Development of Pipe Holding Mechanism for Pipe Inspection Robot Using Flexible Pneumatic Cylinder

Abstract

Abstract.A pipe inspection robot is useful to reduce the inspection cost. In the previous study, a novel pipe inspection robot using a flexible pneumatic cylinder that can move forward along to the pipe by changing the robot's body naturally was proposed and tested. In this paper, to improve its mobility for a corner of a pipe, the thin pipe holding mechanism using pneumatic bellows was proposed and tested. As a result of its driving test, the holding performance of the mechanism was confirmed.

Development of Inchworm Type Pipe Inspection Robot using Extension Type Flexible Pneumatic Actuators

“…In ideal, it is more desirable that the shape of the robot body changes naturally because of the low energy consumption and reducing the time for travelling. In addition, a fluidic actuator is practical and safe to be used in damp and wet conditions such as in water supply pipe because the actuator does not use electricity as their primary energy and has no risk of electrical leakage and short circuit [5][6][7][8]. Based on this concept, a piping inspection robot that consists of a sliding propulsion mechanism and a holding mechanism using extension type flexible pneumatic actuators (EFPAs) has been proposed and tested in our previous study [9,10].…”

Development of Pipe Holding Mechanism and Bending Unit Using Extension Type Flexible Actuator for Flexible Pipe Inspection Robot

“…In ideal, it is more desirable that the shape of the robot body changes naturally because of the low energy consumption and reducing the time for traveling. In our pervious study, a pipe inspection robot that consists of a flexible sliding mechanism using a flexible pneumatic cylinder have been proposed and tested [5][6][7][8]. The tested robot could travel in the narrow Manuscript received March 9, 2018; revised December 14, 2018. space smoothly by changing the body according to the shape of the pipe.…”