Sensing for smart infrastructure: prospective engineering applications

Two parallel, yet complimentary, paths are being pursued by the scientific community with respect to the future of smart infrastructure. The first focuses on sensor technology and deals with advancing the capabilities and performance of the sensory gear. The second focuses on engineering applications and targets the development of interpretation models capable of transforming raw readings into information of engineering worth. This paper presents advancements made within various Israeli universities along these two paths. Firstly, innovations in the field of Brillouin distributed fiber optic sensing are discussed, together with presentation of prospective applications and future research directions. This is followed by an overview of recent advancements in the field of wireless embedded sensors, called Wisdom Stones, for civil engineering applications. It is concluded that expediting a smart infrastructure future requires a multi-disciplinary approach in which engineering needs are involved in the development of the sensing techniques.