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Geotechnical News • December 2012
27
GEOTECHNICAL INSTRUMENTATION NEWS
be forgotten that some of the features
are strongly influenced by the type of
monitoring, the specific site condi-
tions, the monitoring purpose etc.
The right solution for the right
application
I’d like begin this section by quot-
ing some classic words of wisdom
by Ralph B. Peck, since they are the
essence of observational method and
monitoring:
• An instrument too often overlooked
in our technical world is a human
eye connected to the brain of an in-
telligent human being.
• The observational method, surely
one of the most powerful weapons
in our arsenal, is becoming dis-
credited by misuse. Too often it is
invoked by name but not by deed.
• There is a danger that instrumenta-
tion may be discredited because of
indiscriminate use.
• We need to carry out a vast amount
of observational work, but what we
do should be done for a purpose
and done well.
These four quotations are highly
relevant when a person considers
using of any of the methods described
in this article. The rapid development
Figure 2. Qualitative evaluation of remote techniques based on the features describe in this article. From red color to
green color (see at the scale bar) there is an increasing performance of the technique (e.g. increasing precision, tem-
poral resolution, spatial resolution, density, geometric information, monitoring area, operability range, data reliability)
and decreasing (e.g. atmospheric noise, cost, and interaction).
Figure 3. Main advantages and limitations of the methods for remote monitoring of deformations.