TY - GEN
T1 - Water pipe robot utilizing soft inflatable actuators
AU - Adams, Wade
AU - Sridar, Saivimal
AU - Thalman, Carly M.
AU - Copenhaver, Bryce
AU - Elsaad, Hassan
AU - Polygerinos, Panagiotis
N1 - Funding Information:
The research is partially supported by the Salt River Project. C.M. Thalman is funded by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships Program. We would like to thank Pham H. Nguyen for the valuable suggestions and inputs.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 IEEE.
PY - 2018/7/5
Y1 - 2018/7/5
N2 - This paper presents the design and testing of a soft robot for water utility pipeline inspection. The preliminary findings of this new approach to conventional methods of pipe inspection demonstrate that a soft inflatable robot can successfully traverse the interior space of a range of diameter pipes without the need of adjusting mechanical components. The robot utilizes inflatable soft actuators with adjustable radius which, when pressurized, can mobilize the robot inside the pipe, or anchor it in place. Utilizing a control algorithm for locomotion allows the robot to maneuver through a pipe mimicking the motion of an inchworm. This paper offers an evaluation of the structure and behavior of the inflatable actuators through computational modeling of the material and design, as well as the experimental data of the forces and displacements generated by the actuators. The theoretical results are contrasted to experimental data utilizing a physical prototype of the soft robot. The unique design is anticipated to enable compliant robots to conform to the space offered to them and overcome any occlusions from accumulated solids found in pipes.
AB - This paper presents the design and testing of a soft robot for water utility pipeline inspection. The preliminary findings of this new approach to conventional methods of pipe inspection demonstrate that a soft inflatable robot can successfully traverse the interior space of a range of diameter pipes without the need of adjusting mechanical components. The robot utilizes inflatable soft actuators with adjustable radius which, when pressurized, can mobilize the robot inside the pipe, or anchor it in place. Utilizing a control algorithm for locomotion allows the robot to maneuver through a pipe mimicking the motion of an inchworm. This paper offers an evaluation of the structure and behavior of the inflatable actuators through computational modeling of the material and design, as well as the experimental data of the forces and displacements generated by the actuators. The theoretical results are contrasted to experimental data utilizing a physical prototype of the soft robot. The unique design is anticipated to enable compliant robots to conform to the space offered to them and overcome any occlusions from accumulated solids found in pipes.
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U2 - 10.1109/ROBOSOFT.2018.8404939
DO - 10.1109/ROBOSOFT.2018.8404939
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85050695625
T3 - 2018 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2018
SP - 321
EP - 326
BT - 2018 IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2018
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 1st IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2018
Y2 - 24 April 2018 through 28 April 2018
ER -