Abstract. Modern seismic ground-motion sensors have reached an excellent
performance quality in terms of dynamic range and bandwidth resolution. The
weakest point in the recording of seismic events remains spatial sampling
and spatial resolution, due to the limited number of installed sensors. A
significant improvement in spatial resolution can be achieved by the use of
non-conventional motion sensors, such as low-cost distributed sensors arrays
or positioning systems, capable of increasing the density of classical
seismic recording networks. In this perspective, we adopted micro-electro
mechanical system (MEMS) sensors to integrate the use of standard
accelerometers for moderate-to-strong seismic events. In addition, we
analyse high-rate distributed positioning system data that also record soil
motion. In this paper, we present data from the 2016 Central Italy
earthquakes as recorded by a spatially dense prototype MEMS array installed
in the proximity of the epicentral area, and we compare the results to the
signal of local 1s GPS stations. We discuss advantages and limitations of
this joint approach, reaching the conclusion that such low-cost sensors and
the use of high rate GPS signal could be an effective choice for integrate
the spatial density of stations providing strong-motion parameters.