Slim Pipe Inspection Robot Using Extension type Flexible Pneumatic Actuator with Axial Elastic/Rigid Fiber Restraint

Abstract

In Japan, pipe inspection robots are required in many kinds of pipes for water supply, nuclear reactor and so on. A flexible and slim robot is desirable for traveling inside complex pipe. To improve mobility in pipes and facilitate recovering, a slim straight-shaped pipe inspection robot when it is not pressurized is required. In this study, a slim pipe inspection robot using extension type flexible pneumatic actuator with axial elastic/rigid fiber restraint was proposed and tested. The analytical model of the robot for coiling motion was also proposed and tested. As a result, it could be confirmed that the tested robot could travel in the pipe with about ten times diameter of the robot by coiling and extension motions like a snake.