In-pipeline optical interference-based cognitive system for leak and defect detection

Methods, systems, computer program products, and devices for in-pipeline optical interference-based cognitive systems for leak and defect detection are provided herein. A computer-implemented method includes obtaining optical interference-related data pertaining to at least one interior portion of a pipeline; obtaining multiple items of sensor data pertaining to the at least one interior portion of the pipeline; generating one or more pipeline-irregularity predictions by applying an inference-based algorithm to the optical interference-related data, the multiple items of sensor data, and one or more additional items of data, wherein each of the one or more pipeline-irregularity predictions comprises an identified location within the interior surface of the pipeline of a predicted irregularity and an estimated size of the predicted irregularity; and outputting the one or more pipeline-irregularity predictions to one or more users.