Innovation in geotechnical monitoring: robotized inclinometer and optical fiber extenso-inclinometer

Geotechnical monitoring in complex systems where tunnel excavation on landslide-prone slopes interferes with strategic road infrastructure is an essen-tial tool to support designers and operators. The aim is to ensure the safety of the road infrastructure during excavation and reduce the gap between the design model and the actual behavior of the complex system under consideration. Data acquired from inclinometers and extensometers remains among the most useful information but still requires manual and time-consuming activities. Innovation in this field is strategic, and new efforts are needed to increase the automation and accuracy of measurements. In this regard, an experimental study was carried out by installing two devices based on different techniques, both remotely controllable, in a 60 m borehole. The first is a Robotized Inclinometer that uses a single probe; the second is the Smart Extenso-Inclinometer based on distributed fiber optic trans-ducers NSHT (New Smart Hybrid Transducer). Both devices were installed along the same inclinometer vertical to monitor the deformations induced in a slope where the foundations of an existing viaduct could be affected by the excavation of an underlying tunnel. The results of the analysis of the data acquired with both devices and their comparison offer a new insight into the interpretation of incli-nometer displacement profiles, opening up new possibilities for implementing a more efficient early-warning system in the aforementioned complex systems.