Toward Self-Healing, Self-Powered, and Intelligent Infrastructure: Advances in Smart Materials and Structural Health Monitoring Technologies

The future of civil infrastructure lies in the seamless fusion of smart materials, intelligent sensor networks, and AI-driven analytics to create self-aware, resilient, and sustainable systems.This comprehensive review consolidates the latest advances in next-generation Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), emphasizing transformative technologies such as bio-inspired energy harvesters, self-sensing and self-healing concrete, wireless intelligent sensor networks, predictive maintenance frameworks, and AI-integrated Digital Twin platforms.Critical analysis is provided on the technical mechanisms, field implementation challenges, and interdisciplinary solutions required to transition from experimental innovation to large-scale deployment.Real-world case studies and comparative analyses illustrate the tangible impacts of these technologies on infrastructure longevity, operational safety, and lifecycle cost optimization.Furthermore, the paper identifies urgent research gaps-such as the need for unified standards, energy-autonomous monitoring systems, and explainable AI models-and proposes a strategic roadmap for future development.By addressing both the current state-of-the-art and the visionary pathways forward, this review aims to catalyse the evolution of civil infrastructure into dynamic, intelligent ecosystems capable of continuous self-assessment, autonomous adaptation, and proactive resilience.