Inspection robots in oil and gas industry improve efficiency and safety EU-funded researchers unveiled robotic technologies providing the level of mobility and autonomy required to navigate the intricate structures of oil and gas plants. Digital Economy Industrial Technologies © PRISMA Lab, University of Naples Federico II Thickness monitoring refers to the routine measurement of the material thickness of equipment such as piping, tubing, pressure vessels or tanks. Accurate thickness measurements for corrosion are fundamental to the integrity of components in oil and gas plants: susceptible materials, exposure to a corrosive environment and stresses above a threshold could cause critical components to degrade. Stress corrosion cracking could cause dangerous gas explosion accidents that negatively impact on human and environmental safety, as well as plant integrity and uptime. Inspection robots changing the oil and gas industry for the better The EU-funded HYFLIERS project unveiled robotic technologies to decrease the cost and risks of current human inspection in production plants. The technologies were validated in pipe inspection applications, but project developments could also be applied to other industries, such as power generation or construction. “In the context of HYFLIERS, we developed and tested the first aerial-ground robotic prototypes with a hyper-redundant lightweight robotic articulated arm. Featuring a large number of degrees of freedom, the arm is equipped with an inspection sensing subsystem and a ground support unit for efficient and safe inspection in industrial sites,” notes Juha Röning, professor at the University of Oulu and HYFLIERS coordinator. The robotic system is equipped with interfaces for vehicle teleoperation. Advanced algorithms for automatic collision detection and avoidance help ensure accurate guidance, positioning, landing and rolling on constrained surfaces, such as pipes. Two hybrid prototypes revolutionising oil and gas operations Researchers first developed a hybrid mobile robot that can take off, fly, land and move along a pipe to perform the inspection required by end users. “This system is composed of an aerial vehicle adapted to the industrial environment and a self-propelled satellite vehicle that can crawl along the pipe with sensors mounted onboard,” explains Röning. “The lander is the aerial platform that places the satellite on the target pipe. This system has not been designed with inspection capabilities; however, it is essential for transporting and deploying the inspector satellite over the pipe. Then, the satellite moves along pipes and elbows of diameters ranging from 200 to 500 mm using magnetic wheels. The latter help maintain the attraction force between the magnetic pipe and the twin-crystal roller probe that carries out the inspection,” adds Röning. The other project activity involved the design of a lightweight robotic arm equipped with an ultrasonic testing probe system and a miniaturised camera. This modular system consisting of the aerial system, magnetic linker and different add-ons can land on non-magnetic pipes and inspect pipe racks. The arm brings the sensor on its end effector to the inspection site, but the vehicle can also crawl over the pipe. The stability of the robotic system on the pipe is achieved by controlling propeller tilting and moving the system’s centre of gravity. HYFLIERS developments should largely help improve safety in production plants, such as oil and gas. The project gave rise to Neabotics, a spin-off of the University of Naples Federico II specialising in customised robotic systems for inspection and maintenance. Keywords HYFLIERS, pipe, inspection, oil and gas, aerial, satellite, safety, thickness measurements, robotic system, Neabotics
