Joint crowd management and structural health monitoring using fiber optic and wearable sensing

Abstract

Dense gatherings such as sports events, festivals, and pilgrimages usually include a high risk of tragic incidents such as stampedes and structural failures. In this article, we present a framework for simultaneous crowd and structural monitoring based on a unique combination of sensing technologies with processing using machine learning, for intelligent crowd management decision making. This will enhance efficiency and minimize associated safety risks. A main novelty is the utilization of fiber optic sensors based on fiber Bragg grating for strain measurements combined with wearable biometric sensing devices for location, activity, and physiological measurements. We highlight key research and implementation challenges and propose ideas to address them. Moreover, we present supporting results based on measurements from a prototype experimental testbed in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework and to extract practical insights for future research extensions. © 1979-2012 IEEE.