Robotic systems for cleaning and inspection of large concrete pipes

Concrete pipes are used in a variety of areas for conducting media underground (e.g. wastewater, cooling water, etc.) or for transportation purposes. Regular cleaning and inspection is required to ensure the static integrity of the pipe and to insure against the problems associated with failure of the pipe. In this paper, the SVM-RS system for cleaning and inspecting large concrete pipes will be presented. Various aspects of the robot including its kinematics, the cleaning system, the sensor system, the media supply, communications, as well as the control system and operator interface will be discussed in detail. The use of robust robotics for accurate positioning of high-pressure water nozzles in combination with non-destructive sensing techniques for navigation and inspection during normal pipe operation allows for a new standard in high-quality pipe cleaning and inspection. The latest cleaning and inspection results from tests in real sewers will be presented.