Robotic System with Power Line Communication for In-pipe Inspection of Underground Urban Gas Pipeline

As natural gas gains more and more popularity, the security of related infrastructure such as pipelines has been a hot topic in society. Even though NDE (Non-Destructive Evaluation) technology is developing rapidly, how to inspect pipelines buried underground effectively is still a problem remaining unsolved. The reason is that there is no developed equipment which can pass through pipelines carrying NDE sensors and provide the circumstances under which testing tasks can be done properly. This paper designs a practical robotic system called “Inspector” for in-pipe inspection of underground urban gas pipelines using PLC, which stands for power line communication. Inspector is able to pass through different obstacles (bends, elbows and tees) at a pipe network, climb in vertical pipes and recover from capsizing. Except for that, the robot can also conduct inspection tasks and show conditions of pipes clearly. Besides, this paper proposes a self-control strategy using laser range finders, which are used to detect road conditions ahead of Inspector. With the efforts of all the team members, a prototype of the robot system has been completed, qualified with the functions mentioned above.