Development of a Wireless Sensor Network for Collaborative Agents to Treat Scale Formation in Oil Pipes

A wireless network system (WSN) has been developed for a team of underwater Collaborative Autonomous Agents (CAAs) that are capable of repairing and locating scale formations in tanks and pipes within inaccessible environments. The design of the hardware is miniaturised and it consists of a stackable 25mm form-factor that includes the appropriate functionality and ISM wireless communications for the application. Sourcing of relevant sensors for the application was based on having the necessary sensing range; being miniature in size and having low power consumption. Once agent functionality was achieved, antennas were placed within the infrastructure of the pipe and CAAs to realise direct and indirect communication for the WSN.