Leak inspection Robot used to inspect. Too often, small accidents at home or at work turn into real disasters, with a catastrophic outcome, because of water or gas pipes that are too old, damaged or worn out, which may have leaks invisible even to the most accurate of inspections. This kind of leak, in case of an accident, may turn out lethal.
How Leak Inspection robots help to inspect pipes?
In order to inspect metal pipes, the Tokyo University of Electro Communications has created a robot for pipe inspection, which can easily move inside metallic tubes with a diameter of at least 10 centimeters, by simply using a magnet to remain stuck to the pipe’s walls.
Aside from the magnet, it is also equipped with a digital camera, a battery and a LED light. Thanks to this equipment, the leak inspection robot is capable of moving on four small wheels within the pipe, of illuminating it with its light and using a connection cable to transmit the images towards a personal computer, from where the entire inspection operation is monitored.
The initial leak inspection robot prototype created by Japanese researchers can be controlled remotely, and the vibrations created by the magnet, which moves like a pendulum, keep the robot stuck to the inside of the pipe, and allow it to move freely, even vertically.
Its small size (11 cm in length, with a width and height of 8 cm) makes it suitable for most gas and water pipes, thus eliminating the need of digging or breaking into a wall, as the robot can be inserted into the pipe at any point, connected to the computer and you are ready to go, without additional costs or uncomfortable working conditions during the inspection of your pipes.