Semi Autonomous Inspection Robot for Pipelines

An in-pipe robot to be developed that can autonomously travel through a network of pipes and give live video for the detection of any defect or anomaly along with its exact location inside the pipe. The project covers the complete design of the caterpillar wheeled wall-pressed robot

Project Title

Semi Autonomous Inspection Robot for Pipelines

Project Area of Specialization

Robotics

Project Summary

An in-pipe robot to be developed that can autonomously travel through a network of pipes and give live video for the detection of any defect or anomaly along with its exact location inside the pipe.

The project covers the complete design of the caterpillar wheeled wall-pressed robot that can traverse through 180 to 220 mm PVC pipe. It is designed with mechanism to traverse through horizontal as well as vertical pipes and efficiently steer through elbows and T-branches.

The robot is to autonomously navigate through the complete piping network by identifying the elbows and T-branches. The factor which limits its autonomy is that it needs user preference to choose a path to take in case of a T-branch.

The exact position and orientation of the robot are known from IMU and encoder outputs.

Project Objectives

Objectives of this project are as follows:

1. Design and development of the in-pipe robot for varying diameters.
2. Two-module collaboration for efficient steering through elbows and T-junctions.
3. Semi-autonomous navigation of the robot.
4. Live video output for defect detection.
5. Graphical User Interface.
6. Tracking position and orientation of the robot.

Project Implementation Method

There are different aspects to the implementation of this project from design to autonomy to inspection. These are briefly explained below.

DESIGN:

• The robot has three legs 120° from each other that are equipped with four-bar linkage mechanisms loaded with springs to adjust its size according to the pipe size.
• There is a geared DC motor on each leg.
• Belt wheels are used to provide friction force needed to prevent slippage.

 

Two such modules are joined by a spring. The pushing and pulling force created by the spring helps in successful steering through elbows and T-branches.

AUTONOMY:

For autonomous motion, the robot needs to identify the elbows and T-branches coming in the way. For this purpose, 6 Infrared (IR) sensors are attached to the main body of the robot. These sensors are angled towards the pipe such that they give 'x' cm within the straight pipe. In an elbow or a T-branch, one or more of the sensors will give a distance of more than 'x' cm and that information is used to control the speeds of the motors through PWM.

 

An elbow or T-branch can appear at any side of the robot, up, down, left, right. Since this robot can rotate about its local z-axis and has no particular top or bottom, all possible orientations of the robot inside the pipe are kept in mind while designing the algorithm.

INSPECTION:

The inspection is carried out by a micro-CMOS Camera which gives live video to the PC for the identification of defects.

In addition, a motor encoder and an IMU module are used to take the position and orientation of the robot. The real-time values of these sensors are displayed and so the exact location of the defect can be figured out.

BLOCK DIAGRAM:

Benefits of the Project

Inspection and maintenance of pipelines are very important in order to avoid dangerous explosions that occur due to defects in the pipes. These inspections are very difficult, costly, and inefficient when carried out manually. Therefore, in-pipe robots are considered as a very efficient way to inspect since they move inside the whole piping network collecting the data of defects. This gives more accurate results at a much lower cost.

The robot developed in this project is with aims to tackle all these problems. It is designed with a mechanism for efficient mobility through complex pipeline structures. The biggest advantage it has over many other in-pipe robots developed is that it can autonomously navigate through the pipeline. The video obtained through the camera can then be analyzed to detect all the abnormalities in the pipe and give us a clear picture of the defect along with its exact location.

Utilization of the autonomous in-pipe robot for periodic maintenance of the pipelines is a modern, more efficient, and a lot cheaper method than other traditional ones used today.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

A two-moduled in-pipe inspection robot for pipes of sizes 180 to 220 mm.

Maximum speed

Maximum torque

Operating Voltage

Operating speed

Camera resolution

Frames per second

Lens angle

Length of 1 module

Length of robot

Weight of 1 module

Weight of robot

Minimum diameter

Maximum diameter

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Petroleum

Other Industries

Energy , Transportation

Core Technology

Robotics

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Sustainable Cities and Communities

Required Resources

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