Low-Cost Iot-Based MPU6050 Sensor for Building's System Health Monitoring Application

Implementing Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is crucial for safeguarding the integrity and extending the lifespan of buildings and infrastructure. Therefore, continuous structural vibration monitoring for early detection of damage and timely prevention of failures has become an urgent topic for developing monitoring methods using the Internet of Things (IoT), microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and low-cost wireless sensor networks. The MPU6050, a widely used 6-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) combining an accelerometer and gyroscope, offers an affordable and efficient solution for vibration sensing in SHM applications. When integrated into an IoT system, this sensor can transmit real-time vibration data through various communication methods-wired connections, Wi-Fi, or electromagnetic (EM) wave-based wireless links-to assess structural integrity remotely. This paper approaches the an IoT-based SHM system using the MPU6050 accelerometer to monitor building vibrations. The research evaluates data transmission approaches (wired, EM wave, and Wi-Fi) regarding accuracy and reliability. The approach of a 4-degree-of-freedom (4-DOF) building model with known dynamic parameters helps verify the reliability of the three methods. In addition, the vibration measurements of a real building in 2 cases, before and after the earthquake, also show promising results for the application of this study for real-world SHM deployment, balancing performance with cost and scalability.