Implementation of Real-Time Monitoring System for Hazardous Chemical Gas Distribution

This paper covers design and implementation of monitoring system using unmanned vehicle to monitor the spread of hazardous chemical gas. This system is applicable to wide variety of unmanned vehicles ranging from ground vehicles to aerial vehicles. It can also be implemented with multi-vehicle concept. In a simple scenario, the system uses chemical sensor to measure and monitor level of hazardous chemical gas in a specified region explored by the unmanned vehicles. Then the measurement is sent to a computer in Ground Control Station (GCS) to be visualized on 2D virtual map in real-time. In addition to data visualization, the system also provides data logging saved in a CSV file for further data processing. Users can control the vehicles remotely with a user interface in the GCS as well. This monitoring system is developed and implemented in Robot Operating System (ROS) and open source software QgroundControl (QGC). Data acquisition and communication between the vehicle and the GCS are implemented in ROS, whereas the visualization system is developed from well-known flight control user interface named QGC. Implementation of this system shows that it is successfully tested to visualize hazardous chemical gas on a 2D virtual map in real-time.