Download pdf - Satelytics Pipeline ROW Encroachment White Paper

Satelytics,Inc.|1510N.WestwoodAve.,Toledo,OH43606|419-728-0060|[email protected]

PipelineRightofWayAssessmentUsingHighResolutionSatellite/AerialImagery

andAutomatedChangeDetection

SatelyticsWhitePaper

Newtechnologiesareavailabletoassistpipelineoperatorsinincreasingpipelinesafetyandintegrity.Thiswhitepaperdiscussesthesetechnologies

andgivesexamplesoftheiruseforthepipelineindustry.


Introduction

Satelyticsisanindustryleaderinimageryanalytics.Usingimageryanalysistechniques,proprietaryalgorithmswithissuedUSpatentsandtrainedscientists,weareabletoprovidevaluabledataproductstothepipelineindustry.AtSatelytics,ourpriorityiscuttingedgetechnologicaldevelopmentssowecanprovideourclientsaccurate,cost-effectiveimageryproductsasquicklyaspossible.

Currentadvancesinsatelliteandcomputertechnologyaremakingitpossibletocompletelychangethewaycompaniesconducttheirpipelinerightofwayassessment.Utilizingnewimageacquisitionplatformsknownas“nano-satellites”or“cubesatellites”empowerustoacquirehigh-resolution,low-costimagerywithfrequentrevisits.Wecandetectandclassifyobjectsonthegroundmoreaccuratelyandquicklythanwithhuman-basedobservation.Today,Satelyticsisservingpipelineoperatorswithsolutionsthatenhancesafetyanduptime,andleadsintheimplementationoftransformativePipelineRightofWayAssessmenttechnology.

CurrentPractices

AccordingtotheUSDepartmentofTransportation1,therewere1,718,407milesofoilandgaspipelinesin2012.Newpipelinesarecurrentlyunderconstruction,andeverysinglemileofpipelinerequiresroutineinspections.

Theindustrystandardistovisuallydetectencroachments,change,andtoclassifylanduseintheRight-Of-Way(ROW).Certainproblemsassociatedwithcurrentmonitoringpracticesinclude:

• Cost:AnnualandbiweeklyaircraftpatrolsflyingovertheROWtomonitorforencroachmentsisexpensive.

• Accuracy:Humananalysisduringflyoverissubjecttoerror.• Time:Changedetectionandencroachmentmonitoringaretime-intensiveprocesses.

Resultsmaynotreachtheproperchannelsquickly,andduetoinfrequentvisualinspectionsproblemareasintheROWmaydevelopduringthegapsbetweeninspections.

• ArchivalData:Littlearchivaldataisobtainedfromtoday’saerialinspections.


ChangeDetection

Weautomatethechangedetectionprocess,clearingvaluableman-hoursforuseonothertasks.Weareabletoidentifynewanddemolishedurbanfeatures,streamchannelchange,bankerosion,structuralchangesinwaterbodies,andotherlandusechangesthatpotentiallyimpactpipelineintegrity.Ourchangedetectionprocessreducestheamountofoperatorerror,andcanbeperformedasoftenastheimageryisacquired.Spectralanalysisunderdevelopmentmaybeabletodetectchangesinvegetationthatareassociatedwithlowlevelpipelineleakage.

Figure1:Thetwoimagesrepresentaruralareathathasexperiencedman-madechangesbetween2012and2014.Satelytics’algorithmsautomatethechangedetection.Redindicatespipelinerouting.


Encroachments

Encroachmentanalysisdetectsthepresenceofman-madeobjectswhichpotentiallythreatenpipelineintegrity,suchasabulldozerorbackhoeparkedwithintheROW.Operatorscanaccessthisinformationquickly,providinganopportunityfordamageprevention.

Thisanalysisalsodetectsandmonitorsforchangesrelatedtostructuressuchashouses,businesses,garages,sheds,fences,pools,ponds,orotherman-madeobjectswithinthepipelinecompany’sROW.Byusingateamofdedicatedanalystsandacquiredimagery,wenegatetheoperatorerrorofanaerialflyoverwithGPSpointcollection,andcreateanarchivalimagerydatabase.Theemergenceofnano-satellitetechnologyhasthepotentialformorefrequentmonitoringofpipelineROW.

Figure2:These2014imagesshow(onleft)afarmvehicleintheencroachmentareaand(onright)man-madestructuresbeginningtoencroachonapipelinerouting.Bybuildinganimagerydatabase,encroachmentscanalsobearchivedandanalyzedforpatternsrepresentingurbansprawland


PopulationGrowth

MonitoringthenumberofnewstructurespermilealongdefinedROWenablesthedevelopmentofpopulation“heatmaps”showingwheresignificantincreasesinpopulationareoccurring.Companiescanthenfocusresourcesonhighimpactareas.

LandUseClassification

LandclassificationisanessentialtoolforROWmonitoring,andcanbeusedinconjunctionwithchangedetectionandencroachmentanalysis.Determiningwhattypesoflanduseandchangesinusagewillhighlightareasthatpotentiallyimpactpipelineoperations.Wecanhelpyoubuildandupdateyourlandusedatabasesoyoucanlocatechanges,discovertrends,andtrackurbangrowth.

Figure3.Populationgrowth2012to2014.Redstarsdenotesignificantincreaseinpopulationoveratwo-yearperiod.

Tillable

Grass

Wooded

Non-tillable

Water

Figure4.Classifiersarechosenandtrainedonspecificareasoftheimage.Algorithmsquicklyclassifythewholeimage,producingaccuratehigh-resolutionlandusemaps.TheclassifiedimageisdisplayedherewithanESRIbasemap2.


MultipleOperatorData

Sincemanypipelineoperators’ROWsruncontiguously,onesetofimagerycanbeusedformultipleoperators,thiswillreducethecostandhelpinmaintainingessentialconfidentiality.AllowingmultipleoperatorsaccesstoROWdatawillopennewfacetsforanalysisofdatasets.

Conclusion

Utilizingintelligentremotesensingtechnologiesisaparadigmshiftthatisoccurringinindustriesaroundtheglobe.Traditionalmethodsofmanuallycollectinginformationthenusinghumansforanalysisarecostlyandpronetooperatorerror.Withprovenmethodsforautomatedchangedetection,encroachmentanalysis,landuseclassification,populationchangedetection,streamandriverbankerosionandwaterflowchangedetection,BWScanhelpcutcostswhileprovidingthereliable,precisedatayouneedtomaintainyourROWintegrity.Wewillprovideyourteamwiththemostcurrentinformationavailableonthestatusofyourpipeline--atyourdesktop,onyourtablet,oronyoursmartphone.

Formoreinformationpleasevisitwww.satelytics.comoremailinfo@satelytics.com.

1http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_10.html,accessedFebruary13,20152Basemapsource:Esri,DigitalGlobe,GeoEye,EarthstarGeographics,CNES/AirbusDS,USDA,USGS,AEX,Getmapping,Aerogrid,IGN,IGP,swisstopo,andtheGISUserCommunity