Gas leak localization in industrial environments using a TDLAS-based
remote gas sensor and autonomous mobile robot with the Tri-Max method
G. Bonow, and A. Kroll. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), page 987--992. Karlsruhe, Germany, IEE, (May 2013)
In order to automate routine inspections in large industrial environments,
a mobile robotic system is being developed in the RoboGasInspector
project. The robot’s sensor-head consists of different instruments
for remote gas sensing using multiple measurement principles. This
contribution focuses on Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy
(TDLAS). The measurement device allows quantitative gas concentration
measurements and achieves high sensitivity due to the active measurement
principle. On the contrary, TDLAS systems measure the concentration
along a path at a time and require a diffusely reflecting background.
Using a pan-tilt unit, objects and areas can be scanned. This paper
describes the triangulation-maximization leak-localizing strategy
(Tri-Max) used in the project RoboGasInspector. Results based on
outdoor experiments in two industrial plants and a landfill dump
are presented.