SPAMMS: A sensor-based pipeline autonomous monitoring and maintenance system

Pipeline-based applications have become the indispensable part of life. Active monitoring and frequent inspections are critical to maintaining pipeline health. However, these tasks are highly expensive using the traditional maintenance systems, knowing that the pipeline systems can be largely deployed in an inaccessible and hazardous environment. In this paper, we propose a novel cost effective, scalable, customizable, and autonomous sensor-based system, called SPAMMS. It combines robot agent based technologies with sensing technologies for efficiently locating health related events and allows active and corrective monitoring and maintenance of the pipelines. SPAMMS integrates RFID systems with mobile sensors and autonomous robots. While the mobile sensor motion is based on the fluid transported by the pipeline, the fixed sensors provide event and mobile sensor location information and contribute efficiently to the study of health history of the pipeline. In addition, it permits a good tracking of the mobile sensors. Using the output of event analysis, a robot agent gets command from the controlling system, travels inside the pipelines for detailed inspection and repairing of the reported incidents (e.g., damage, leakage, or corrosion). The key innovations of SPAMMS are 3-fold: (a) the system can apply to a large variety of pipeline systems; (b) the solution provided is cost effective since it uses low cost powerless fixed sensors that can be setup while the pipeline system is operating; (c) the robot is autonomous and the localization technique allows controllable errors. The simulation experiments described in this paper along with prototyping activities demonstrate the feasibility of SPAMMS.

I. Introduction

Gas, oil, water, and sewer pipelines have become the indispensable part of life. Active monitoring and frequent inspections are critical to maintaining pipeline health. Hence, the continuous active monitoring and maintenance system for these pipelines is essential, however, deployment, monitoring, and maintenance of them should remain cost effective, scalable, and easily customizable.