In this work a new generation of long-term monitoring system, named Memscon, is presented. The Memscon system consists of a set of sensor nodes using custom-developed capacitive MEMS strain and acceleration sensors, a low power wireless network architecture and a low power readout ASIC for a battery life of up to 10 years. The aim of the system is to provide the user information about the safety of reinforced concrete buildings while in service or after a seismic event. After outlining the monitoring system operation principles at both unit and network levels, this paper reports on a validation campaign conducted under laboratory condition on a fullscale reinforced concrete three dimensional frame, instrumented with Memscon technology, undergoing a seismic-like event up to extensive damage and collapse. Finally, a comparison between the performance of Memscon technology and the performance of different tethered measurements system assumed as reference is reported
