Development of a power station unit in a distributed hybrid acquisition system of seismic and electrical methods based on the narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT)

Abstract. In this paper, we propose a new type of power station unit with wireless data transmission capability. This work breaks the limitation that conventional equipment is unable to upload data directly to a central unit. Based on that, a novel distributed geophysical data acquisition architecture is also proposed, enhancing the work efficiency by simplifying the system structure while maintaining core features. Designs that realise key functions including isolated high-power output, power management, wireless data transmission and high-precision clock synchronisation are introduced in this article. The prototype was packaged then, and a series of evaluation experiments were implemented to verify the key parameters of the instrument. Experiment results proved that the overall design of the instrument is feasible, and the key parameters outperform the industry leading instrument LAUL-428. Due to the wireless networking strategy, the proposed instrument further realises remote control and real-time data playback through the host computer software, making it suitable for joint geophysical exploration as well as microseismic monitoring. As for the system level, it could be customised by connecting different kinds of conventional acquisition stations for many kinds of prospecting targets.