Road Infrastructure Monitoring: An Experimental Geomatic Integrated System

Abstract

Road infrastructures systems are critical in many regions of Italy, counting thousands of bridges and viaducts that were built over several decades. A monitoring system is therefore necessary to monitor the health of these bridges and to indicate whether they need maintenance. Different parameters affect the health of an infrastructure, but it would be very difficult to install a network of sensors of various kinds on each viaduct. For this purpose, we want to finalize the use of geomatics technologies to monitor infrastructures for early warning issues and introducing automations in the data acquisition and processing phases. This study describes an experimental sensor network system, based on long term monitoring in real-time while an adaptive neuro-fuzzy system is used to predict the deformations of GPS-bridge monitoring points. The proposed system integrates different data (used to describe the various behaviour scenarios on the structural model), and then it reworks them through machine learning techniques, in order to train the network so that, once only the monitored parameters (displacements) have been entered as input data, it can return an alert parameter. So, the purpose is to develop a real-time risk predictive system that can replicate various scenarios and capable to alert, in case of imminent hazards. The experimentation conducted in relation to the possibility of transmitting an alert parameter in real time (transmitted through the help of an experimental control unit) obtained by predicting the behavior of the structure using only displacement data during monitoring is particularly interesting.

Mobile Mapping Solutions for the Update and Management of Traffic Signs in a Road Cadastre Free Open-Source Gis Architecture

“…Since 2001, Italian road-owning agencies have been required by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to build and maintain a road cadastre, i.e., a mapping inventory of their road networks. Such architecture should include georeferenced information about streets as well as all ancillary elements regulated by road regulations, ranging from safety and protection assets to traffic signs (Barrile et al, 2020a). In particular, due to the high frequency of new signals installation and substitution, traffic signs require a well-structured, flexible and efficient workflow for collecting and manipulating georeferenced data.…”

Innovations in geomatics teaching during the COVID-19 emergency

“…As widely known, Geomatics is the discipline that deals with survey, monitoring, and analysis of the natural and built environments from the metric and thematic points of view. Geomatics aims to provide a correct knowledge of the territory and environment; therefore, it is required in many circumstances: various surveying techniques and methodologies can be applied for detailed surveying of the position of objects, like technological networks or vehicles (Marzocchi et al 2017;Cristodaro et al 2019;Gonzalez and Dabove 2019;Leppälä et al 2019); for the production of cartography of territorially extended areas; for the monitoring of structures, infrastructures, and/or the natural environment (Bovolenta et al 2017;Minghini et al 2017;Gagliolo et al 2018;Themistocleus and Danezis 2018;Gagliolo et al 2019;Gobbi et al 2019;Barrile et al 2020;Campos et al 2021;Ferrando et al 2021;Vaccaro et al 2021); but also for innovative applications (Ferrando et al 2018;Dabove et al 2019;Piazza et al 2019;Di Pietra et al 2020;Rossi et al 2020;Benvenuto et al 2021). The instruments vary from traditional topographic methodologies to GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning and from photogrammetry, also using UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), to laser scanner technology.…”