available. In this study, a novel framework of remotely controllable SHM systems is proposed for bridges without the conventional Internet service utilizing HSDPA technology and remote desktop software. The proposed SHM system has benefits such as remote maintenance of SHM systems and a low cost network implementation. The feasibility of the proposed framework has been demonstrated by field tests on a concrete box-girder highway bridge in operation.