I-Corps: An Emergency Electro-Mechanical Communication System for Underground Tunnels and Mines

I-Corps：用于地下隧道和矿井的应急机电通信系统

• 批准号: 2127576
• 负责人: Ali Abdi
• 金额: $ 5万
• 依托单位: New Jersey Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-03-15 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2127576&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Corps; Emergency; Electro; Mechanical; Communication

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of an emergency communication technology for underground tunnels. Underground tunnels have numerous uses worldwide, ranging from the mining industry to transportation via subways and railroad tunnels. Disastrous events underground are common, especially in the mining industry. Current communication technologies include wired phones and local WiFi modems in underground tunnels and mines. However, existing solutions that are operative under normal conditions often fail to operate during emergencies due to collapsed roofs, broken cables, power outages, or network failures. Communication using radio wave-based technologies such as cell phones is not a viable solution when hundreds to thousands of meters underground when trying to pass through collapsed walls and rocks. The proposed technology may provide a lifeline between the rescue workers and the trapped individuals deep underground in catastrophes.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a data communication technology using mechanical waves and existing infrastructures in underground tunnels when current methods fail to work. To maximize the likelihood of survival of people trapped deep underground, under unusual and life-threatening conditions, development of an electro-mechanical communication system is proposed as a new suite of communication devices. This proposed technology utilizes the existing pipelines in tunnels and mines as the medium for communication. These pipelines have a much lower likelihood of failure during catastrophes. Such infrastructures are less likely to break in catastrophic events. The proposed technology is based on research that shows that in addition to mechanical acceleration channels in solids, there also is a mechanical strain channel that may be used for communication. The strain communication channel is formulated based on the fractional particle displacement parameter. This is the amount of local displacement of a solid particle when exposed to mechanical vibrations. This channel has shown to offer superior communication performance compared to other channels. Given the need for a reliable communication link between rescue workers and people trapped underground, the market may be ready for the new technology.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该 I-Corps 项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发地下隧道应急通信技术。地下隧道在全球范围内有多种用途，从采矿业到地铁和铁路隧道运输。地下灾难性事件很常见，尤其是在采矿业。当前的通信技术包括地下隧道和矿井中的有线电话和本地 WiFi 调制解调器。然而，在正常情况下有效的现有解决方案往往在紧急情况下由于屋顶倒塌、电缆断裂、停电或网络故障而无法运行。当试图穿过倒塌的墙壁和岩石时，使用无线电波技术（例如手机）进行通信并不是一个可行的解决方案。所提出的技术可以在灾难中为救援人员和地下深处的被困人员提供一条生命线。该 I-Corps 项目基于在当前方法无法发挥作用时使用机械波和地下隧道中现有基础设施开发数据通信技术。为了最大限度地提高被困在地下深处的人们在异常和危及生命的条件下的生存可能性，建议开发机电通信系统作为一套新的通信设备。该技术利用隧道和矿井中现有的管道作为通信媒介。 这些管道在灾难期间发生故障的可能性要低得多。此类基础设施在灾难性事件中发生故障的可能性较小。所提出的技术基于的研究表明，除了固体中的机械加速通道之外，还存在可用于通信的机械应变通道。 应变通信通道是根据分数粒子位移参数制定的。这是固体颗粒受到机械振动时的局部位移量。与其他渠道相比，该渠道已证明可提供卓越的通信性能。鉴于救援人员和被困地下人员之间需要建立可靠的通信联系，市场可能已经为新技术做好了准备。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。