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In 2004, Yang and co-workers proposed the extraction of bridge frequencies from the dynamic response of a moving test vehicle [Y. B. Yang, C. W. Lin and J. D. Yau, Extracting bridge frequencies from the dynamic response of a passing vehicle, J. Sound Vib.272 (2004) 471–493] and verified the technique by a field test [C. W. Lin and Y. B. Yang, Use of a passing vehicle to scan the bridge frequencies — An experimental verification, Eng. Struct.27(13) (2005) 1865–1878]. This technique was extended to construction of mode shapes [Y. B. Yang, Y. C. Li and K. C. Chang, Constructing the mode shapes of a bridge from a passing vehicles: A theoretical study, Smart Struct. Syst.13(5) (2014) 797–819] and damage identification of bridges. It was referred to as the indirect method for bridge measurement because no vibration sensors are needed for installation on the bridge, but it only requires one or few vibration sensors on the test vehicle. When compared with the conventional direct method that relies fully on the response of the bridge fitted with vibration sensors, the advantage of the indirect method is clear: mobility, economy, and efficiency. Over the past years, many research studies were conducted along the lines of the indirect method for bridge measurement. Significant advances have been made on various aspects of application. This paper represents a state-of-the-art review of the related research works conducted worldwide. Comments and recommendations will be made at proper places, while concluding remarks including future research directions will be presented at the end of the paper.

The vehicle scanning method (VSM), an indirect approach for bridge measurement, has attracted intensive attention since it was proposed by Yang and co-workers in 2004. This method is featured by the fact that no vibration sensors need to be mounted on the bridge, but only one or few vibration sensors are required on the test vehicle. Such an idea has been verified by the field tests, and then quickly extended to construction of mode shapes, identification of damping ratios, and detection of damages for bridges, among others. Compared with the conventional direct method that relies fully on the vibration responses recorded by sensors equipped on the bridge, the advantage of the indirect method is obvious: mobility, economy, and efficiency. Over the years, a rapidly growing number of research works have been conducted along the lines of the VSM for bridge measurement. Particularly, extensive lab experiments and field tests have been carried out worldwide to implement the VSM, resulting in numerous new findings. Moreover, while the technique is still flourishing, it is nourished by inclusion of modern devices such as smartphones, vehicular networks, and cloud. In 2018, a review paper was compiled by two of the authors. To reflect the recent rapid growth of research in this area since then, there exists a need to make an expansion to include the huge number of newly published papers (274 papers in total). As an extension of the 2018 paper, this paper represents a state-of-the-art review of the related researches conducted worldwide. Comments and recommendations will be made at proper places, while concluding remarks including future research directions will be presented at the end of the paper.