Earthquakes, explosions and even day-to-day vibrations can cause structural damage to a building that may go unnoticed until it starts to cause dangerous problems. New research, however, is allowing technology enriched smart buildings to sense this type of internal damage so it can be fixed before issues arise. Over the past few years, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are developing smart buildings that can sense ambient vibrations and monitor itself for internal signs of damage or mechanical stress in real time. Tracking the “health” of buildings is becoming more important than ever, as our maturing building stock begins to show dangerous signs of ageing. “The broader implication is, after an event like an earthquake, we would see immediately the changes of these features, and if and where there is damage in the system,” says Oral Buyukozturk, a professor in MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). “This provides continuous monitoring and […]