A Preliminary Experimental Analysis of In-Pipe Image Transmission Based on Visible Light Relay Communication
The regular inspection of underground facilities such as pipelines is absolutely essential. Pipeline leakage caused by corrosion and deformation must be detected in time, otherwise, it may cause fatal disasters for human beings. In our previous research, a robot chain system (RCS) based on visible l...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2019-11-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/21/4760 |
| _version_ | 1797999100498542592 |
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| author | Wen Zhao Mitsuhiro Kamezaki Kaoru Yamaguchi Minoru Konno Akihiko Onuki Shigeki Sugano |
| author_facet | Wen Zhao Mitsuhiro Kamezaki Kaoru Yamaguchi Minoru Konno Akihiko Onuki Shigeki Sugano |
| author_sort | Wen Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The regular inspection of underground facilities such as pipelines is absolutely essential. Pipeline leakage caused by corrosion and deformation must be detected in time, otherwise, it may cause fatal disasters for human beings. In our previous research, a robot chain system (RCS) based on visible light relay communication (VLRC) for pipe inspection has been developed. This system can basically realize the light-based transmission of control command signals and illuminance-based coordinated movement, whereas the collection and transmission approach of the pipe leakage image have not been studied. Compared with former in-pipe wireless communication techniques, VLRC can not only overcome the instability and inefficiency of in-pipe data transmission but also extend the communication range with high transmission rates. The most important feature is that it can provide a stable illumination and high-quality communication for pipe inspection robot and finally improve the energy efficiency. Hence, the aim of this article is to analyze the performance of VLRC-based image transmission in the pipe and in the future provide a high-quality, long-range, and high-efficiency image transmission for complex infrastructure inspection with RCS. The transmission systems based on two signal transmission modes analog image signal relay transmission (AISRT) and digital image frame relay transmission (DIFRT) have been proposed. Multiple experiments including the waveform test, the test of transmission features with different bit error rate (BER), and in the different mediums were conducted between these two systems. The experiment revealed that DIFRT was superior to the AISRT in terms of the relatively high-quality image transmission and reconstruction quality. It could better overcome the attenuation brought by the absorption and scattering effects and finally increased the transmission range than former communication methods. The DIFRT system could also operate at 50 <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <mi>kbps</mi> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> with relatively low BER whether in the air or water. The technique in this research could potentially provide a new strategy for implementations in the stable, effective, high-speed, and long-range image transmission of the robots in some other special environments such as tunnel, mine, and underwater, etc. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:58:10Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:58:10Z |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
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| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-08ce6f0d8fb545f4aa7b4c1bacb4b9192022-12-22T04:28:41ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202019-11-011921476010.3390/s19214760s19214760A Preliminary Experimental Analysis of In-Pipe Image Transmission Based on Visible Light Relay CommunicationWen Zhao0Mitsuhiro Kamezaki1Kaoru Yamaguchi2Minoru Konno3Akihiko Onuki4Shigeki Sugano5Graduate School of Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8050, JapanGraduate School of Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8050, JapanGraduate School of Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8050, JapanTokyo Gas Co. Ltd., Tokyo 105-8527, JapanTokyo Gas Co. Ltd., Tokyo 105-8527, JapanGraduate School of Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo 169-8050, JapanThe regular inspection of underground facilities such as pipelines is absolutely essential. Pipeline leakage caused by corrosion and deformation must be detected in time, otherwise, it may cause fatal disasters for human beings. In our previous research, a robot chain system (RCS) based on visible light relay communication (VLRC) for pipe inspection has been developed. This system can basically realize the light-based transmission of control command signals and illuminance-based coordinated movement, whereas the collection and transmission approach of the pipe leakage image have not been studied. Compared with former in-pipe wireless communication techniques, VLRC can not only overcome the instability and inefficiency of in-pipe data transmission but also extend the communication range with high transmission rates. The most important feature is that it can provide a stable illumination and high-quality communication for pipe inspection robot and finally improve the energy efficiency. Hence, the aim of this article is to analyze the performance of VLRC-based image transmission in the pipe and in the future provide a high-quality, long-range, and high-efficiency image transmission for complex infrastructure inspection with RCS. The transmission systems based on two signal transmission modes analog image signal relay transmission (AISRT) and digital image frame relay transmission (DIFRT) have been proposed. Multiple experiments including the waveform test, the test of transmission features with different bit error rate (BER), and in the different mediums were conducted between these two systems. The experiment revealed that DIFRT was superior to the AISRT in terms of the relatively high-quality image transmission and reconstruction quality. It could better overcome the attenuation brought by the absorption and scattering effects and finally increased the transmission range than former communication methods. The DIFRT system could also operate at 50 <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <mi>kbps</mi> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> with relatively low BER whether in the air or water. The technique in this research could potentially provide a new strategy for implementations in the stable, effective, high-speed, and long-range image transmission of the robots in some other special environments such as tunnel, mine, and underwater, etc.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/21/4760visible light relay communication (vlrc)image qualitypipe inspection |
| spellingShingle | Wen Zhao Mitsuhiro Kamezaki Kaoru Yamaguchi Minoru Konno Akihiko Onuki Shigeki Sugano A Preliminary Experimental Analysis of In-Pipe Image Transmission Based on Visible Light Relay Communication Sensors visible light relay communication (vlrc) image quality pipe inspection |
| title | A Preliminary Experimental Analysis of In-Pipe Image Transmission Based on Visible Light Relay Communication |
| title_full | A Preliminary Experimental Analysis of In-Pipe Image Transmission Based on Visible Light Relay Communication |
| title_fullStr | A Preliminary Experimental Analysis of In-Pipe Image Transmission Based on Visible Light Relay Communication |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Preliminary Experimental Analysis of In-Pipe Image Transmission Based on Visible Light Relay Communication |
| title_short | A Preliminary Experimental Analysis of In-Pipe Image Transmission Based on Visible Light Relay Communication |
| title_sort | preliminary experimental analysis of in pipe image transmission based on visible light relay communication |
| topic | visible light relay communication (vlrc) image quality pipe inspection |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/19/21/4760 |
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