RemotWatch is an alert and monitoring system for physical structures currently developed at University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal. The system involves satellite remote sensing technology – InSAR (Interferomteric Synthetic Aperture Radar), that can detect “even the slightest shift” in man-made structures leading to early detection of potential risks and enabling the improvement of safety conditions with the significant reduction of maintenance costs. The implemented solutions offers an optimized intervention strategies for monitoring of critical structures (e.g., buildings, bridges, highways and dams).

The InSAR technology uses several images acquired by a SAR onboard a satellite to estimate Earth-crust deformation. In some cases, retrospective monitoring can be performed, monitoring a given area from approx. 1995. The possibility of monitoring and its accuracy depends mostly on the ground conditions: if the site can be seen from space (if it is not in a shadow of another object), its orientation w.r.t the radar ray etc., as the InSAR processing only gives movement estimation in one direction, in the line-of-sight. The applicability also depends on data availability and resolution.

In densely vegetated sites, corner reflectors or active responders may be installed.

Learn more about InSAR technology here