CURRENT PROGRESS AND TRENDS IN OPTO-ELECTRONIC SENSOR-BASED MONITORING IN GEO-ENGINEERING—A SUMMARY OF 6^TH OSMG-2017

This paer summarizes the 6^th International Forum on Opto-Electronic Sensor-Based Monitoring in Geo-Engineering(6^th OSMG- 2017)held in Nanjing University on 3-5 November 2017 under the theme"Frontiers and Applications of Infrastructure Monitoring Technologies". Attended by over 350 delegates from nearly 20 countries/regions, the 3-day forum was organized around 35 invited presentations. The forum showed the recent breakthroughs achieved worldwide pertaining to geo-engineering monitoring:(1)opto-electronic demodulation technologies are undergoing numerous developments and the monitoring accuracy and reliability are significantly enhanced; (2)a host of new sensors have been recently developed for geo-engineering monitoring such as smart geotextiles with integrated plastic optical fibers; (3)opto-electronic sensing can provide huge data for health diagnosis of infrastructures including tunnels, dams, nuclear power plants, and bridges, hence insuring the safety operation of these infrastructures; and (4)opto-electronic sensing is playing an increasingly important role in monitoring and early warning of geohazards. Suggested future research includes the need for:(1)cost-effective demodulation techniques for distributed fiber optic sensing technology; (2)special opto-electronic sensors for geo-engineering monitoring and their field installation methods; and (3)real-time huge monitoring data processing and early warning system of natural and anthropogenic hazards.