INSPIRE Newsletter Spring 2018

https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/inspire-newsletters/1002/thumbnail.jp

Smart maintenance and inspection of linear assets: An Industry 4.0 approach

Linear assets have linear properties, for instance, similar underlying geometry and characteristics, over a distance. They show specific patterns of continuous inherent deteriorations and failures. Therefore, remedial inspection and maintenance actions will be similar along the length of a linear asset, but because as the asset is distributed over a large area, the execution costs are greater. Autonomous robots, for instance, unmanned aerial vehicles, pipe inspection gauges, and remotely operated vehicles, are used in different industrial settings in an ad-hoc manner for inspection and maintenance. Autonomous robots can be programmed for repetitive and specific tasks; this is useful for the inspection and maintenance of linear assets. This paper reviews the challenges of maintaining the linear assets, focusing on inspections. It also provides a conceptual framework for the use of autonomous inspection and maintenance practices for linear assets to reduce maintenance costs, human involvement, etc., whilst improving the availability of linear assets by effective use of autonomous robots and data from different sources

A study towards the potentials of robotic technologies to decrease risk to personnel’s safety in Statnett

Background of the project Health, safety and the environment (HSE) is Statnett´s nr.1 priority and Statnett has a zero vision towards accidents. Unfortunately, Statnett and their entrepreneurs experience accidents each year. With an increasing activity level towards 2020, it is natural to estimate that the number of accidents will increase in line with the activity. It can therefore be interesting to study new technologies with high potential to reduce risk, if it is rapidly implemented. Goals There were three goals with this thesis. The first was to identify robotic technologies, available now or within a five-year period with potential for use in Statnett. The second goal was to identify dangerous operations performed by Statnett or Statnett´s entrepreneurs. The third goal was to provide a recommendation of which robotic technologies that can both execute the identified operations and reduce the risks of the operations. General information about the thesis This report was made as a master thesis at the end of a five-year study towards a Master's Degree in science at Norwegian University of Life Science(NMBU). The study was performed between January and May 2016, and represent 30 ECTS. The thesis is written under collaboration between Statnett and NMBU. Method This thesis is based on literature study, interviews, observations and data analysis. Results The main outcome was the following: • There are many types of robotic technologies with different abilities and potential for implementation in Statnett and Statnett´s entrepreneurs, all with a high level of technology readiness(TRL) or already in use. There are however limitations with every type of robotic technologies, e.g. many of the line suspended robotic devices have problems crossing suspension towers and there is actually only one that is supposedly able to cross dead-end towers. • There is no doubt that Statnett and their entrepreneurs perform dangerous operations. Many high risk operations are identified, but there are still reasons to believe that even more could be found. All of the identified operations contain different factors of risk. Some of the risk factors have led to tragic accidents ending with death or severe illness. The biggest identified risk factors are working with helicopter and working at height. • There are several robotic technologies with the possibility to both perform and reduce the risk of some of the dangerous operations identified in this thesis. Recommendation for further work Based on the robotic technology with the highest potential to both execute operations and reduce the operations risks, eleven technologies are recommended for further research and development towards permanent implementation in specific operations.Bakgrunn for prosjektet Helse, miljø og sikkerhet (HMS) er Statnetts topp prioritet. Statnett har en visjon om null ulykker, men opplever ulykker hvert år sammen med sine entreprenører. Frem mot 2020 er det planlagt økt aktivitet og det er derfor naturlig å anta at antall ulykker vil øke i takt med aktiviteten. Det kan derfor være interessant å se på ny teknologis mulighet til å redusere risiko, hvis det kan implementeres raskt. Mål: Oppgaven har tre mål. Det første er å identifisere robotteknologi tilgjengelig i dag eller innen en femårs periode med potensial for bruk i Statnett. Mål nummer to er å identifisere farlige operasjoner utført av Statnett eller deres entreprenører. Det siste målet er å gi en anbefaling av hvilken robotteknologi som har størst mulighet til å både utføre operasjonene samtidig som den kan redusere operasjonens risiko. Generell informasjon om oppgaven Oppgaven er skrevet som en masteroppgave i siste semester av et femårig masterstudie på Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet (NMBU). Oppgaven representerer 30 studiepoeng og er skrevet som et samarbeid mellom Statnett og NMBU. Metode Oppgaven er basert på litteratur, intervjuer, observasjoner og analyse av innsamlet data. Resultat Hovedresultatene var som følger: • Det er identifisert mange typer robotteknologi med forskjellige anvendelser og potensial for implementering hos Statnett og Statnetts entreprenører. Alle teknologiene var langt i utviklingen, høy ”technology readiness level” (TRL), eller var allerede i bruk. Det var like vell utfordringer med alle teknologiene, som f.eks. at få ”line suspended robotic devices” kan krysse bæremaster og at det faktisk bare er en som skal klare å krysse ankermaster. • Det er ingen tvil om at Statnett og deres entreprenører utfører farlige operasjoner. Det er identifisert mange høy risiko operasjoner, men det er fortsatt grunn til å tro at enda flere kan identifiseres ved et grundigere studium. Alle operasjonene inneholder forskjellige risikofaktorer og noen av risikofaktorene har ført til tragiske ulykker som har endt med død eller alvorlige skader. De største risikofaktorene er identifisert som bruk av helikopter og arbeid i høyden. • Det er identifisert flere robotteknologier med potensial for å både kunne utføre og redusere risikoen til noen av de identifiserte operasjonene. Anbefaling for videre arbeid Basert på den robotteknologien med høyest potensial for å bade utføre og redusere risikoen til noen av de identifiserte operasjonene er elleve teknologier anbefalt for videre arbeid.M-M

An overview of robotics and autonomous systems for harsh environments

Across a wide range of industries and applications, robotics and autonomous systems can fulfil the crucial and challenging tasks such as inspection, exploration, monitoring, drilling, sampling and mapping in areas of scientific discovery, disaster prevention, human rescue and infrastructure management, etc. However, in many situations, the associated environment is either too dangerous or inaccessible to humans. Hence, a wide range of robots have been developed and deployed to replace or aid humans in these activities. A look at these harsh environment applications of robotics demonstrate the diversity of technologies developed. This paper reviews some key application areas of robotics that involve interactions with harsh environments (such as search and rescue, space exploration, and deep-sea operations), gives an overview of the developed technologies and provides a discussion of the key trends and future directions common to many of these areas