In-pipe Robot with Capability of Self Stabilization and Accurate Pipe Surface Cleaning

After 50 years the connections between fresh water pipes (800-1000mm diameter) need to be repaired due to aging and dissolution of the filling material. Only in Vienna 3000km of pipes need to be improved, which requires a robotic solution. The main challenge is to accurate place the robot in the center of the pipe while overcoming the push back forces and vibrations caused in the cleaning process, so that the cleaning tool is able to focus on desired area of the pipe surface. This paper presents the overall design of an in-pipe cleaning robot DeWaLoP, which includes a suspension system to position itself as a rigid structure stably in the center of the pipe, while the H configuration of the robot arm is able to stabilize the cleaning tool in the cleaning process, to reduce the vibration and push back forces.