Pipeline inspection robots are gaining importance and have seen several developments throughout the past decade. Developing a pipeline inspection robot can specifically overcome the issues of humans in labor and their intervention in an inconvenient condition during repair and maintenance inside the pipeline. This survey shows the advancements made in the field of pipeline inspection robots by classifying them according to their type of locomotion. The locomotion's are divided into seven basic types and prototypes are developed based on these motions. Each prototype has its benefits and drawbacks based on their purpose of inspection. Different models are designed and validated for ensuring their functionality and performance. This review attempts to present the capabilities of various inspection robot models and compares their performance. This will provide insights into selection, developments and research gaps in this domain.

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.

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Magnetic adhesion is widely used in wall climbing robots on ferromagnetic surfaces. The Ring and block Neodymium magnets provide the necessary adhesion in permanent magnet-based climbing robots. In this article, the effectiveness of ring and block magnets are analysed using FEMM. for various magnet configurations. The adhesion force generated by ring and block magnets of a similar volume is compared and analysed. The results showed that the adhesion of ring magnets increases with the thickness of magnets. The maximum adhesion achieved in various ring magnets was compared with the adhesion generated by the arrangement of block magnets for two standoff distances and it was found that the adhesion generated by the block magnets were better in both cases. The ring magnets have constant standoff distance as per the rubber coating used and this enables them to operate seamlessly on irregular surfaces while the block magnet configurations provide excellent payload capabilities. In summary, numerical simulation results provided an understanding of the areas where the ring magnets can be used and the areas where the block magnets serve the purpose better.

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