Those vibrations can be indicative of structural damage or instability, but current methods of detecting them are impractical and costly. A new technique developed by MIT researchers is designed to spot those telltale signs of weakness using high speed video and a computer vision technique.

Current techniques for monitoring the stability of large structures include the placement of numerous expensive accelerometers, or the use of laser beams and acoustic waves, measuring velocity to calculate motion. While such methods are precise, they're also expensive and very time-consuming, only measuring a single point on a structure at one time.

Conversely, the method proposed by the MIT researchers requires only a single high speed camera, is able to track vibrations across entire structures, and can be conducted without making physical contact.