Development of a peristaltic crawling robot for sewer pipe inspection

Abstract

We have developed a robot to inspect narrow sewer pipes. Periodic inspections of sewer pipes are necessary to prevent accidents such as road cave-ins. However, the means to inspect narrow sewer pipe are limited. For example, conventional endoscopes are difficult and sometimes impossible to pass through a complex network of pipes. To address this issue, we developed a peristaltic crawling robot that imitates the locomotion of an earthworm. The actuator of the robot is composed of bellows-type artificial rubber muscles contracting and extending using air pressure. We confirmed that the robot can pass through straight, bent, successively bent, and more complex shaped pipes. The robot can also move in a vertical pipe, a pipe in water, and through pipes coated with lubricant. Finally, we evaluated the robot's traveling performance by measuring its speed.