Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : March 13, 2024 - March 14, 2024
In this paper, we describe the basic development of an easy-to-handle pipeline-traveling robot that can adapt to changes in pipe inner diameters and improve robot recoverability. With a water supply penetration rate of over 98%, there is an urgent need to maintain the reliability of existing water pipelines. Efforts to evaluate the condition of pipelines generally use nondestructive testing methods such as infrared, elastic wave, X-ray, and radar in order to reduce costs. However, these methods have the disadvantage of potentially overlooking microscopic surface damage and cracks. To solve this problem, this study proposes an inspection method for pipeline interiors using a traveling robot with soft actuators. In addition, by using a small camera, visual inspection in real time will be possible, aiming for more reliable pipeline evaluation.
