Pneumatic Pipe Crawler

Technology Description

The pneumatic crawler is an inspection tool designed to inspect radioactive pipelines with variable sizes around 3 and 4 inches in diameter, while providing video, environmental and structural feedback. The device is currently being developed at the Applied Research Center (ARC) at FIU for the robotic inspection of the ventilation header of the AY-102 tank storing radioactive waste at Hanford site. The proposed worm type robot has a modular design, composed of interchangeable modules connected with flexible links. The device can be customized for several specific tasks with the addition of extra modules, such as instrumentation, material sampling, and pipe repair. The design is an evolution of the existing pipe crawlers previously developed at ARC, and uses pneumatic actuators to emulate the contractions of the peristaltic movement.

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