Abstract:
A pipe inspection robot is a device that is inserted into pipes to check for
obstructions or damage. These robots are traditionally manufactured offshore,
are extremely expensive, and are often not adequately supported in
the event of malfunction. This had resulted in Associated Environmental
Services Limited, a New Zealand utiliser of this equipment, facing significant
periods of down-time as they wait for their robots to be repaired.
Recently, they were informed that several of their robots were no longer
supported.
At their instigation, this project was conceived to redesign the electronics
and control system of one of these pipe inspection robots, utilising
the existing mechanical platform. Requirements for the robot were that it
must operate reliably in confined, dark and wet environments, and provide
a human user with a digital video feed of the internal status of the
pipes. This robot should, as much as possible, incorporate off-the-shelf
components, facilitating cheap, and potentially on-site repair.
This project details the redesign and construction of such a robot. It
employs three electronic boards integrated with the mechanical components
and provides video feedback via a custom graphical user interface.
Although at the prototype stage, the electronic redesign has been successful,
with a cost of less than a tenth of the original robot purchase price.
