37º IAHS World Congress on Housing: - Universidad de Cantabria

XXXVII <strong>IAHS</strong><strong>World</strong> <strong>Congress</strong> on HousingOctober 26 – 29, 2010, Santander, SpainCODE: 1022BUILDING DIGITAL PEEL: EMBEDDED SENSOR SYSTEMFOR EARLY PATHOLOGY DETECTION IN BUILDINGCONSTRUCTION1López L., 1 López A., 1 Seoane J., 2 Rabuñal J.R., 2 Martínez F., 3 Escudero C.J., 3 Barro S1Galician Technological InstitutePO.CO.MA.CO, Sector I - Portal 5, 15190 A Coruña, Spaine-mail: lgonzalez@itg.es; afidalgo@itg.es; jseoane@itg.es2Centre of Technological Innovations in Construction and Civil Engineering (CITEEC)Campus de Eviña S/N, 15192 A Coruña, Spaine-mail: juanra@udc.es; fmartinez@udc.es3University of La Coruña, Facultad de InformáticaCampus de Elviña s/n, 15192 A Coruña, Spainemail: escudero@udc.es; sbarro@udc.esKey words: Pathology Detection, Embedded Sensors, ZigBee, Wireless Sensor Networks, WebServices.AbstractPathology detection is an important quality and safety issue in building construction. Thetraditional techniques used in structures maintenance and inspection are very basic. They areperformed by an operator by looking manually for damages on the materials and the structureis usually impossible or very difficult to reach. In some particular cases, sensors are used withcontinuous measurement equipment, but the use of wiring and instrumentation equipment isnot feasible on a large scale of use.A solution to this problem lies on the development of proactive systems that use wirelesssensors embedded in the building structure to monitor those parameters concerning to peoplesafety and building health and quality. This article explains how to deal with the design anddeployment of a wireless sensor network that allows performing an active monitoring of theevolution of the main structure pathologies in construction, meeting the requirements of lowconsumption, ease of maintenance and installation flexibility.37º <strong>IAHS</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Congress</strong> On Housing Science 351