Nature Communications · 21 August 2026 · From issue 24
Bridge health monitoring using existing telecommunication fiber-optic networks
Internet fiber-optic cables under bridges can double as structural safety sensors.
Jingxiao Liu, Jatin Aggarwal et al.
Ordinary internet cables running through bridges can act as sensors that watch for damage. Light pulses sent through these fibers pick up tiny shakes and shifts, letting engineers track bridge movement down to a millimeter. This means cities could monitor aging bridges without paying to install brand new sensor networks. Engineers tested the method on six real bridges in the United States and South Korea.
The number of real bridges in the US and South Korea used to test the fiber sensing method.
Tested on only six bridges, no long-term data yet.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 21 August 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Nature Communications). Read the source
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