This application describes methods and apparatus for tracking targets (105) in a fibre optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) network (100). The DAS network comprises a plurality of interrogator units (103) interrogating sensing fibres (102) deployed along paths of interest to provide DAS sensors. Targets are tracked (303) at each of a plurality of tracker nodes (106-1, 106-2, 106-3) of the DAS network, where each tracker node receives measurement signals from one or more DAS sensors and applies a tracking algorithm to track any targets in a respective tracker zone. Each tracker node maintains, for each target, a tracking dataset of target properties for tracking that target. The method involves identifying (307) when a first target in a first tracker zone of a first tracker node is approaching a second tracker zone of a second tracker node and supplying (308) from the first tracker node to the second tracker node a Target Descriptor for the first target. The second tracker node uses the Target Descriptor to track any entry of the first target into the second tracker zone.
Tracking Using Distributed Fibre Optic Sensing
2018-11-29
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
IPC: | G01D MEASURING NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE , Anzeigen oder Aufzeichnen in Verbindung mit Messen allgemein / B61L Leiten des Eisenbahnverkehrs , GUIDING RAILWAY TRAFFIC / G01H MEASUREMENT OF MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OR ULTRASONIC, SONIC OR INFRASONIC WAVES , Messen von mechanischen Schwingungen oder Ultraschall-, Schall- oder Infraschallwellen |