UAS for Pipeline Patrol
Near my location in East Texas, there are hundreds of miles
of below-ground gas and oil pipelines. Two primary uses have been proposed:
survey of land prior to installation, and inspection of the pipeline
right-of-way for damage or leaks due to erosion, vehicles, flooding, or
unauthorized digging (Austin, 2010, p. 277). For this mission I will focus on
the inspection of installed gas and oil pipelines.
Design considerations for UAS performing a pipeline mission
depend on the desired execution and operational needs. For efficiency in
covering long distances, a fixed-wing platform is more desirable. Manned
fixed-wing aircraft routinely monitor pipelines from coast-to-coast and
border-to-border in the U.S. However, it is also desirable to maintain the
ability to loiter in place over an area of interest for closer inspection.
Platform Selection
·
Type: fixed-wing, single engine, electric motor
·
Range: 37.5 miles
·
C2 range: 1.2 miles
·
Payloads: fixed camera, options for
electro-optical, infrared, multispectral, LIDAR
·
Type: ducted-fan quad-rotor, electric
·
Endurance: 20 minutes
·
C2 range: 1 km
·
Payloads: gimbaled camera, featuring HD video,
infrared, multispectral, DSLR
3.
Martin UAV V-Bat:
·
Type: VTOL fixed-wing, single engine, heavy fuel
·
Range: 350 miles
·
C2 range: 30 miles
·
Payloads: SAR, SWIR, laser designator, SIGINT,
EO/IR, etc. up to 5 lbs.
Pipeline patrol is an ideal task for UAS as the mission is
both dull and dangerous for manned crews flying long distances at low altitude.
The central mission consideration for pipeline control is the management of
long-distance datalinks and the need for extended line of sight. Unless a remote
antenna system could be installed along a long-distance pipeline, the flights
would be limited to the range of the control station, plus whatever distance
could be covered with a mobile control station. For regional pipeline
management, a fixed control station and multiple launch/recovery sites could
facilitate one-way missions. Choice of airframe would depend on the mission,
and a practical approach would be to select multiple airframes with quick
response capabilities. Fixed-wing aircraft can be used for long-distance
flights or surveying data, and rotorcraft/VTOL could be used for a quick
regional response team to inspect a potential breach or other closer look. Use
of a sUAS also facilitates ease of response by reducing transit time to remote
pipelines by allowing the operator to travel close to the area of interest on
paved roads, then transiting the remaining distance with the sUAS.
An additional consideration is data management. Real-time
surveillance of pipeline security requires full-motion video and a high-quality
video transmitter. Range and area could be increased with autonomous missions
and on-board recording for post-processing, but long-distance missions would
create an extremely large amount of data. Streaming data for processing would
require the use of a remote high-speed internet connection. Software
applications are available through geospatial information systems that provide
automated change detection using survey imagery (Dempsey, 2012). However, use
of this tool relies on data collected under similar environmental conditions
such as time of day and cloud cover.
One legal challenge is the difference in interstate UAS law.
Texas law expressly allows the capturing of images from UAS for pipeline
inspection. Coincidental capturing of images of people is permitted under this
and a handful of other specific uses (H.B. 912, pp.4-5). However, a proposed
bill in Louisiana would prohibit the capture of any image of a person without
their consent illegal as an addendum to the state’s “peeping tom” law, which
would make pipeline patrol extremely difficult in all but the most remote
locations (AP, 2016). Almost every state within the U.S. has differing levels
of UAS laws, adding to the challenge of performing long-distance surveys.
An ethical challenge is the capturing and storage of images
that will most certainly include private property and people that may have a
reasonable expectation of privacy. Although satellites and manned aircraft
routinely collect detailed survey images of municipalities, they operate at high
enough altitudes to maintain anonymity of persons captured in their imagery.
UAS survey images provide much higher resolution due to lower altitude surveys.
References:
Associated Press. (2016, April).
Louisiana lawmakers want to get drones under control. The Times Picayune. Retrieved from http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/ 2016/04/louisiana_lawmakers_want_to_ge.html
Austin, R. (2010). Unmanned aircraft systems: UAVs design, development, and deployment.
West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Dempsey, C. (2012, December). Change detection in GIS. Retrieved from
https://www.gislounge.com/change-detection-in-gis/
Martin UAV. (2015). Super bat DA-50 UAV.
[Brochure]. Retrieved from
http://martinuav.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/V-Bat%20-%20MARTIN%20UAV.pdf
Precisionhawk. (2016). Introducing the Lancaster
5. [Brochure]. Retrieved from http://www.precisionhawk.com/lancaster
Sci.Aero.
(2016). Features & specifications. [Brochure]. Retrieved from
http://sci.aero/features/
Texas Privacy
Act, Session 83(R) H.B. 912, Chapter 423 (Texas Stat. 2013).
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