A mobile robot for automated non-destructive testing of steel plates

Abstract

This paper describes research towards the development of a robotic system for the automated inspection of steel plates. Such plates are inspected extensively during manufacture and fabrication. This inspection is often carried out manually in hazardous environments by skilled personnel. Such difficult conditions may reduce the operating ability of technicians, leading to poor performance and low-quality subjective assessments. Automating the inspection process would reduce risks to human operators, manual inspection errors and associated costs. The system under development is based on a mobile robot platform and is designed to carry and deploy ultrasonic and electromagnetic sensors in order to scan plates for corrosion and welds for defects. The robot control is designed to facilitate three different types of weld scanning plus inspection for corrosion.