Pervasive UWB sensor networks for oil exploration

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is now becoming mature enough to play a crucial role in a large variety of pervasive wireless sensor network applications. One of these applications is represented by land seismic exploration for oil and gas reservior. Seismic exploration requires a large number (2000 nodes/sqkm) of sensors to be deployed in outdoor over large areas (typ. 30 sqkm) to measure backscattered wave fields. A storage/processing unit (sink node) collects the measurements from all the sensors to obtain an image of the sub-surface in real-time. The UWB technology is proposed in this paper for replacing the cable connections between the sensors and the sink. UWB is the most suitable wireless technology for this application as it guarantees high data rate over short range links and self-localization with sub-meter accuracy. An UWB sensor network based on Multi-Band OFDM is designed for the specific problem. Amendmends to ECMA 368 specifications are also identified to allow for energy aware beaconing and self-localization.