Wireless Relay Technologies for Monitoring Underground Infrastructures

Abstract

With the progress made in Internet of Things (IoT) technology, expectations have been raised for IoT services in areas outside the bounds of network coverage such as underground, underwater, and sky environments. We have been developing wireless communications systems aimed at achieving monitoring capabilities of aging underground infrastructures. Our systems make use of wireless relay terminals installed on vehicles or utility poles to efficiently collect data from sensors installed in underground infrastructures. In this article, we introduce two recently developed technologies for radio relay systems that are designed to reduce the costs of installation and operation of the system. One extends the coverage area, and the other reduces power consumption.