Patent Application
20090245026
The present invention relates generally to a method and system for securing an infrastructure component such as a pipeline. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for implementing sensor arrangements and gathering data to protect the infrastructure component against potential threats.
In recent years, considerable efforts have been made to secure components of infrastructure such as pipelines and associated oil and gas infrastructure, with financial support from both industry and government. Other examples of infrastructure components include rail lines, waterways, electrical distribution networks, water distribution networks, and so forth. Securing infrastructure components against intentional destructive attacks has been an important focus. However, certain infrastructure components also face threats from third party accidental excavation damages, for example, damage from backhoes or from farmers plowing fields with large machinery, or other machinery used in construction or excavation activities. Providing protection for infrastructures is a complicated task because many components are extremely large and easily accessible.
Traditionally, responses to threats against such infrastructure components have been mostly reactive, mainly because of the enormous amount of resources required to safeguard such infrastructure sites. Ground and aerial patrols have been used, but such patrols have limitations of timely preparedness for responding to a threat effectively. In-person patrolling is not a cost-effective solution, especially where continuous monitoring is considered desirable. Additionally, daily patrolling of pipeline resources has been estimated to be relatively ineffective in terms of actual damage prevention.
Some recent developments in automated pipeline security include the use of geophones, fiber optic cables, satellite surveillance and the like. These solutions have several limitations. One problem is that such sensing methods require highly skilled professionals and sophisticated equipment to deploy them, which limits the level of responsiveness concerned authorities can be to changing threat situations. Furthermore, the sensitivity or range of detection of such devices is highly dependent on the medium in which they are embedded. For example, fiber optic cables used for protecting pipelines must be installed below ground where signals from above ground threats are attenuated due to the air-soil impedance mismatch. In general, geophones and fiber optic cables need to be physically mounted to the monitored infrastructure, a process that tends to incur great costs and that poses great risk of damaging the monitored infrastructure. Satellite surveillance is expensive and is not feasible as a sole method for real time threat detection.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved system and method for detecting threats for components of large infrastructures such as pipelines.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a system for generating a threat alert in an infrastructure component is provided. The system includes a multiple acoustic sensors disposed in a protected zone around the infrastructure component, wherein each of the sensors is configured to detect a signal corresponding to an outcome that causes damage to the infrastructure component. The system also includes a processing circuitry coupled to each of the multiple acoustic sensors. The processing circuitry includes at least one analog-to-digital converter configured to digitize the signal. The processing circuitry also includes a digital signal processor configured to process the acoustic signal in a sequential routine. The sequential routine includes a noise filtering routine configured to filter background noise from the acoustic signal and generate a filtered signal. The sequential routine also includes a source identification routine configured to identify a source generating the acoustic signal based upon the filtered signal. The sequential routine further includes a threat analysis routine configured to detect a threat based upon the source identified and generate a threat level signal. The system also includes a remote monitoring center that receives the threat level signal from the processing circuitry and transmits an alert message to a concerned authority.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a digital signal processing sequential routine for generating threat alert in an infrastructure component is provided. The digital signal processing sequential routine includes a noise filtering routine configured to filter background noise from an acoustic signal detected by an acoustic sensor and generate a filtered signal. The digital signal processing sequential routine also includes a source identification routine configured to identify a source generating the acoustic signal based upon the filtered signal. The digital signal processing sequential routine further includes a threat analysis routine configured to detect a threat and generate a threat level signal based upon the source identified.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method for generating a threat alert in an infrastructure component is provided. The method includes detecting an acoustic signal corresponding to an outcome that causes damage to the infrastructure component. The method also includes digitizing the acoustic signal. The method further includes processing the digitized acoustic signal via a plurality of sequential steps, wherein the sequential steps include filtering background noise in the acoustic signal. The sequential steps also include identifying a source generating the acoustic signal based upon the filtering of the background noise. The sequential steps further include performing a threat analysis based upon identification of the source. The sequential steps also include generating a threat level signal based upon the threat analysis. The method further includes transmitting the threat level signal to a concerned authority via a communication link.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
As discussed in detail below, embodiments of the present invention include a system and method for generating a threat alert. As used herein, the system and method are employed to identify a source of threat in order to distinguish excavators such as, but not limited to, backhoes from other types of vehicles and further generate a threat alert to prevent resulting excavation damages.
Turning to the drawings,
An exemplary combination of sensors dispersed around these protected zones 14, 16, 18 and 22 may include a plurality of acoustic sensors 32, 34, 36 and 38, single or multiple instances of which are chosen to detect a threat activity even prior to actual threat or damage to the infrastructure component. Each of the sensors 32, 34, 36 and 38 is configured to detect a threat behavior of a typical threat causing agency 40 corresponding to an outcome that causes damage to the infrastructure component and send a signal representing the threat behavior. In one embodiment, the sensors 32, 34, 36 and 38 are installed above ground level without need for excavation.
The sensors 32, 34, 36, 38 may form a network for wirelessly communicating with each other. In another embodiment of the invention, the sensors 32, 34, 36, 38 may communicate wirelessly with each other in a pre-defined fashion. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the output of several types of sensors may be combined and/or several sensors may be arranged such that the output of one is input to another. In yet another embodiment of the invention, typical sensor packages may use additional information, with probabilistic logic, to determine one or more attributes about the corresponding protected zone that may indicate a threat level. Moreover, the installations of the multiple types of sensors 32, 34, 36, 38 may be permanent in one embodiment of the invention such that these, once installed, remain in the high probability area. In another embodiment of the invention, for instance, at a construction site the installations of the sensors 32, 34, 36, 38 may be temporary. A processing circuitry 50 is configured to receive, process and coordinate sensing signals from various types of sensors 32, 34, 36 and 38. Additionally, the processing circuitry 50 may transmit this data to a remote monitoring center 52 via a communication link that further analyzes the information and generates alerts. Some examples of the communication link include wireless networks, hardwire computer data link, a cellular link, satellite communication and wireless sensor-to-sensor communication.
A second filtering path is a spectral subtractor 110 that compares the acoustic signal 104 with a noise database 112 and subtracts the noise from the acoustic signal 104. The noise database 112 includes a database of acoustic signals corresponding to sounds produced by surrounding environment such as, but not limited to, heavy traffic, light traffic, and intersection traffic. The spectral subtractor 110 estimates background noise during periods where no target vehicle is present, and subtracts the estimated background noise from the acoustic signal 104 that may or may not contain a target vehicle. The subtracted signal is output as resulting signal 113. If the target vehicle were not present, then a resulting error signal 114 would be close to zero since the acoustic signal 104 would be mostly noise. If the target vehicle is present, then the resulting error signal 114 is that of an acoustic signal corresponding to the target vehicle, since the noise would be subtracted. The resulting signals 107, 113 and the error signals 108, 114 are input into a decision process module 118 that combines the signals and produces a combined estimate 120 of the vehicle signal. The combined estimate 120 for which a combined error is within an acceptable range is passed further into the source identification routine 76, as referenced in
The various embodiments of a system and method for generating a threat alert described above thus provide a convenient and efficient means to prevent excavation damages from occurring. The technique provides a three-tier logic system that distinguishes acoustics of an excavation activity from background noise and acoustics of other types of non-excavation vehicles. The system and method also provide for cost effective hardware and easy deployment. Furthermore, direct human involvement is eliminated, while providing round the clock surveillance.
It is to be understood that not necessarily all such objects or advantages described above may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the systems and techniques described herein may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
Furthermore, the skilled artisan will recognize the interchangeability of various features from different embodiments. For example, the use of an acoustic sensor with a satellite communication link with respect to one embodiment can be adapted for use with an excavation activity using a bulldozer in a protected zone. Similarly, the various features described, as well as other known equivalents for each feature, can be mixed and matched by one of ordinary skill in this art to construct additional systems and techniques in accordance with principles of this disclosure.
While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
