motions affect SSL estimation. Based on the insights gained,
we developed a motion planning algorithm for mobile robots
that optimizes movement to improve SSL accuracy. This
approach was then implemented on a robotic dog to assess
its effectiveness in real-world mobile robot applications. The
results demonstrate that, by combining just two microphones
with the proposed motion planning framework, the robot sig-
nificantly improves its SSL estimation.
Future work will aim to fully automate the gas leak detec-
tion framework within the robotic system. This includes
enhancing its ability to determine whether a sound source is
positioned in front of or behind the robot and enabling the
distinction between leakage sources and environmental noise.
Additionally, the integration of multiple sensing modalities
will be prioritized to improve gas leakage source localiza-
tion, ensuring reliability even under varying environmental
conditions.
REFERENCES
Abadi, N. R., A. W. Bahman, H. Peel, M. Nancekievill, C. Ballard, B.
Lennox, O. Marjanovic, and K. Groves. 2023. “CARMA II: A Ground
Vehicle for Autonomous Surveying of Alpha, Beta and Gamma Radia-
tion.” Frontiers in Robotics and AI 10:1137750. https://doi.org/10.3389/
frobt.2023.1137750.
Almadhoun, R., T. Taha, L. Seneviratne, J. Dias, and G. Cai. 2016. “A
Survey on Inspecting Structures Using Robotic Systems.” International
Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems 13 (6): 1729881416663664. https://doi.
org/10.1177/1729881416663664.
Ambati, P., K. M. Raj, and A. Joshuva. 2020. “A Review on Pipeline Inspec-
tion Robot.” In AIP Conference Proceedings Vol. 2311 (1): 060002. AIP
Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0033998.
Brandstein, M. S., and H. F. Silverman. 1997. “A robust method for speech
signal time-delay estimation in reverberant rooms.” 1997 IEEE Interna-
tional Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (Vol. 1):
375–378.
Carter, G. C. 1987. “Coherence and time delay estimation.” Proceedings of
the IEEE 75 (2): 236–255.
Carter, G. C., A. H. Nuttall, and P. G. Cable. 1973. “The smoothed coher-
ence transform.” Proceedings of the IEEE 61 (10): 1497–1498.
Coleman, T. F., and Y. Li. 1996. “An Interior Trust Region Approach for
Nonlinear Minimization Subject to Bounds.” SIAM Journal on Optimiza-
tion 6 (2): 418–45. https://doi.org/10.1137/0806023.
Delic, U. 2019. “Cavity Cooling by Coherent Scattering of a Levitated Nano-
sphere in Vacuum.” PhD diss., PhD thesis, University of Vienna.
Doshmanziari, R., H. Khaloozadeh, and A. Nikoofard. 2020. “Gas Pipeline
Leakage Detection Based on Sensor Fusion under Model-Based Fault
Detection Framework.” Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 184:
106581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2019.106581.
Drives &Controls. 14 July 2021. “Robot Dog Carries Acoustic Imager to
Inspect Plants Safely.” Drives &Controls: Automation for Manufacturing.
https://drivesncontrols.com/robot-dog-carries-acoustic-imager-to
-inspect-plants-safely/.
Eret, P., and C. Meskell. 2012. “Microphone Arrays as a Leakage Detection
Tool in Industrial Compressed Air Systems.” Advances in Acoustics and
Vibration 2012 (November): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/689379.
Fischer, B. 2016. “Optical Microphone Hears Ultrasound.” Nature Photonics
10 (6): 356–58. https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2016.95.
Fischer, G. K. J., M. Bergau, D. A. Gómez-Rosal, A. Wachaja, J. Graeter, M.
Odenweller, U. Piechottka, F. Höflinger, N. Gosala, N. Wetzel, D. Büscher,
A. Valada, and W. Burgard. 2024. “Evaluation of a Smart Mobile Robotic
System for Industrial Plant Inspection and Supervision.” IEEE Sensors
Journal 24 (12): 19684–97. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2024.3390622.
Fletcher, N. H. 2014. “Animal Bioacoustics,” in Springer Handbook of Acous-
tics, pp. 821–41 (ed. T. D. Rossing). Springer Handbooks. New York, NY:
Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0755-7_19.
Fluke. “Fluke ii900 Industrial Acoustic Imager.” 2021. https://www.fluke.
com/en-us/product/industrial-imaging/sonic-industrial-imager-ii900.
Francis, A., S. Li, C. Griffiths, and J. Sienz. 2022. “Gas Source Localization
and Mapping with Mobile Robots: A Review.” Journal of Field Robotics 39
(8): 1341–73. https://doi.org/10.1002/rob.22109.
Fu, X. G., G. Z. Yan, B. Yan, and H. Liu. 2006. “A New Robot System for
Auto-Inspection of Intersected Welds of Pipes Used in Nuclear Power
Stations.” International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 28
(5-6): 596–601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-004-2384-0.
Guizzo, E. 2019. “By Leaps and Bounds: An Exclusive Look at How Boston
Dynamics Is Redefining Robot Agility.” IEEE Spectrum 56 (12): 34–39.
https://doi.org/10.1109/MSPEC.2019.8913831.
Ilyas, M., H. Y. Khaw, N. M. Selvaraj, Y. Jin, X. Zhao, and C. C. Cheah. 2021.
“Robot-Assisted Object Detection for Construction Automation: Data and
Information-Driven Approach.” IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics
26 (6): 2845–56. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMECH.2021.3100306.
Jiang, B., A. P. Sample, R. M. Wistort, and A. V. Mamishev. 2005. “Autono-
mous Robotic Monitoring of Underground Cable Systems.” Proceedings of
the 12th International Conference on Advanced Robotics: 673–79. https://
doi.org/10.1109/ICAR.2005.1507481.
Knapp, C., and G. Carter. 1976. “The generalized correlation method for
estimation of time delay.” IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and
Signal Processing 24 (4): 320–327.
Kwon, B., Y. Park, and Y.-S. Park. 2010. “Analysis of the GCC-PHAT tech-
nique for multiple sources.” ICCAS 2010: 2070–2073. Gyeonggi-do, South
Korea.
Levenberg, K. 1944. “A Method for the Solution of Certain Non-Linear
Problems in Least Squares.” Quarterly of Applied Mathematics 2 (2):
164–68. https://doi.org/10.1090/qam/10666.
Li, J., Y. Li, X. Huang, J. Ren, H. Feng, Y. Zhang, and X. Yang. 2021.
“High-Sensitivity Gas Leak Detection Sensor Based on a Compact Micro-
phone Array.” Measurement 174 (April): 109017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
measurement.2021.109017.
Liang, W., L. Zhang, Q. Xu, and C. Yan. 2013. “Gas Pipeline Leakage Detec-
tion Based on Acoustic Technology.” Engineering Failure Analysis 31 (July):
1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2012.10.020.
Liao, P., M. Cai, Y. Shi, and Z. Fan. 2013. “Compressed Air Leak Detection
Based on Time Delay Estimation Using a Portable Multi-Sensor Ultrasonic
Detector.” Measurement Science &Technology 24 (5): 055102. https://doi.
org/10.1088/0957-0233/24/5/055102.
Liu, C., Y. Li, L. Fang, and M. Xu. 2017. “Experimental Study on a
De-Noising System for Gas and Oil Pipelines Based on an Acoustic Leak
Detection and Location Method.” International Journal of Pressure Vessels
and Piping 151 (March): 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpvp.2017.02.001.
Ma, T., S. Liu, and H. Xiao. 2020. “Location of Natural Gas Leakage Sources
on Offshore Platform by a Multi-Robot System Using Particle Swarm Opti-
mization Algorithm.” Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 84:
103636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2020.103636.
Mitchell, D., P. D. E. Baniqued, A. Zahid, A. West, B. N. R. Abadi, B.
Lennox, B. Liu, B. Kizilkaya, D. Flynn, and D. J. Francis et al. 2023.
“Lessons Learned: Symbiotic Autonomous Robot Ecosystem for Nuclear
Environments.” IET Cyber-Systems and Robotics 5 (4): e12103. https://doi
.org/10.1049/csy2.12103.
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we developed a motion planning algorithm for mobile robots
that optimizes movement to improve SSL accuracy. This
approach was then implemented on a robotic dog to assess
its effectiveness in real-world mobile robot applications. The
results demonstrate that, by combining just two microphones
with the proposed motion planning framework, the robot sig-
nificantly improves its SSL estimation.
Future work will aim to fully automate the gas leak detec-
tion framework within the robotic system. This includes
enhancing its ability to determine whether a sound source is
positioned in front of or behind the robot and enabling the
distinction between leakage sources and environmental noise.
Additionally, the integration of multiple sensing modalities
will be prioritized to improve gas leakage source localiza-
tion, ensuring reliability even under varying environmental
conditions.
REFERENCES
Abadi, N. R., A. W. Bahman, H. Peel, M. Nancekievill, C. Ballard, B.
Lennox, O. Marjanovic, and K. Groves. 2023. “CARMA II: A Ground
Vehicle for Autonomous Surveying of Alpha, Beta and Gamma Radia-
tion.” Frontiers in Robotics and AI 10:1137750. https://doi.org/10.3389/
frobt.2023.1137750.
Almadhoun, R., T. Taha, L. Seneviratne, J. Dias, and G. Cai. 2016. “A
Survey on Inspecting Structures Using Robotic Systems.” International
Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems 13 (6): 1729881416663664. https://doi.
org/10.1177/1729881416663664.
Ambati, P., K. M. Raj, and A. Joshuva. 2020. “A Review on Pipeline Inspec-
tion Robot.” In AIP Conference Proceedings Vol. 2311 (1): 060002. AIP
Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0033998.
Brandstein, M. S., and H. F. Silverman. 1997. “A robust method for speech
signal time-delay estimation in reverberant rooms.” 1997 IEEE Interna-
tional Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (Vol. 1):
375–378.
Carter, G. C. 1987. “Coherence and time delay estimation.” Proceedings of
the IEEE 75 (2): 236–255.
Carter, G. C., A. H. Nuttall, and P. G. Cable. 1973. “The smoothed coher-
ence transform.” Proceedings of the IEEE 61 (10): 1497–1498.
Coleman, T. F., and Y. Li. 1996. “An Interior Trust Region Approach for
Nonlinear Minimization Subject to Bounds.” SIAM Journal on Optimiza-
tion 6 (2): 418–45. https://doi.org/10.1137/0806023.
Delic, U. 2019. “Cavity Cooling by Coherent Scattering of a Levitated Nano-
sphere in Vacuum.” PhD diss., PhD thesis, University of Vienna.
Doshmanziari, R., H. Khaloozadeh, and A. Nikoofard. 2020. “Gas Pipeline
Leakage Detection Based on Sensor Fusion under Model-Based Fault
Detection Framework.” Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 184:
106581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2019.106581.
Drives &Controls. 14 July 2021. “Robot Dog Carries Acoustic Imager to
Inspect Plants Safely.” Drives &Controls: Automation for Manufacturing.
https://drivesncontrols.com/robot-dog-carries-acoustic-imager-to
-inspect-plants-safely/.
Eret, P., and C. Meskell. 2012. “Microphone Arrays as a Leakage Detection
Tool in Industrial Compressed Air Systems.” Advances in Acoustics and
Vibration 2012 (November): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/689379.
Fischer, B. 2016. “Optical Microphone Hears Ultrasound.” Nature Photonics
10 (6): 356–58. https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2016.95.
Fischer, G. K. J., M. Bergau, D. A. Gómez-Rosal, A. Wachaja, J. Graeter, M.
Odenweller, U. Piechottka, F. Höflinger, N. Gosala, N. Wetzel, D. Büscher,
A. Valada, and W. Burgard. 2024. “Evaluation of a Smart Mobile Robotic
System for Industrial Plant Inspection and Supervision.” IEEE Sensors
Journal 24 (12): 19684–97. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2024.3390622.
Fletcher, N. H. 2014. “Animal Bioacoustics,” in Springer Handbook of Acous-
tics, pp. 821–41 (ed. T. D. Rossing). Springer Handbooks. New York, NY:
Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0755-7_19.
Fluke. “Fluke ii900 Industrial Acoustic Imager.” 2021. https://www.fluke.
com/en-us/product/industrial-imaging/sonic-industrial-imager-ii900.
Francis, A., S. Li, C. Griffiths, and J. Sienz. 2022. “Gas Source Localization
and Mapping with Mobile Robots: A Review.” Journal of Field Robotics 39
(8): 1341–73. https://doi.org/10.1002/rob.22109.
Fu, X. G., G. Z. Yan, B. Yan, and H. Liu. 2006. “A New Robot System for
Auto-Inspection of Intersected Welds of Pipes Used in Nuclear Power
Stations.” International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology 28
(5-6): 596–601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-004-2384-0.
Guizzo, E. 2019. “By Leaps and Bounds: An Exclusive Look at How Boston
Dynamics Is Redefining Robot Agility.” IEEE Spectrum 56 (12): 34–39.
https://doi.org/10.1109/MSPEC.2019.8913831.
Ilyas, M., H. Y. Khaw, N. M. Selvaraj, Y. Jin, X. Zhao, and C. C. Cheah. 2021.
“Robot-Assisted Object Detection for Construction Automation: Data and
Information-Driven Approach.” IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics
26 (6): 2845–56. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMECH.2021.3100306.
Jiang, B., A. P. Sample, R. M. Wistort, and A. V. Mamishev. 2005. “Autono-
mous Robotic Monitoring of Underground Cable Systems.” Proceedings of
the 12th International Conference on Advanced Robotics: 673–79. https://
doi.org/10.1109/ICAR.2005.1507481.
Knapp, C., and G. Carter. 1976. “The generalized correlation method for
estimation of time delay.” IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech, and
Signal Processing 24 (4): 320–327.
Kwon, B., Y. Park, and Y.-S. Park. 2010. “Analysis of the GCC-PHAT tech-
nique for multiple sources.” ICCAS 2010: 2070–2073. Gyeonggi-do, South
Korea.
Levenberg, K. 1944. “A Method for the Solution of Certain Non-Linear
Problems in Least Squares.” Quarterly of Applied Mathematics 2 (2):
164–68. https://doi.org/10.1090/qam/10666.
Li, J., Y. Li, X. Huang, J. Ren, H. Feng, Y. Zhang, and X. Yang. 2021.
“High-Sensitivity Gas Leak Detection Sensor Based on a Compact Micro-
phone Array.” Measurement 174 (April): 109017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
measurement.2021.109017.
Liang, W., L. Zhang, Q. Xu, and C. Yan. 2013. “Gas Pipeline Leakage Detec-
tion Based on Acoustic Technology.” Engineering Failure Analysis 31 (July):
1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2012.10.020.
Liao, P., M. Cai, Y. Shi, and Z. Fan. 2013. “Compressed Air Leak Detection
Based on Time Delay Estimation Using a Portable Multi-Sensor Ultrasonic
Detector.” Measurement Science &Technology 24 (5): 055102. https://doi.
org/10.1088/0957-0233/24/5/055102.
Liu, C., Y. Li, L. Fang, and M. Xu. 2017. “Experimental Study on a
De-Noising System for Gas and Oil Pipelines Based on an Acoustic Leak
Detection and Location Method.” International Journal of Pressure Vessels
and Piping 151 (March): 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpvp.2017.02.001.
Ma, T., S. Liu, and H. Xiao. 2020. “Location of Natural Gas Leakage Sources
on Offshore Platform by a Multi-Robot System Using Particle Swarm Opti-
mization Algorithm.” Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 84:
103636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2020.103636.
Mitchell, D., P. D. E. Baniqued, A. Zahid, A. West, B. N. R. Abadi, B.
Lennox, B. Liu, B. Kizilkaya, D. Flynn, and D. J. Francis et al. 2023.
“Lessons Learned: Symbiotic Autonomous Robot Ecosystem for Nuclear
Environments.” IET Cyber-Systems and Robotics 5 (4): e12103. https://doi
.org/10.1049/csy2.12103.
ME
|
LEAKLOCALIZATION
60
M AT E R I A L S E V A L U AT I O N • A P R I L 2 0 2 5