Application of UAV in Search and Rescue Actions in Underground Mine—A Specific Sound Detection in Noisy Acoustic Signal

Paweł Zimroz; Paweł Trybała; Adam Wróblewski; Mateusz Góralczyk; Jarosław Szrek; Agnieszka Wójcik; Radosław Zimroz

doi:10.3390/en14133725

Energies (Jun 2021)

Application of UAV in Search and Rescue Actions in Underground Mine—A Specific Sound Detection in Noisy Acoustic Signal

Paweł Zimroz,
Paweł Trybała,
Adam Wróblewski,
Mateusz Góralczyk,
Jarosław Szrek,
Agnieszka Wójcik,
Radosław Zimroz

Affiliations

Paweł Zimroz: Department of Mining, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland
Paweł Trybała: Department of Mining, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland
Adam Wróblewski: Department of Mining, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland
Mateusz Góralczyk: Department of Mining, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland
Jarosław Szrek: Department of Fundamentals of Machine Design and Mechatronic Systems, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-371 Wroclaw, Poland
Agnieszka Wójcik: Department of Mining, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland
Radosław Zimroz: Department of Mining, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-421 Wroclaw, Poland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en14133725
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 14, no. 13
p. 3725

Abstract

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The possibility of the application of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in search and rescue activities in a deep underground mine has been investigated. In the presented case study, a UAV is searching for a lost or injured human who is able to call for help but is not able to move or use any communication device. A UAV capturing acoustic data while flying through underground corridors is used. The acoustic signal is very noisy since during the flight the UAV contributes high-energetic emission. The main goal of the paper is to present an automatic signal processing procedure for detection of a specific sound (supposed to contain voice activity) in presence of heavy, time-varying noise from UAV. The proposed acoustic signal processing technique is based on time-frequency representation and Euclidean distance measurement between reference spectrum (UAV noise only) and captured data. As both the UAV and “injured” person were equipped with synchronized microphones during the experiment, validation has been performed. Two experiments carried out in lab conditions, as well as one in an underground mine, provided very satisfactory results.

Published in Energies

ISSN: 1996-1073 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies

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