Road Ability of In-pipe Mobile Robot Equipped with Flexible Brush Wheel

Abstract

There are many pipe-systems such as a water pipe, a gas pipe and a ventilation duct in a plant, factory and house. The inspection of these pipe-systems is necessary to prevent accidents and malfunctions. However, many pipes are very narrow, and it is difficult for people to inspect directly. In this study, a brush wheel type robot which has the simple and compact drive mechanism and does not need large space to move, is proposed. When moving inside of a pipe, this robot uses the elastic force of a brush wheel to hold the robot in pipe. Additionally, the robot can move a vertical pipe and a curved pipe by replacing the brush wheels. This paper reports the robot's structure, the drive mechanism, the operation principle, the prototype evaluation and three type pipe running experiments.