High-Resolution Remote Sensing Used to Monitor Natural Gas Pipelines

Abstract

It is in the interest of any gas company to maintain the value of its pipelines and to protect them against damage caused by third parties. As a result of global progress in high-resolution remote sensing and image-processing technology, it is now possible to design natural gas pipeline monitoring systems with space-borne sensors, and to enter into targeted negotiations with satellite operators concerning sensor application. A concept has been developed by a triumvirate consisting of Ruhrgas Aktiengesellschaft (the technological leader and user), the German Aerospace Center DLR (an applied research institute) and Definiens Imaging GmbH (a developer of image-processing software) for creating a satellite-borne pipeline monitoring system that combines high-resolution data – supplied by various sensors via remote sensing systems – with the context-oriented evaluation of these data using innovative image-processing techniques.