DIGI-BRIDGE – Integrated Digital Tools for Structural Monitoring, Diagnostics and Predictive Maintenance of Bridges and Viaducts.

Knowledge of the conservation status of bridges and viaducts is strategic for maintaining a high level of safety across the regional territory, particularly in light of the increasing frequency of extreme events caused by climate change. It also enables the rational planning of maintenance interventions. Digitalisation plays a fundamental role in this context, given the large number of structures to be assessed—ANAS alone manages more than 800 bridges in the region—and the wide range of stakeholders involved.

More broadly, the digitalisation of the construction supply chain plays a crucial role in national development, as it represents a necessary tool to stimulate a sector traditionally less inclined towards technological innovation, driving the modernisation of business and technological processes.

Over the past decade, the adoption of digital twins for infrastructure analysis and management has begun to spread, supported by the increasing availability of software and tools capable of providing high-resolution, high-accuracy 3D representations. Small-scale sensors can also be mounted on drones, enabling access to and inspection of areas that would otherwise be inaccessible or unsafe. The advanced state of degradation of infrastructure and road networks at international level has stimulated the development of technologies for assessing the actual condition of structures and identifying potential anomalies or deviations from expected performance. However, these technologies have not always undergone shared in-depth investigation or critical analysis of results.

Monitoring structural response over time allows the detection and identification of changes and anomalies in structural behaviour (through measurements of accelerations and deformations) under different excitation sources, enabling the implementation of effective countermeasures to prevent collapses. Since these data are correlated with overall structural integrity, they can also provide information even where specific damage has not yet been identified.

At present, information from different monitoring systems is rarely combined. One example is satellite radar interferometry, which has proven capable of providing valuable information on deformation phenomena occurring on the Earth’s surface by accurately describing quasi-static processes. More recently, the development of sensors with higher spatial resolution and increased revisit frequency has opened up new opportunities for infrastructure monitoring, allowing the detection of movements on the order of a few millimetres.

The technologies addressed by the project are currently characterised by a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4 and build upon results achieved in previous projects funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region, such as INFRASAFE, MIMESIS and INSPIRE, as well as the PON INSIST project.

The project aims to reach TRL 7, demonstrating these technologies in an operational environment. During the project, methodologies for data integration and interoperability will be defined in order to develop digital twins for safety assessment and remaining service life estimation. This approach provides a concrete response to the challenge of assessing the conservation status of infrastructure assets, with the objective of transferring the developed technologies to the involved companies.

This represents a significant innovation compared to the current state of the art, offering a potential competitive advantage in the medium and long term. Effective exploitation will require limited investment, primarily related to the implementation of software platforms necessary to support the process defined by the project.