TY - JOUR A1 - Neumann, Patrick P. A1 - Kohlhoff, Harald A1 - Hüllmann, Dino A1 - Krentel, Daniel A1 - Kluge, Martin A1 - Dzierliński, M. A1 - Lilienthal, A. J. A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias T1 - Aerial-based gas tomography – from single beams to complex gas distributions N2 - In this paper, we present and validate the concept of an autonomous aerial robot to reconstruct tomographic 2D slices of gas plumes in outdoor environments. Our platform, the so-called Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Remote Gas Sensing (UAV-REGAS), combines a lightweight Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) gas sensor with a 3-axis aerial stabilization gimbal for aiming at a versatile octocopter. While the TDLAS sensor provides integral gas concentration measurements, it does not measure the distance traveled by the laser diode’s beam nor the distribution of gas along the optical path. Thus, we complement the set-up with a laser rangefinder and apply principles of Computed Tomography (CT) to create a model of the spatial gas distribution from a set of integral concentration measurements. To allow for a fundamental ground truth evaluation of the applied gas tomography algorithm, we set up a unique outdoor test environment based on two 3D ultrasonic anemometers and a distributed array of 10 infrared gas transmitters. We present results showing its performance characteristics and 2D plume reconstruction capabilities under realistic conditions. The proposed system can be deployed in scenarios that cannot be addressed by currently available robots and thus constitutes a significant step forward for the field of Mobile Robot Olfaction (MRO). KW - Aerial robot olfaction KW - Mobile robot olfaction KW - Gas tomography KW - TDLAS KW - Plume PY - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-487843 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London AN - OPUS4-48784 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dzierliński, M. A1 - Neumann, Patrick P. A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias ED - Zagrobelny, Maciej ED - Suś-Ryszkowska, Małgorzata T1 - Wykrywanie wycieków gazu za pomocą bezzałogowych pojazdów powietrznych T1 - Detection of gas leaks by unmanned aerial vehicles N2 - Wyciek metanu (CH4) z infrastruktury takiej jak rurociągi czy zbiorniki magazynowe ma kluczowe znaczenie dla środowiska oraz stwarza zagrożenie dla bezpieczeństwa ludzi i mienia. Obecnie, po okresie bezawaryjnej eksploatacji, można zaobserwować wzrost liczby incydentów spowodowanych nieszczelnościami rurociągów przesyłowych. W Polsce szczególnie problematyczne okazują się gazociągi, które powstały dekady temu. W tamtym czasie normy techniczne i przepisy budowlane były łagodniejsze niż obecnie obowiązujące. Integralność tych gazociągów jest trudna do skontrolowania, gdyż na etapie budowy nie zostały one przystosowane do badania tłokami pomiarowymi. Aby sprostać temu wyzwaniu, UDT poszukuje metod umożliwiających szybkie i niezawodne wykrywanie oraz lokalizowanie nieszczelności gazociągów na duże odległości. N2 - Methane leakage (CH4) from infrastructure such as pipelines or storage tanks is crucial for the environment and poses a threat to the safety of people and property. Today, after a period of failure-free operation, an increase in the number of incidents caused by leaks in transmission pipelines can be observed. In Poland, gas pipelines created decades ago turn out to be particularly problematic. At that time, technical standards and building regulations were milder than those currently in force. The integrity of these pipelines is difficult to control, as they were not adapted for testing with measuring pigs at the construction stage. To meet this challenge, UDT is looking for methods to quickly and reliably detect and locate leaks in pipelines over long distances. KW - Aerial robot KW - Mobile robot olfaction KW - Tomographic reconstruction of gas plumes KW - Tunable diode laser absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) KW - UAV-REGAS PY - 2018 UR - https://www.udt.gov.pl/inspektor-on-line VL - 4 SP - 19 EP - 21 PB - Urząd Dozoru Technicznego CY - Warszawa, Polska AN - OPUS4-47062 LA - pol AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Dzierliński, M. A1 - Neumann, Patrick P. A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias T1 - Towards UAV-based Detection of Leaking Gas Pipelines N2 - Leaking methane (CH4) from infrastructures, such as pipelines and landfills, is critical for the environment but can also pose a safety risk. Nowadays, after a period of failure-free exploitation, a significant increase in fires and explosions due to pipeline leakages, can be observed. Particularly problematic are the gas pipelines in Poland that were built several decades ago. At that time, the technical standards and building regulations were more lenient than those currently being in force. The integrity of the gas pipelines is difficult to inspect as they are not piston-optimized (they were not built for this purpose). To overcome this challenge, the UDT is looking for methods that enable a fast and reliable detection and localization of leaking pipelines over long distances. The BAM has developed a robotic platform for aerial remote gas sensing that meets the expectations of UDT. Spectroscopic measurement methods for remote sensing of selected gases lend themselves for use on mini-copters, which offer several advantages for inspection and surveillance over traditional methods. No direct contact with the target gas is needed and thus the influence of the aerial platform on the measured gas plume can be kept to a minimum. This allows to overcome one of the major issues with gas-sensitive mini-copters. On the other hand, remote gas sensors, most prominently Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) sensors have been too bulky given the payload and energy restrictions of minicopters. Here, we present the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Remote Gas Sensing (UAV-REGAS), which combines a novel lightweight TDLAS sensor with a 3-axis aerial stabilization gimbal for aiming on a versatile octocopter. It enables tomographic reconstruction of gas plumes and a localization of gas sources. Currently, UDT and BAM are cooperating to develop and validate an effective leakage detection method based on the UAV-REGAS platform. We present first results showing its performance under realistic conditions. Depending on the results, UDT may use this platform in their inspection practice in the near future. T2 - 1st EARSeL Workshop UAS “UAS for mapping and monitoring” CY - Warsaw, Poland DA - 05.09.2018 KW - UAV KW - Localization of gas sources KW - In-situ and remote gas sensing KW - Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) KW - Wind estimation PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-45991 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -