One of the greatest challenges facing civil engineers in the 21st century is the stewardship of ageing civil engineering infrastructure. Nowhere is this more apparent than in underground structures in the major cities around the world. Much of them were constructed more than half a century ago and there is widespread evidence of deterioration. Advances in the development of computer vision and miniature micro-electro-mechanical sensors (MEMS) offer intriguing possibilities that can radically alter the paradigms underlying existing methods of condition assessment and monitoring of such infrastructure. This paper discusses potentials of these technologies for monitoring underground infrastructure.