Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TUBERS (Scalable and Modular robotic tools for pipeline inspection and repair)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-09-01 do 2023-08-31
The water management industry is deeply affected by its construction inconsistencies. Specifically, new water pipes coexist with the older distribution system dating back 50 years. As a result, failures occur, and water leakages emerge. Yet, water leakage problems are challenging and difficult to contain or manage effectively.
Per year, there is a 20% average loss of treated water globally. So, assuming that leakages are left unattended, they can result in around 31.5 million m3/year of water loss and €16 million in revenue. At the same time, processing water and wastewater is energy-intensive and accounts for around 40% of municipal energy use, commonly produced by burning fossil fuels with carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions of up to 5%. Thus, a definitive solution should be found regarding problems with groundwater management, source water protection, and the treatment of existing and new wastewater.
TUBERS aims to build an ecosystem of robotic tools to holistically address the inspection and repair of pipelines within water networks and beyond by taking a radical approach and moving away from conventional solutions. This ecosystem will consist of a Snake-like Resident Robot, a High-accuracy inspection system, a Decision Support System (DSS) and Soft Repair Robots; TUBERS will perform day and night inspections over long distances & targeted in-situ repairs with a novel repair deployment mechanism to reduce inspection & maintenance costs.
Per year, there is a 20% average loss of treated water globally. So, assuming that leakages are left unattended, they can result in around 31.5 million m3/year of water loss and €16 million in revenue. At the same time, processing water and wastewater is energy-intensive and accounts for around 40% of municipal energy use, commonly produced by burning fossil fuels with carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions of up to 5%. Thus, a definitive solution should be found regarding problems with groundwater management, source water protection, and the treatment of existing and new wastewater.
TUBERS aims to build an ecosystem of robotic tools to holistically address the inspection and repair of pipelines within water networks and beyond by taking a radical approach and moving away from conventional solutions. This ecosystem will consist of a Snake-like Resident Robot, a High-accuracy inspection system, a Decision Support System (DSS) and Soft Repair Robots; TUBERS will perform day and night inspections over long distances & targeted in-situ repairs with a novel repair deployment mechanism to reduce inspection & maintenance costs.
Activities in this period focused mainly on consultations with consortium water experts to understand current practices and how the TUBERS solution could assist them in real-life conditions. The main achievements for this period include:
• Defined the system functional requirements and its specifications in collaboration with water network experts from Evides Water, Vitens and Brabant Water. The architecture and mechanical and software interfaces of the TUBERS solution were studied, to ensure interoperability between modules.
• A first life-cycle analysis was carried out to evaluate the carbon footprint of the system and compare it against the environmental benefit that can be achieved, in addition to cost savings.
• Both the snake-like and soft-robots underwent design reviews and simulated testing to ensure they are fit-for-purpose and in-line with the defined requirements.
• Several concept designs of a robotic pipe repair mechanism have been produced and are being reviewed together with network operators.
• Evaluated and selected transducers for the TUBERS ultrasonic testing and leak detection modules.
• Carried out synthetic image generation for artificial neural network algorithm training, using as basis images and videos collected from actual pipe inspection operations.
• Defined the system functional requirements and its specifications in collaboration with water network experts from Evides Water, Vitens and Brabant Water. The architecture and mechanical and software interfaces of the TUBERS solution were studied, to ensure interoperability between modules.
• A first life-cycle analysis was carried out to evaluate the carbon footprint of the system and compare it against the environmental benefit that can be achieved, in addition to cost savings.
• Both the snake-like and soft-robots underwent design reviews and simulated testing to ensure they are fit-for-purpose and in-line with the defined requirements.
• Several concept designs of a robotic pipe repair mechanism have been produced and are being reviewed together with network operators.
• Evaluated and selected transducers for the TUBERS ultrasonic testing and leak detection modules.
• Carried out synthetic image generation for artificial neural network algorithm training, using as basis images and videos collected from actual pipe inspection operations.
The following objectives have been defined as necessary in the path for commercialisation of the TUBERS system:
• Upgrade the snake-like resident robot and implement the necessary navigation software for autonomous operation over long distances and effective negotiation of pipeline features such as junctions and bends.
• Develop a modular soft-robotic platform with a locomotion mechanism and a novel mechanism capable of inspecting and repairing pipe segments from the inside.
• Research and develop a high-accuracy ultrasonic inspection system and the respective interpretation modules that can detect leaks and, most importantly, measure wall thickness loss.
• Research and develop a Decision Support System powered by Explainable Machine Learning algorithms for holistic inspection and maintenance planning.
• Upgrade the snake-like resident robot and implement the necessary navigation software for autonomous operation over long distances and effective negotiation of pipeline features such as junctions and bends.
• Develop a modular soft-robotic platform with a locomotion mechanism and a novel mechanism capable of inspecting and repairing pipe segments from the inside.
• Research and develop a high-accuracy ultrasonic inspection system and the respective interpretation modules that can detect leaks and, most importantly, measure wall thickness loss.
• Research and develop a Decision Support System powered by Explainable Machine Learning algorithms for holistic inspection and maintenance planning.