CASE STUDYON

WIRELESS SURVEILLANCE BALLOON

By

NAME Roll NoAvelino Moses 13

Leonard D’souza 31Vishnu RC Vijayan 74Jeetson Gonsalves 76

Under the guidanceOf

Prof. Sudhakar Ambhore

DON BOSCO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYPREMIER AUTOMOBILES ROAD

KURLA(W)MUMBAI – 400070

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are grateful to Don Bosco Institute of Technology, the Principal Dr.Prasanna

Nambiar and our HOD, Dr. RK Sarangi for providing the necessary resources for

the completion of the project.

We would like to express our gratitude to Prof. Sudhakar Ambhore for his

constant encouragement, support and guidance during the entire course of the

project.

We express our sincere thanks to all those who have directly and indirectly helped

us in the completion of this project.

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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled “WIRELESS SURVILLENCE BALLOON” is a bonafide work of

Avellino Moses (Roll No- 13)

Leonard D’Souza (Roll No- 31)

Vishnu RC Vijayan (Roll No- 74)

Jeetson Gonsalves (Roll No -76)

Submitted to the University of Mumbai in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the term work of

the subject “Mechatronics” [Course Code: MEC605] studied in Semester VI of

Third Year of Mechanical Engineering.

Sudhakar Ambhore

Date: Subject In charge

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INDEX

SR. NO CONTENTS PAGE NO

1 Introduction 7

22.12.2

Surveillance BalloonPurposeWorking

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33.13.23.3

Mechatronics ContributionSensors

AdvantagesDisadvantages

13131414

4 Conclusion 15

5 Reference 15

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List of Figures

Dia. No Representation Pg. No

Dia. 1 Figure Showing Surveillance Camera 8

Dia. 2 General Part of Surveillance Camera 10

Dia. 3 Data Transmission Layout 12

Dia. 4 Pneumatic and Electric circuit 13

Abstract 5

The demand for high-capacity wireless services is bringing increasing challenges, especially for delivery of the ‘last mile’. Terrestrially, the need for line-of-sight propagation paths represents a constraint unless very large numbers of base-station masts are deployed, while satellite systems have capacity limitations. An emerging solution is offered by high-altitude platforms (HAPs) operating in the stratosphere at altitudes of up to 22 km to provide communication facilities that can exploit the best features of both terrestrial and satellite schemes.

A miniature surveillance balloon system is described that can be used in military and public safety situations for real-time observations. They are as small as feasibly possible, low-cost and expendable, and typically are deployed in clusters. Balloons may act individually or alternately clusters may act robotically (in unison) without command input at times.

Video surveillance information is preprocessed and then sent via wireless communications links. Batteries and/or gas cylinders may be selectively jettisoned to facilitate vertical movement. Balloons may optionally have thruster mechanisms to facilitate lateral movement which may in some embodiments be powered by a source of combustible gas which is also used for providing lift.

This study outlines the application of surveillance balloon as low cost alternative for HAPs for delivery of future wireless surveillance system. This article stresses the importance of wireless surveillance with integration of mechatronics in the system.

1. INTRODUCTION6

With the ever growing threat of terrorism the needs for a more economic method of surveillance to constantly monitor large areas of concern keeps on growing. Conventional surveillance systems, both wired and wireless, become uneconomical when the subject area is a large open land mass where an overall broad perspective view is important.

It is in such domains of surveillance that aerial surveillance becomes both necessary and economical. This article evaluates the feasibility of using Aerostats or tethered balloons as platforms for carrying surveillance cameras and their usefulness for both military and civil operations in an Indian perspective. Aerostats, also sometimes referred to as captive balloons are tethered Lighter-than-Air (LTA) platforms filled with either Helium or Hydrogen which helps them stay aloft in air due to buoyancy. Their relative cheapness and ease of maintenance makes them an attractive option to be considered as a platform for carrying surveillance camera payloads high-up in the air to obtain a broader perspective view of the target area.

Need for Aerostats in the present scenario as the threat of terrorism grows, a common prevailing need of surveillance is to monitor large areas of concern in the civil sector with a general overall perspective rather than acquiring pin-point detail.

Consider the case of an exhibition being held at Pragati Maidan Grounds in New Delhi. Take for example the International Trade Fair currently being held in Delhi, where around 30 lakh people visited the 14 day long fair. Now monitoring all these people solely through surveillance cameras mounted on poles and exhibition walls, becomes a very tedious an uneconomical task. The relative efficiency still remains low.

The Delhi Police is using around 850 armed personnel along with 4 companies of paramilitary forces, all aided by 50 CCTV cameras installed at critical areas. Though this is a fairly tight security installation, the level of situational awareness remains low. For example, if we have to track a trouble-maker running away from a scene, owing to the large crowd of people, the task is fairly difficult. The task however becomes relatively easy if we have a broader perspective view of the area using an aerially mounted camera. Again, if for some reason, a stampede occurs, situational awareness gained through a broader perspective helps tremendously by letting us know the areas where people are running to, allowing the security forces to know the specific points where they should mobilize the security personnel to stop the stampede.

The major advantage of aerial surveillance is to provide a broad perspective view of the area from air, which leads to increased situational awareness and hence faster and more

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efficient surveillance. The concept of broader perspective becomes obvious in some situations like border and coastal surveillance. The Indo-Pak border is one of the longest high-tension border in the world. The border stretching 3323km is constantly under vigil and major sectors like the Jammu sector in Kashmir and Gujarat sector have already been fenced. However, despite the fencing, the infiltration still continues. Any attempt to have a round-the-clock constant video surveillance through cameras mounted on poles is unfeasible because of elaborate wiring and network requirements. On the other hand, cameras mounted on aerostats can cover a much larger area making the whole idea feasible.

Figure 1- A figure showing Surveillance Camera installed

Aerostats can also be used as platforms for terrestrial radars, which will constantly map the surface and detect infiltration. Such Radars mounted on tethered aerostats are already in use along the southern US border along Mexico and Caribbean.

2. SURVEILLANCE BALLOON

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Surveillance balloons are balloons that are employed as aerial platforms for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Their use began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War I, and they continue in limited use today.

Historically, observation balloons were filled with hydrogen. The balloons were fabric envelopes filled with hydrogen gas, whose flammable nature led to the destruction of hundreds of balloons on both sides. Observers manning these observation balloons frequently had to use a parachute to evacuate their balloon when it came under attack. To avoid the potentially flammable consequences of hydrogen, observation balloons after World War I were often filled with non-flammable helium.

Typically, balloons were tethered to a steel cable attached to a winch that reeled the gasbag to its desired height (usually 1,000-1,500 meters) and retrieved it at the end of an observation session.

2.1 PURPOSE

In the military scenario, the Indian government realized the potential of aerostat as a platform and has sanctioned the purchase of Aerostat mounted Radar Surveillance systems for the Indian Air force. Two such Radars have been placed in Gujarat and Punjab. But the IAF has expressed the need for at least ten more such systems. Besides surveillance, aerostats also provide a very good platform for mounting telecommunication and broadband equipment. Access points enclosed in a weather-proof box can be hanged from a series of aerostats in a mesh network topology providing an efficient and economical city-wide broadband network.

Similarly, Television and radio transmitters can be mounted on an aerostat and elevated to big heights providing a cheap and efficient way of providing these facilities in cities. This saves us the cost of erecting expensive TV-towers, which are still not as high as aerostats causing lower reception. Cellular phone companies can also use aerostats as platforms for mounting their transmitting antennas instead of land-based transmitters. Similarly various other applications of aerostats can be thought of from communication’s perspective. Conclusion With the current trend, it is apparent that aerostats will soon become an indispensable part of civil and military surveillance.

As India’s economy continues to grow, and as long as the threat of terrorism continues to prevail, it is only obvious that we should adopt this new technology sooner. However, an Indian initiative in this field is definitely required as the Indian climate presents great challenges which can only be met if the design has been optimized for such conditions.

2.2 WORKING

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Figure 2- General parts of surveillance balloon

2.2.1 Size

The balloon system should be as small and light as possible, while still performing its required mission.

2.2.2 Gas Sack and Gas

The balloon gas sack may be rigid or inflatable. If inflatable, it may be inflated before deployment or may inflate at the time of deployment from gas stored in a small cylinder. If a cylinder is used, the cylinder may have the ability to be jettisoned in order to reduce the overall weight of the balloon system. The gas used may be helium or hydrogen or other “lighter-than-air” gas. If hydrogen, there may be included the ability to selectively oxidize some of the Hydrogen gas in a controlled manner to produce thrust and/or produce electricity (as in a fuel cell).

2.2.3 Electrical Power

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The balloon's electronics systems may be powered by battery, solar power, and/or hydrogen power (fuel cell). The outer surface of the balloon's gas sack may implement a solar cell or have multiple solar cells deployed upon it. Batteries may be re-chargeable from the solar cells, or by energy conversion from hydrogen gas.

2.2.4 Batteries

The system may be designed such that the batteries are implemented as a group of individual batteries where the physical mounting and electrical connection means is such that individual batteries may be jettisoned in order to make the balloon system lighter. Batteries may be re-chargeable or not.

2.2.5 Electromechanical Controls

These may be implemented using miniature conventional solenoid mechanisms, or alternately by micro-machines implemented in advanced semiconductor technology, or some combination of the two.

2.2.6 Directional Travel and Thrusters

In general, the balloon system may be encouraged to travel in the vertical direction by releasing gas from the bag to descend and by either injecting gas from the compressed gas cylinder and/or jettisoning weight to ascend. The balloon system may optionally include some form of directional thrusters to allow it to travel in a specific horizontal direction and/or travel in a vertical direction at a rate faster than the effects of lift and weight would allow. Thrusters may be provided by solid rocket propellant, or alternately by miniature engines that burn hydrogen gas from the bag or from the gas cylinder.

2.2.7 Vision System

The system will include at least one image sensor providing at least a static image and more desirably, a video image. This system will provide a 360 degree view. The 360 degree view can be accomplished by having multiple image sensors or by having a single image sensor array combined with a lens that enables a 360 degree capture (see IPIX method). If there are multiple sensor arrays, there may be for instance 3 image sensor arrays, each covering a 120 degree view. If video capability is included, the frame rate may be variable such that the capacity of the available communications link is not overloaded. Video compression is typically performed and image preprocessing may also be performed to eliminate unwanted information and further lessen the bandwidth requirement that is placed on the communications system. The vision system may include IR capability for night viewing.

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Figure 3- Data Transmission Layout

3. Mechatronics Contribution

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The shown system can be used for actuating the fins of surveillance balloon

Figure 4

When signal is sent from the base station the relay is activated. This relay actuates DAC and fins are actuated. Due to this Balloon changes direction.

3.1 Use of data loggers

Data loggers are used in order to save total flight data. Balloons are also provide with memory to store the captured images

3.2 Sensors

For camera directions various sensors are set. Sensors also monitor balloon pressure, height of balloon from the ground etc. In general mechatronics is used to automate the process.

3.2 CERTAIN KEY ADVANTAGES THAT AEROSTATS ENJOY ARE:

1. Cheaper 13

2. Safe 3. Rapid deployment in rural or non-urban areas allows for quick and inexpensive establishment of communication networks. 4. Easy to deploy and maintain. 5. Require minimum crew-training for handling, making it easier to incorporate into the already established surveillance infrastructure.6. Provides a broad perspective/view of target area for video surveillance. 7. Aerostats can be used as a platform for Radars, IR/optical sensors, and other sensor equipment’s. 8. Can be used as cheap low-altitude telecommunications relay platforms for purposes like broadband communication and wide area networks (WAN). 9. Bigger more sophisticated aerostats flying at an altitude of 15000m can be used as cheap low-maintenance geostationary satellites.

3.3 CERTAIN KEY ISSUES THAT WILL HAVE TO BE KEPT IN MIND WHILE CHOOSING AN AEROSTAT FOR THE INDIAN MARKET:

1. Cheap 2. Durability of envelope in tropical continental weather. 3. Durability of envelope against the severe monsoons (extreme humidity). 4. The tropical weather generates strong turbulent gusts during noon-time, and so the aerostat should be designed to withstand such gusts. 5. Good stability in high-wind conditions and the ability to not lose altitude in such winds. 6. The balloon itself should be easy to manage and replace when required. 7. The electronic equipment should be weatherproof, and the gimbal system to mount these electronics should be gyrostabilized. 8. It is very essential that the parts should be easily accessible as unavailability of spare parts can be a major setback.

4. CONCLUSION

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With the current trend, it is apparent that aerostats will soon become an indispensable part of civil and military surveillance. As India’s economy continues to grow, and as long as the threat of terrorism continues to prevail, it is only obvious that we should adopt this new technology sooner. However, an Indian initiative in this field is definitely required as the Indian climate presents great challenges which can only be met if the design has been optimized for such conditions.

5. REFERENCES

5.1 Websites

srividyaengg.ac.insvce.ac.inSrce-mech.weebly.comTocs.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de

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