We have assumed that robots serve almost any utility, and based on the need to be solved, this will be the form that the robot adopts. And in today's case I am going to comment on a robot that is capable of moving inside pipes and performing very different tasks.
Getting around inside a pipe is very difficult, and especially when maneuvering around a bend in the pipe. The pipe is a cylindrical body and to advance through it you need to put pressure on its walls and crawl inside.
Upon reaching an elbow, the robot must "see" it and bend according to the elbow to continue moving through it. This is easily said, but doing it is very complex, and that is why there are very few robots of this type.
A robot of this type began to be developed by the North American Defense Agency (DARPA), and was later followed by the company GE Research Robotics, which has presented a robot that is like a "worm" that moves inside pipes. . as you can see in the photo.
Inside it has a fluid to put pressure on the walls and be able to move, and the front part is able to rotate to adapt to the elbows that it finds in its path.
A video can be seen at: https://youtu.be/NmJIuns9nRk
In the video you can see very well the movements that make it advance through the pipe.
With sensors in the most advanced part, it detects where it should turn to follow its movement through the elbows of the pipes, and it can carry out different functions of inspection, analysis, etc….
If we think a little about the enormous number of pipes, tubes, etc… that we use in our facilities and products, and how difficult it is to know what happens inside them, we can get an idea of the importance of this type of robot.
It can greatly simplify maintenance tasks that are now carried out blindly, and take them to another level, performing inspection functions that are now impossible to carry out.
It is a delicate and complex robot, but with very good prospects for the future.
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