Cooperative mobile robot systems for detection and localization of gasleaks with remote measurement devices
Persons in charge
Dipl.-Ing. Gero Bonow
Dr.-Ing. Chun Liu
M.Sc. Antonio Ordoñez Müller
Dr.-Ing. Samuel Soldan
Duration
December 2009 - May 2013
Sponsors
Brief description
Link: http://www.robogasinspector.de/
Detection and localization of gas leaks in process industry and in particular in petrochemical industry is an important aspect of the inspection of industrial plants to prevent damages from people, environment and capital goods.
Up to now, this job cannot be mastered either by staff or by stationary-installed in-situ gas measurement sensors all over the area and in a timely manner.
The inspection job could be mastered using autonomous mobile robot systems (AMR) and novel infrared-based remote gas measurement devices in a timely and flexible way.
Besides this, robots are optimally suited for monotonous works and can be better adapted to the environmental conditions or tasks.
Therefore, employing such systems to inspect industrial sites is a logical step.
The objective of the project is to develop a robot prototype and the methods to detect gas clouds and to localize the corresponding leak under dynamically changing environmental conditions (e.g., varying wind ratios, obstructed carriage roads, etc.).
In the project, the following sub-problems should be solved by the department of Measurement and Control:
- Efficient strategies to detect gas clouds using remote-measuring systems
- Strategies to localize gas leaks using remote-measuring systems
- Methods for the decomposition, distribution and coordination of the inspection tasks for single- and multi-robot systems
- Advancement of the existing simulator for single and multi-robot systems
- Evaluation of measurement devices which are suitable to detect industrial gases and applicable to autonomous mobile-robot systems
The planned strategies and test scenarios can be tested in the self-developed simulator.
These and other questions will be solved, amongst others, using pattern recognition techniques, methods from the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) or methods based on models from nature (bionics).
Cooperation partners
- Fachgebiet Fachgebiet Mensch-Maschine-Systemtechnik der Universität Kassel
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Kommunikation, Informationsverarbeitung und Ergonomie FhG-FKIE, Wachtberg
- BAM Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung, Berlin
- telerob Gesellschaft für Fernhantierungstechnik mbH, Ostfildern
- ADLARES GmbH, Teltow
- Hermann Sewerin GmbH, Gütersloh
- WINGAS Transport GmbH und Co. KG, Kassel
- PCK Raffinerie GmbH, Schwedt / Oder