The concept of a “smart” bridge involves an embedded sensor system that tracks the condition of the structure in real time: loads, deformations, temperature changes, and seismic effects. The data is transmitted to a control center and makes it possible to assess the remaining service life of the structure predictively.

Digital Test Field

The test site in Bavaria was equipped as a full-scale environment for validating Industry 4.0 technologies in infrastructure construction. The facility reproduced real operating conditions: traffic loads, climatic effects, and extreme loading scenarios.

Integrating monitoring systems directly into expansion joints and bearings makes it possible to collect data from the most critical points of the structure without additional intervention in the load-bearing elements.

Maurer’s Role in the Project

Maurer AG supplied the test bridge with expansion joints and bearings equipped with integrated force and displacement sensors. The devices transmit readings wirelessly to the project’s BIM monitoring system.

  • MF series expansion joints with integrated displacement sensors
  • Bearings with strain-gauge elements for monitoring vertical loads
  • Wireless data transmission system based on the LoRaWAN protocol
  • Cloud platform for real-time data storage and analysis

Importance for the Industry

The project clearly demonstrated that expansion joints and bearings can perform not only a structural function, but also an informational one. Continuous monitoring helps reduce maintenance costs and detect defects at an early stage.

The experience gained within the project was later applied in the development of the Maurer Monitoring Systems product line — solutions for intelligent structural health monitoring of infrastructure, including projects in Kazakhstan.