Urban infrastructural health diagnosis with satellite-terrestrial sensing technologies

Abstract

Civil infrastructural safety is a key indicator for a sustainable built environment. Urban ground subsidence and infrastructural deformation are threatening infrastructural health and human well-being, in particular, in those rapidly urbanized regions in China and other Asian developing countries. Today, advances in satellite and terrestrial sensor technologies are enabling the creation of an integrated satellite–terrestrial sensor network for regular ‘Urban Computed Tomography Diagnosis’ and early warning of potential deformation disasters. This paper reviews the key earth observation and terrestrial sensor technologies for urban infrastructural health diagnosis, and proposes the potentials and prospects for future development of the satellite–terrestrial system.