The feasibility of a remote monitoring of structures for a progressive damage assessment as well as material characterization using a simple and inexpensive experimental setup is discussed. The method is based on a remote acoustic excitation of transverse vibrations on a membrane using an ordinary broadband low frequency loudspeaker, and the measurement of the response using a Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV). Theoretical modeling is also developed to correlate the experimental results obtained, and this yields a new method for Non Destructive Testing (NDT) of sheet-like materials. The function generator provides an input voltage of a sine signal to the loudspeaker, and laser detection of the surface vibrational response of the sample is accomplished with the laser vibrometer.