Pipe-Crawling Drones Are Going Where No Human Can or Wants to

Last year was a record year for the sky evolving. 144 buildings were completed worldwide that were over 200 meters high, more than any other year in history. As hyperdense urban environments fill skylines, they need to be supported by increasingly complex underground infrastructure – electrics, sewers, subways, etc. Some tech companies are now looking underground for areas of innovation.

Singapore, for example, is preparing to release plans for an underground city next year, while London’s Crossrail underground project is Europe’s largest construction project of all time. In Canada, Deep Trekker of Kitchener, Ontario is working to solve the increasingly complicated underground maintenance cycles of modern cities with another, more eye-catching technology: robots.

Because so much depends on the infrastructure systems below the cities, many communities have enforced strict maintenance plans and requirements. For example, in the case of sewers and water pipes, contractors and public works send trained inspectors into larger sewer and drainage pipes to conduct visual inspections and ensure the pipes are compliant. In the past, pipes that were too small for a person to pinch probably weren’t inspected or needed with cumbersome remote inspection tools. Not only was this a slow process, but it was also expensive.

This is where the Deep Trekker Pipe Crawler comes in. These remote-controlled inspection vehicles can run for six to eight hours on a single battery charge and don’t require the hassle of connecting to an above-ground truck for power. Pipe crawlers can navigate uneven terrain and are fully submersible to a depth of 50 meters. With on-board camera systems, teams can inspect pipes remotely more efficiently and at a fraction of the cost of standard inspection vehicles. These inspection cameras are among the first of their kind in the world because of their extended battery life and lower cost. Once a problem is discovered, teams can mark the spot and return for repair.

Sean Phillips, director of engineering and operations at Deep Trekker, says the reality of urban underground is that it rarely requires inspections. Phillips goes on to say that Deep Trekkers pipe crawlers are the way of the future for all cities around the world, but he believes their technology will allow contractors and municipalities to track inspections and maintenance more easily and cheaply compared to competitive inspection equipment. To date, Deep Trekker has done business in over 80 countries.

The maintenance of our underground pipe systems is more important today than ever.

Read more: The next boundary to be mapped is underground

Andrew Ferguson, a civil engineer at the Canadian consulting firm Associated Engineering, has spent his career in civil linear infrastructures, particularly pipelines. He says the effects of climate change are being felt more and more every year and that almost nowhere is this more evident than with our pipe and drainage systems. Take flood events in Toronto, France, and Japan as recent examples.

“We classify these major precipitation events as one, five, ten, 50, and 100 year events. A 50-year event should take place every 50 years. “Unfortunately, according to Ferguson, our increasingly volatile climate has resulted in these 50 and 100 year events happening every year or two. “Not only does this repeatedly stress our infrastructure, it also does not give us enough time for repairs and restores.”

In addition to extreme weather conditions, our cities are aging. Most non-concreted pipe systems have an expected service life of 50 to 80 years, depending on the materials used. With many urban centers experiencing massive growth after World War II, these vital underground arteries are reaching maturity across North America. In fact, the Flint water pollution crisis can be traced back to aging lead pipes. Better inspection tools don’t solve such problems by themselves, robot or not, but they can be part of a solution.

Municipal maintenance isn’t the only sector turning to robots. A large number of oil pipelines in Canada are small diameter pipes that cannot be easily inspected. in fact some never were. The industry is now turning to robots to inspect these lines in hopes of preventing an environmental disaster. Whether it’s keeping a city running or keeping oil flowing, robots can go where humans can’t.

Because of this, the future of inspections will likely continue to turn to solutions like the Deep Trekker Pipe Crawlers. Their cost and ease of use have made them a viable solution for early-stage communities around the world as well as private companies in the oil and energy, underwater discovery, commercial salvage, and marine survey industries.

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