A communication technology that enables wireless communication underground has been developed in South Korea. This is significant in that it expands the range of communication from conventional above-ground wireless communication to underground environments. The technology is expected to be utilized in future rescue operations following incidents such as mine collapses or underground facility accidents, as well as for checking the survival status of trapped individuals, conducting underground work, and supporting subterranean military operations.
Participating in the development of geomagnetic communication technology (from left) Dr. Jangyeol Kim, Dr. Hyunjun Lee, Dr. Ingwi Cho. Provided by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced on November 13 that it has developed the world's first "geomagnetic underground communication source technology," which can transmit and receive voice signals even at a depth of 100 meters in a mine.
In particular, this technology can be applied even in limestone bedrock environments, where underground communication was previously considered virtually impossible. As such, it is recognized as a breakthrough that pioneers a new field of underground communication technology for disaster rescue and military operations.
In underground mines, severe signal attenuation has made it impossible to establish connections using conventional wireless communication technologies.
ETRI focused on the property that magnetic fields can be stably transmitted through underground media and developed a low-frequency magnetic field-based communication system. This system uses a transmitter antenna with a diameter of 1 meter, a compact magnetic field sensor just a few centimeters in size as the receiver, and operates at a frequency of 15 kHz, achieving a data rate of 2 to 4 kbps, which is sufficient for voice communication.
In experiments, this technology enabled two-way communication over a straight-line distance of 100 meters between the mine entrance (above ground) and the fifth underground level. This is the world's first proven result to surpass previous international research, which only achieved communication over several tens of meters.
ETRI anticipates that this research achievement will enable communication between trapped individuals and rescue teams in underground disaster situations such as mine collapses. It is also expected to be widely applicable for disaster response in underground infrastructure such as utility tunnels, gas pipelines, and oil pipelines, as well as for maintaining communication continuity during military operations in underground bunker environments.
ETRI plans to expand this technology by linking it with personal devices such as smartphones in the future, so that it can also serve as a communication relay (AP) connecting above-ground and underground environments. The institute has also completed domestic and international patent applications for key components, including transceivers, antennas, low-frequency modems, and bandwidth expansion technology.
Cho Ingui, Principal Researcher at the Radio Source Research Laboratory of ETRI, said, "Now that we have succeeded in wireless communication in underground environments where even household walkie-talkies cannot reach, we expect to greatly reduce the risk of communication breakdowns during rescue activities in the event of a mine accident."
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