A hidden leak in a pipe can damage structures and cause costly water bills. It can also promote mold growth and mildew in walls, floors, and furniture. The first step to finding a leak is shutting off the main water valve and checking the water meter. A change in numbers indicates an accurate Leak Detection Tampa.
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a 3D measurement technology that sends out pulsed laser light waves towards a surface, then records the return to create a point cloud. This point cloud can then be used to map a surface or structure in high detail. LiDAR is a key tool in surveying and engineering since it provides extremely dense and precise elevation data. It can be collected from planes to rapidly gather points over large areas, as well as mobile and ground-based stationary platforms.
The distribution of the laser light energy that returns to the sensor is called a waveform or a wavelet. Peaks in this distribution often represent objects on the ground, such as a tree or a building. These peaks are known as return numbers or returns. The system records these returns as they occur, and then translates them into elevations. These returns are also sorted into categories. For example, a LiDAR system may classify the return number of an object as “ground”, “water”, “building”, or “vegetation”.
There are two main types of LiDAR: Static and Mobile. Static LiDARs are fixed at a single location and scan in one direction, while mobile systems are designed to be portable after each use.
A rotating mechanical LiDAR combines motors and gears with laser diodes to physically steer the laser, but is more sensitive to vibrations than other types of LiDAR. These systems can be very accurate and are often used in R&D and Autonomous Driving system prototyping, but they’re expensive and complicated to produce.
Today’s LiDAR technology is much smaller and more powerful, with greater speed and accuracy than ever before. There are ongoing efforts to make this technology even smaller and more affordable.
There are countless uses for this remarkable technology. Civil engineers use it for rail, roadway, coastal infrastructure, and other projects that require high levels of precision and density of data; foresters use it to better understand tree shape and form; self-driving cars utilize it to detect pedestrians; archaeologists use it to find pyramids and other structures built by ancient civilizations; and hydrologists use it to delineate river orders and tributaries.
Pipeline leaks are both a financial and environmental problem. While traditional inspection methods can take significant time and effort, drones provide a quicker, safer alternative. Drones can also provide data that is measurable and quantitative, which helps to assess the severity of a pipeline leak.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, so reducing methane emissions is an important goal for the energy industry. While there are a number of airborne technologies that can spot high emitters, drones are ideal for in-close, comprehensive methane detection. Drones can be equipped with a wide variety of sensors, including ultrasonic, laser or lidar distance sensors, time-of-flight and chemical sensors. Visual sensors offer still and video images, while multispectral sensors can collect both visible and invisible wavelengths. In addition to sensors, drones often carry a range of stabilization and orientation systems such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers and barometers.
The government has used drones for military purposes in war zones since 2011, but the technology is increasingly being deployed in domestic applications, too. It is used by utilities to conduct routine surveys of their facilities and equipment, for methane detection and leak localization, as well as to minimize the risk to human workers.
However, the UAVs can drift due to wind and turbulence, which makes it challenging to detect and identify narrow gas plumes. In order to improve the accuracy of UAV-based methane detection, it is crucial to implement a robust stabilization method.
In the case of the Viper Vantage Solution, a proprietary algorithm is used to stabilize the online thermal image stream for gas leak detection and visually-enhanced gas emanation. The algorithm is evaluated in three experiments that are conducted on an isolated environment, a real scenario and a drone-based inspection.
Using a drone equipped with a thermal camera can help identify leaks in wood, concrete, spray foam and PVC, among other surfaces. For contractors, this can save a great deal of time and money by eliminating the need for manual scanning. In addition, drones can be easily programmed to repeat the same survey at regular intervals, which helps ensure consistency and accuracy. In addition, the data can be immediately processed and analyzed.
As the name suggests, thermal imaging (also known as FLIR) produces images based on variations in temperature. The technology uses a camera with an infrared (IR) sensor that detects radiation in the short-wavelength IR (MWIR, 3-5 um range) and long-wavelength IR (LWIR, 7.5-14 um range) portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. This produces an image (also called a thermogram) that shows warmer foreground objects as distinct from cooler background objects. The ability to discriminate between hot and cold temperatures makes IR imaging especially useful for producing images at night or in the presence of obscuration such as light fog, smoke or rain.
IR cameras are used in military and defense applications such as for night vision on aircraft, handheld and head-mounted imagers for personnel, and a variety of vehicle and drone mounted systems for navigation and surveillance. They can also be found in a number of law enforcement applications including forensics, crime scene analysis, tracking and more.
Thermal imaging is non-invasive, allowing for more precise readings without breaking skin or entering the body. This makes it a highly valuable tool for health care applications as well. For example, doctors can use a thermal imaging system to check for signs of fever and other conditions such as heart disease, infections or carpal tunnel syndrome.
In building construction and maintenance, a thermal imaging system can help identify overheated components or areas of inefficient thermal insulation. This can save on energy costs by preventing the waste of heat from reaching its destination. It can also be helpful in locating and diagnosing leaks in steam heating systems and in detecting electrical problems such as loose connections and overheating joints.
Another common use for IR cameras is animal and pest management, where they can help to more easily spot insects and wildlife in a non-invasive way, even on dark roof areas or other difficult to access spaces. This can reduce the need for climbing and can be a safer, less expensive option than trapping or poisoning animals. Finally, a thermal imaging camera can be a lifesaver on the open water for maritime navigation at night and in bad weather to see other boats and obstructions that may be hard to spot with standard lights.
Marion Donovan 
Agnes Sullivan 
Ariana Wall