Robotic systems for cleaning and inspection of large concrete pipes

Concrete pipes are used in a variety of areas for conducting media underground (e.g. wastewater, cooling water, etc.) or for transportation purposes. Regular cleaning and inspection is required to ensure the static integrity of the pipe and to insure against the problems associated with failure of the pipe. In this paper, the SVM-RS system for cleaning and inspecting large concrete pipes will be presented. Various aspects of the robot including its kinematics, the cleaning system, the sensor system, the media supply, communications, as well as the control system and operator interface will be discussed in detail. The use of robust robotics for accurate positioning of high-pressure water nozzles in combination with non-destructive sensing techniques for navigation and inspection during normal pipe operation allows for a new standard in high-quality pipe cleaning and inspection. The latest cleaning and inspection results from tests in real sewers will be presented

Kinematics, sensors and control of the fully automated facade-cleaning robot SIRIUSc for the Fraunhofer headquarters building, Munich

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Fraunhofer institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) has developed the automatic facade-cleaning robot SIRIUSc for use on the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's headquarters, a high-rise building in Munich, Germany. Design/methodology/approach - The building has a height of 80 m, its facade an area of 4,000 m(2). Apart from the robot that moves along and cleans the facade, the complete, fully automated system consists of a fully automated gantry that secures, supplies energy to and, above all, positions the robot. Part of the project involved completely automating a standard gantry, which is an integral part of the complete facade-cleaning robot system. Findings - This paper presents an overview of the significant basic functions of the robot and the gantry, emphasizing the kinematics, the control and sensor systems for navigation and the cleaning sequence that employs the extensive fully automatic functions of the robot and gantry. Originality/value - The paper presents the first freely climbing facade-cleaning robot for vertical facades without rails effectively in use in Europe