Data Transmission Using FSK Modulation on an Unconventional Channel

In recent decades, an increasing need has arisen to include the IoT (Internet of Things) paradigm in the industrial world, giving birth to the I-IoT (Industrial Internet of Things) paradigm. In the industrial environment, one of the most important concepts is the management of feedstock like gas or water. For this reason, monitoring infrastructure health, such as gas or water pipelines, is vital. The main phenomenon which usually destructively affects such infrastructure is oxidation. “Cathodic protection” is an electrochemical protection technique consisting of the application of an electric voltage between the pipe and the soil and is the most commonly used technique to the deteriorating phenomenon. The research objective of this work is to constantly monitor steel pipelines’ state of health by measuring the cathodic protection voltage and communicatively interconnecting pipes on as wide a network as possible, creating a smart sensor network implying communication using the pipelines’ surface. With this aim, possible data transmission through FSK modulation is shown. Furthermore, the IEEE 1451 standard, developed appositely to lay down the communication rules in a smart sensor network, is discussed and utilized.