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A crowdsensing platform for structural health monitoring of rural bridge infrastructure

List of Authors

  1. Nikolaos D. Tantaroudas ,  
  2. Diego Zamora-Sanchez
    ,  
  3. Jose Alberto Armijo
    ,  
  4. Eric López-Villarragut ,  
  5. Ivan Arakistain ,  
  6. Tina Katika
    ,  
  7. Georgios Tsimiklis ,  
  8. Angelos Amditis
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Abstract

Background

Ageing bridge infrastructure in rural areas poses significant safety challenges, yet traditional structural health monitoring systems remain prohibitively expensive for regions with limited budgets. The Horizon Europe FUTURAL project developed an innovative crowdsensing platform to address this gap, enabling affordable infrastructure monitoring through vehicle-based indirect measurements combined with low-cost Internet of Things sensors.

Methods

The Resilience to Shocks Smart Solution integrates multiple components: a mobile application (FUTURAPP) connecting USB-C accelerometers to smartphones for data acquisition; cloud-based processing infrastructure for secure data transmission and storage; autoencoder neural networks trained on frequency-domain acceleration data (2-15 Hz) for unsupervised anomaly detection; finite element models developed using ANSYS APDL for structural validation; and a web-based dashboard featuring Structural Health Index visualizations and citizen engagement tools. The platform was deployed and tested on two pilot bridges: a three-span concrete road bridge in Durangaldea, Spain, and the Diakofti Bridge in Kythira, Greece.

Results

The autoencoder algorithms successfully distinguished between healthy structural responses and anomalous conditions using reconstruction error as the damage-sensitive feature, with the 99th percentile threshold effectively discriminating normal from abnormal measurements. Finite element models showed good agreement with in-situ vibration frequency measurements. The web platform demonstrated high usability among non-technical users, with the intuitive Structural Health Index gauge enabling immediate comprehension of bridge conditions. Citizen issue tracking features facilitated community participation in infrastructure safety monitoring.

Conclusions

The crowdsensing methodology offers significant advantages over traditional approaches in terms of cost, scalability, and accessibility for resource-constrained regions. The platform represents a meaningful advancement toward digitalization of rural infrastructure management, with methodology and tools providing a foundation for replication across European transport networks.

Plain Language Summary

Bridges in rural areas are essential for daily life as they connect villages, allow farmers to transport goods, and enable emergency services to reach people in need. However, many of these bridges are aging and need regular check-ups to ensure they remain safe. Traditional monitoring systems are expensive and require installing many sensors directly on each bridge, which is not practical for rural regions with limited budgets and hundreds of small bridges.

In this project we developed a more affordable solution. Instead of placing sensors on every bridge, we put a small, low-cost accelerometer (a device that measures vibrations) inside a vehicle connected to a smartphone. When the vehicle drives over a bridge, the sensor records how the bridge vibrates. These vibration patterns can reveal a healthy bridge that has a normal pattern, while a damaged bridge will show irregularities.

The collected data is sent to a cloud infrastructure or data lake, where an artificial intelligence system learns what normal bridge vibrations look like. When new measurements arrive, the AI compares them to what it learned and flags any unusual patterns that might indicate damage. Asset managers and citizens can then view results through a user-friendly web platform that shows in real-time the health status of the bridges. This system is tested on two real bridges: one in the Basque Country of Spain and another on the Greek island of Kythira. Both bridges are critical for their local communities and face risks from earthquakes, heavy rainfall, and floods. Our tests showed that the system can successfully distinguish between normal conditions and potential problems, offering a practical way for rural communities to monitor their bridges affordably, helping keep roads safe without requiring expensive equipment on every structure.

Corresponding author
Nikolaos D. Tantaroudas
0000-0001-6727-1014
Grant information

This work was supported by the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101083958 (FUTURAL Empowering the future through innovative smart solutions for rural areas). Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Copyright
© 2026 Nikolaos D. Tantaroudas (Corresponding Author, Co-Author); Diego Zamora-Sanchez (Co-Author); Jose Alberto Armijo (Co-Author); Eric López-Villarragut (Co-Author); Ivan Arakistain (Co-Author); Tina Katika (Co-Author); Georgios Tsimiklis (Co-Author); Angelos Amditis (Co-Author) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Authors & roles

Nikolaos D. Tantaroudas

Iroon Polytechneiou 9, Ethniko Metsobio Polytechneio Ereunetiko Panepistemiako Institouto Systematon Epikoinonion kai Ypologiston, Zografou, Athens, 15773, Greece

Roles
Corresponding Author, Co-Author, Methodology, Project Administration, Software, Supervision, Visualization, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0001-6727-1014

Diego Zamora-Sanchez

Tecnalia Research & Innovation Foundation, San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Writing – Review & Editing

Jose Alberto Armijo

Tecnalia Research & Innovation Foundation, San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Writing – Review & Editing

Eric López-Villarragut

Tecnalia Research & Innovation Foundation, San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Writing – Review & Editing
0009-0002-1258-2688

Ivan Arakistain

Tecnalia Research & Innovation Foundation, San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0002-0458-9145

Tina Katika

Iroon Polytechneiou 9, Ethniko Metsobio Polytechneio Ereunetiko Panepistemiako Institouto Systematon Epikoinonion kai Ypologiston, Zografou, Athens, 15773, Greece

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Resources, Supervision, Writing – Review & Editing

Georgios Tsimiklis

Iroon Polytechneiou 9, Ethniko Metsobio Polytechneio Ereunetiko Panepistemiako Institouto Systematon Epikoinonion kai Ypologiston, Zografou, Athens, 15773, Greece

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Resources, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0002-2431-8529

Angelos Amditis

Iroon Polytechneiou 9, Ethniko Metsobio Polytechneio Ereunetiko Panepistemiako Institouto Systematon Epikoinonion kai Ypologiston, Zografou, Athens, 15773, Greece

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Resources, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0002-4089-1990

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