Kit of Self-Moving Units for Automatic Inspection of Marine Structures and Plants: Low Cost Unit for Inspection of Holds

All vessels and offshore units require regular inspections to prevent structural or functional damages. Periodical inspections are based on classification society’s requirements and include both visual surveys and non-destructive test interventions, to look for structural damage, pitting, corrosion, thickness measurement, usually documented by measurements or images. Different approaches of inspection can be proposed for underwater and for dry areas, using unmanned vehicles or service robots able to improve traditional inspection methods. Several excellent proposals are today available: nevertheless, reasons of costs, operation complexity and impossibility to cover all types of inspection with a unique autonomous unit limit and conditions the applicability of automatic inspection systems. The paper is the first of a series describing the main results of a wide research activity carried out at DREAMS Lab (Laboratory of Drives and Experimental Automation for Marine Systems) of the University of Genoa. The studies are oriented to the realization of a kit of low cost and unsophisticated self-moving units, devoted to support some recursive inspections in dry areas of ships and on offshore plants as bulkheads, holds, double bottoms and ducts. The paper describes the design and prototyping of a pneumatronic unit oriented to inspection and maintenance of ship holds. Conceived to realize a portable and user-friendly tool which could take part of an “inspection kit” for the use of inspectors, able to simplify and speed up the inspection visits with and automatic generation of survey reports.