Design and Motion Planning of a Wheeled Type Pipeline Inspection Robot

Abstract

The most popular method for transporting fluids, and gases is through pipelines. For them to work correctly, regular inspection is necessary. Humans must enter potentially dangerous environments to inspect pipelines. As a result, pipeline robots came into existence. These robots aid in pipeline inspection, protecting numerous people from harm. Despite numerous improvements, pipeline robots still have several limitations. This paper presents the design and motion planning of a wheeled type pipeline inspection robot that can inspect pipelines having an inner diameter between 250 mm to 350 mm. The traditional wheeled robot design has three wheels fixed symmetrically at a 120° angle apart from each other. When maneuvering through a curved pipeline, this robot encounters motion singularity. The proposed robot fixes the wheels at different angles to address this issue, allowing the robot to stay in constant contact with the pipe's surface. Motion analysis is done for the proposed and existing robot design to study their behavior inside the pipeline. The result shows that the proposed robot avoids motion singularity and improves mobility inside pipelines. 3d printing technology aids in the development of the proposed robot. The experimental tests on the developed robot inside a 300 mm-diameter straight and curved pipeline show that the robot avoids motion singularity.