Abstract
In-pipe robots have become popular, allowing for non-destructive testing, visual inspection, and cleaning. In-pipe inspection is crucial for maintaining pipeline integrity, but it is difficult for humans to access pipelines and perform checks. This article focuses on an in-pipe robot navigating various pipeline structures and diameters. It consists of a center module, a tracking module, and an active pantograph mechanism. The hardware components, such as the motorized gear train, screw, pantograph mechanism, springs, track module, and angular sensors, are discussed. Additionally, the control methods employed by the robot, including normal force control and posture control, are explained. Finally, the tracking algorithms used to estimate the robot’s position and direction within the pipeline are presented.
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Jungwan Park is the Senior Engineer in the Commercial Vehicle Division, at Hyundai Motors. He received the B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the School of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, in 2008 and 2016, respectively. His research interests the robotics and motion control.
Hyunseok Yang received a B.S. degree from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, in 1984 and the M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, in 1988 and 1993, respectively. Since 1994, he has been with Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, where he is currently a Professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include robotics and motion control.
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Park, J., Yang, H. Pipeline mapping with crawler-type in-pipe robot feature. J Mech Sci Technol 37, 5015–5020 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-023-0908-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-023-0908-5