simultaneous localization and mapping
Assembly Line
CMU Robotics Institute develops system to detect and fix problems in gas pipelines
Researchers in Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute are developing a modular robot that can creep inside natural gas pipelines to map where pipes are, detect decrepit or leaking pipes, and, when necessary, repair the pipe by applying a resin coating along its inner wall.
Natural gas in the US arrives at 75 million homes and more than five million commercial customers through a network of 1.2 million miles of distribution main lines and 900,000 miles of service lines, according to the DOE. It costs up to $10 million per mile to excavate and repair these existing lines. The REPAIR program aims to use robots and smart coatings to build new pipes within leaky ones. This process – leaving the pipes in place and repairing them from the inside out – could drastically cut costs by DOE estimates.
The researchers have evaluated their system using a testbed built by Peoples Gas. The robotic system now has a 200-foot range, Li said, but the eventual goal is two kilometers (around 6,500 feet). Lu said the current version of the robot is designed for 12-inch diameter pipes and a version for 6-inch pipes is in development.