Ralf Birken

Efficient Large‐Scale Underground Utility Mapping with a Multi‐Channel Ground‐Penetrating Imaging Radar System

Ground-penetrating imaging radar (“GPiR”) combines standard GPR with accurate positioning and advanced signal processing to create three-dimensional (3D) images of the shallow subsurface. These images can reveal soil conditions and buried infrastructure. A commercial GPiR called the CART Imaging System was designed for mapping urban infrastructure. The CART system covers a 2m swath on the ground and can collect data while moving at speeds up to about 1km/h. The system collects enough data in a single pass to form a 3D image beneath its track; side-by-side passes are stitched together to create a seamless image of the subsurface.

Infrastructure mapping in urban areas with dual radar and induction arrays

A project sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) has developed a new mobile geophysical system combining an array of broadband electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors with an array of ultra-wideband ground-penetrating radar (GPR) antennas. This “dual-array system” was designed for mapping utility networks efficiently over large areas, but can also be useful in environmental surveying. The project was part of the Pipeline Safety Research and Development Program of the U.S. DOT Research and Special Programs Administration. Several utility companies, including Consolidated Edison Company of New York and Regional Water Authority of South Central Connecticut, participated in the project.