Remote Health Monitoring for Bridges and Missiles Using MEMS Devices

摘要

Health monitoring by manual inspection to maintain the safety of civilian structures and the readiness of military equipment can be time consuming and expensive, so remote-monitoring systems are being developed. Remote health-monitoring is most effective if measurements are made locally on the structure or equipment and the information is transmitted wirelessly to the relevant office. Such remotely situated devices must be small and have low power consumption, so devices based on MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) are attractive for use in wireless remote-monitoring systems. The DARPA-sponsored SMARTS consortium, which consisted of Auburn University and 5 companies, recently developed remote-monitoring systems for defense and civilian applications. The systems contained MEMS accelerometers and other sensors, and could be accessed remotely through a cellular phone and a local 2.4 GHz radio link. One system was installed on a bridge in Boca Raton, FL and the other system was installed in a Patriot PAC-2 missile container in Redstone Arsenal, AL. In this paper, the design and capabilities of these systems will be described and some of the data collected by these systems will be presented.