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PipeProbe: A Mobile Sensor Droplet for Mapping Hidden Pipeline SenSys 2010 Jeffrey

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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Abstract This paper presents PipeProbe, a mobile sensor system for determining the spatial topology of hidden water pipelines behind walls PipeProbe works by dropping a tiny wireless sensor capsule into the source of the water pipelines

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Abstract As the PipeProbe capsule traverses the pipelines, it gathers and transmits pressure and angular velocity readings Through spatio-temporal analysis on the sensor readings, their algorithm locates all turning points in the pipelines and maps their 3D spatial topology

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Abstract Evaluated the PipeProbe system by developing a prototype and using data collected in their experimental testbed Results show that the PipeProbe system successfully located and estimated 90% of all pipe tube lengths within 8-cm accuracy on average tube lengths of 76 cm

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Abstract PipeProbe also successfully located 90% of all turning points within 15-cm accuracy on average length paths of 335cm

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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Introduction Houses are often equipped with an extensive water pipeline network Distributing water to different water-using fixtures and appliances throughout the home Such as bathroom toilets, kitchen faucets, garden sprinklers, washing machines, etc It is therefore unfortunate that plumbing is ranked as one of the ten most frequently found problems in homes

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Hidden Leaking Pipes Leaking pipes are one of the most common problems in plumbing Hidden leaking pipes often cause extensive damage to floors, walls and belongings in a home The first step in fixing leaking pipes is to locate where they are for further inspection

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Guesswork When leaking water pipes are hidden inside walls and underneath floors Diagnosing their location without direct inspection becomes very difficult Especially when the original diagram of the pipeline layout is also missing Searching for the pipeline locations becomes guesswork Often requires a brute-force method Such as knocking down walls and stripping floor coverings

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PipeProbe This problem created an opportunity for the development of PipeProbe A mobile sensing probe that is dropped into the source of the water pipeline In comparison to the traditional brute-force approach PipeProbe system is a non-intrusive method of mapping and locating indoor water pipelines Requires no alteration to the water pipeline infrastructure

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Pipeline Turning Points Since leaking often occurs at places where two disjoint pipe tubes join together Mapping locations of these pipeline turning points is especially important for inspection

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Three Important Contributions 1 st Important Contribution Rather than fixing sensing points in the utility infrastructure PipeProbe adopts a mobile sensing approach In which a mobile sensor travels and performs on- the-spot data collection at different places

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Three Important Contributions 2 nd Important Contribution A novel localization method was developed to accurately estimate the 3D spatial topology of the capsule-traversed water pipelines From the pressure and rotation graphs collected and computed by the PipeProbe system Experimental results from their testbed showed that their mobile sensing approach produced a high-precision 3D map of the pipeline with centimeter-level errors

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Three Important Contributions 3 rd Important Contribution Since the PipeProbe capsule is designed to model a water droplet Its physical movement leverages the force inside of the pipeline infrastructure for propulsion This means that no motoring is necessary to power its movement Which increases the PipeProbe capsules energy-efficiency and allows it to operate on only 15 mA of current To illustrate, a tiny lithium button cell battery can keep their PipeProbe capsule operating for over 1 kilometer at a water flow rate of 15 centimeters per second

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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Pipeline Profiling Ideally, the PipeProbe system would be to clone a micro sensing hydro molecule that flows along the pipeline Like the myriad other hydro molecules in the fluid system Observe the wall-embedded pipelines from within The current PipeProbe prototype is made of a tiny wireless sensor node Packaged in a water-proof spherical shell measuring 4 centimeters in diameter

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Works In Two Stages PipeProbe works in two stages (1) Data Collection Stage (2) Data Analysis Stage In the data collection stage the PipeProbe capsule traverses a water pipeline and collects data from the pressure and gyroscope sensors In the data analysis stage Their system analyzes the sensor readings and derives the 3D spatial topology of the traversed water pipeline

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How PipeProbe Operates PipeProbe operates as follows First, the capsule is dropped into the main water inlet of a home or building When an outlet (i.e., a faucet) is opened, the force of the resulting water flow pushes the capsule through different possible paths for the connected water pipes

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How PipeProbe Operates While the capsule is flowing inside the water pipelines, it logs the sensed pressure and angular velocity data to an EEPROM A radio within the PipeProbe capsule transmits the sensor data buffered in the EEPROM to a PC-connected base station

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How PipeProbe Operates Alternatively, when the PipeProbe capsule flows out of a water outlet, users can manually transfer sensor data from the capsules EEPROM to a PC Finally, the data analysis part of the PipeProbe system computes and maps the 3D spatial topology of the hidden water pipeline

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Enable Multiple Measurements During the data collection stage, if the PipeProbe capsule flows out of a water outlet It can be reinserted into the water inlet and reused for additional data collection Multiple trips enable the discovery of diverse pipeline branches Which are used for producing the full map In addition, multiple measurements over the same flow path Can be utilized to filter out noise in the data Enhance the accuracy of the 3D spatial topology reconstruction

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Movements of PipeProbe Capsule Vertical Movement Horizontal Movement

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Vertical Movement

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Horizontal Movement

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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Data Collection The PipeProbe capsule was prototyped with the Eco wireless sensor mote

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Eco Mote The Eco mote is an ultra-compact and low power wireless sensor node It measures only 13 mm (L) 11 mm (W) 7 mm (H) and weighs 3 grams (including battery) It consumes less than 10 mA in transmission mode (0 dBm) and 22 mA in receiving mode

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Small Form Factor + Low Power Consumption Its maximum data rate and RF range are 1Mbps and 10 meters, respectively The Ecos small form factor and low power consumption make it ideal for their PipeProbe capsule Which requires a tiny size to allow it to flow freely inside a water pipeline

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Flexible-PCB Type Expansion Port The Eco mote has a flexible-PCB type expansion port that has 16 pins This expansion port includes Two digital I/O pins Two analog input lines Serial peripheral interface (SPI) RS232 Voltage inputs for a regulator and battery charging

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MS5541C Pressure Sensor The Intersema MS5541C pressure sensor is wired to the Eco mote via the SPI protocol MS5541C measures a pressure range from 0 to 14 bars with a resolution of 1.2 mbars

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MS5541C Pressure Sensor Given less than 5 uA operating current the MS5541C enables the Eco mote to sample frequently without drawing too much battery power The MS5541C requires an oscillator at the frequency of 32.768kHz for sensor ADC To fulfill that requirement a SG3030JC was chosen for the external oscillator The pressure sensor samples the water pressure at a peak rate of 33 Hz

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Components In The PipeProbe Capsule

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The First Prototype

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The 4th Capsule Prototype

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The Final Capsule Prototype

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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Data Processing

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Median Filter on Pressure Reading

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Turn Detection

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V-Turn Detection

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Resulting Linear Fit

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H-Turn Detection

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How The H-turn Detection Algorithm Works

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Horizontal Pipe Length

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Layout Mapping

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x-, y-, and z-axis Movement On One Layer

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Constraint Satisfaction Equation

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Ambiguity Elimination

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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Testbed

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Ground-truth Measure

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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Evaluation Length Errors Positional Errors Sampling Rate Data Collection Trips

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12 Test Scenarios

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Length Errors

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Positional Errors

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CDF of Positional Errors

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Positional errors under different distances traveled by the PipeProbe capsule

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Sampling Rate

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Data Collection Trips

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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Discussion In the PipeProbe system, there two assumptions (1) all pipelines have the same diameter (2) the position of inlet/outlet point is known Here we discuss how to relax these assumptions

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All Pipelines Have The Same Diameter? A change in the internal pipe diameter causes a corresponding change in the volumetric flow rate and velocity To detect different water flow velocities, we will augment PipeProbe with an extra paddlewheel speed sensor to measuring its flow velocity directly

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Paddlewheel

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Paddlewheel Speed Sensor

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This would also avoid the need to create constant water flow velocity in their current system The paddlewheel speed sensor works as follows As water flow causes the paddlewheel to spin, the magnets imbedded in the paddle spin produce electrical pulses proportional to its flow velocity

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The Position Of Inlet/Outlet Point Is Known? There are some cheap and handy tools that architects use on a daily basis to measure the 3D position of inlet/outlet points For example, barometer can measure building height Laser rangefinders can measure width/length Higher-end meters generally provide more accurate measurements

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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Related Work NAWMS project PIPENET project

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NAWMS Project Provides information about where and how much water people are using By attaching vibration sensors to pipe surfaces NAWMS is easy to install, but is not very feasible since all of the pipes in a building have to be installed with a sensor This gets expensive when the pipeline structure is complex

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PIPENET Project Monitors water flow and detects leaks by Attaching acoustic and vibration sensors to external pipelines Attaching pressure sensors to internal pipelines

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Outline Abstract Introduction Pipeline Profiling Data Collection Data Processing Testbed Evaluation Discussion Related Work Conclusion

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The proposed PipeProbe system presents a novel mobile sensor system for determining the spatial topology of hidden water pipelines Experimental results from their testbed achieved A median length error of 2 centimeters 90% of the tests had a length error of 7 centimeters or less while

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Conclusion Positional error Had a median positional error of 6.8 centimeters, 90% of the tests had a positional error of 15.8 centimeters or less By using a tiny capsule to sense pressure readings as it traverses through the pipelines, the PipeProbe system produces accurate mapping Additionally, PipeProbe is highly energy-efficient, since its physical movement leverages the existing water flow

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Comments Strength The writing is very, very good Tested on their testbed for pretty complete evaluation Weakness Did not test on a real building structure for evaluation

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Thank you very much for your attention!