ARSI: An Aerial Robot for Sewer Inspection

Abstract

In this chapter we present the Autonomous Robot for Sewer Inspection (ARSI), a robotic system designed to make the work of inspection brigades safer and more efficient. ARSI uses an autonomous Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) to collect HD imagery and structural data in the sewers, while operators remain on the surface to supervise missions. Our compact quadrotor design is lightweight and robust, with a flight autonomy of 15 min and a payload capacity of 1 kg. It can be deployed without any special equipment, and operates in sewer tunnels as narrow as 80 cm. The sensor payload collects inspection data as well as inputs for the onboard software, allowing the ARSI MAV to follow pre-planned inspection paths autonomously. User-friendly interfaces are provided to plan, execute, and monitor sewer inspections. Data collected by the MAV onboard sensors is processed by our offline algorithms to generate detailed 3D models of the sewers, and perform automatic visual and structural analysis. Our data analysis software allows ARSI users to review all information and generate inspection reports for their clients. Our system was tested and validated during rigorous field tests in the city of Barcelona, Spain.