The 3DeMoN (3-Dimentional Deformation Monitoring Network) monitoring system is a remote monitoring platform developed with the aim of offering a systematic and comprehensive approach to the solution of many environmental and civil engineering surveying and monitoring tasks. It integrates conventional measurement techniques and sensors (e.g. GPS receivers, Laser distance meters, Thermal Imaging Infrared Camera, etc.) with lowest power semiconductors, solar power supply, wireless communication, advanced database systems and Internet, with the aim of providing a unified management and view of remote monitoring data. This paper introduces the functional principles of this monitoring platform, presents its principal measuring technologies and illustrates the main characteristics of the latest developed and integrated instrument called ROBOVEC, a measuring unit based on a laser distance meter and a bi-axial modular robotization for horizontal and vertical movements. The first pilot installation on a landslide in Switzerland as well as the first monitoring results are presented.