ELIOT - the world’s first smart, detectable plastic pipe unveiled by RYB and CEA-Leti

By nature, plastic pipes are inert and difficult to detect once buried: they can only be located using topographic surveys. But the urban environment is changing, meaning it is tough to obtain a rapid, accurate and exhaustive vision below ground. Techniques used to determine pipe locations are complex and difficult to implement. As a result, each year, several thousand pipes are accidentally cut, with potentially serious consequences.

In response to this major problem, over the last three years RYB has been collaborating with CEA-Leti (the Laboratory of Electronics and Information Technology, based in Grenoble). This partnership has resulted in the design and development of the world’s first smart and detectable plastic pipe: Eliot www.eliot-tech.com).

This innovation is tailor-made to detect gas, water, electricity and telecommunication networks and represents a major technology breakthrough in terms of monitoring and maintaining pipes and reducing the risks of accidents and costs caused by pipe cuts; it also provides an advanced tracking system for buried structures.

The recently-patented pipe integrates a new type of RFID technology developed by the teams at CEA-Leti. It offers several features:

 Detection up to 1.50 m below the surface, with horizontal accuracy of a few centimetres;
 Reliable operations in terms of detecting, locating and reading data stored inside the chip regardless of the pipe’s surrounding environment: i.e. burial in any ground type (tar, sand, earth, stones; dry/wet, etc.) or even immersed in water (in water table for example);
 Response time of one tenth of a second
 Data storage capacity: type of pipe detected (application), manufacturing date, installation date, serial number, diameter, nominal pressure, etc.
 Autonomous device integrated in the pipe - no electrical power required;
 Simple reading system provided by an adapted antenna, compatible with standard market products;
 A signal measured on the surface accurately characterises the detected pipe and thus prevents confusion in the event that several networks are located in close proximity.

In concrete terms, special RFID chips are integrated in the pipe at regular intervals, in accordance with a patented process. They are then coded to embed the data specific to each pipe.

Integration on RYB production lines required investments that the company gladly made to develop the first operational industrial prototypes.



“We are delighted to have achieved the technical prowess needed to develop the world’s first smart, detectable plastic pipe. More than three years collaboration with CEA-Leti, which led us down several avenues of research, and more than €1 million in investment were needed for its development. A new era has dawned in the pipe and network sector, making it possible to meet the requirements of gas, electricity, water, wastewater and telecommunications operators to facilitate the monitoring and maintenance of buried structures and reduce pipe-cutting risks”, explains Marc-Antoine Blin, Managing Director of RYB.

“This technological innovation is a perfect example of a successful partnership between an SME and a research organisation and fits seamlessly into the support programme for French industries in which CEA-Leti has been involved for several years. Indeed, our objective is to help SMEs in general, and SMEs based in conventional industries in particular, to become more competitive by integrating cutting-edge technologies in their products and by sharing our research and development capacities with them” adds Jean Therme, Technology Research Director at CEA.

Once the prototype was developed, its potential was tested in real conditions in a trench equipped with sensors on-site at CEA Leti, then further tests were successfully performed on test sites in the Rhône-Alpes region in various in situ conditions.

Tests were also conducted on the experimental research platform owned by GDF-SUEZ, a major gas and water distribution operator. GDF-SUEZ were able to provide expertise in terms of overcoming challenges found in their sector and this meant it was possible to strike a balance between the operational requirements and the technical response provided by the RYB/CEA-Leti partnership.

Prototyping and testing is now complete on 63 mm to 125 mm diameters and RYB is beginning an industrialisation phase with a view to extend its range from nominal diameter 20 to nominal diameter 1000.

The next step aims to work with network managers and operators to integrate the technology into their IT systems in accordance with their own specifications. The deployment of network infrastructures, on a test-scale, will also provide feedback that will be of great benefit to the rest of project ELIOT®.