Increased efficiency with robots in cable tunnels
Ilias Tevetzidis, Christoforos Kanellakis, Anton Koval and George Nikolakopoulos at Luleå University of Technology, are working together with Svenska kraftnät to find a way for robots to inspect cable tunnels.
In the future, robots can be able to investigate underground cable tunnels. Researchers in Robotics and AI at Luleå university of technology have collaborated with Svenska kraftnät to increase their knowledge about a robotic setup for this kind of infrastructure.
By using a real-life mockup of a cabling installation, the researchers will identify the key robotic technology and the key sensing technologies that can provide fault detections in cabling installations. Simply put: first the researchers must figure out what kind of robot is the best to use, is it an aerial robot, a mobile or a legged one? Secondly, what sensorial payload is needed for detecting faults; cameras, lidars?
– The cabling tunnels share the same characteristics as mining or road tunnels, they are pitch dark, there is no GPS connectivity and no infrastructure to support the robot operations such as communication networks and localization systems, says George Nikolakopoulos, Professor of Robotics and AI.
– The robotic systems are facing a very challenging environment and have the task to explore the surroundings, localize themselves, identify faults in the infrastructure and geolocalize the errors.
Successful research
The research group in Robotics and AI have a lot of field experience of using autonomous robots in places difficult to access, for example in mines and within the framework of their collaboration with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory where they focus on different types of tunnel environments. This time though, the tunnels are smaller and demands a small agile robotic operation. Another specific challenge is the use of Artificial Intelligence for Computer Vision – how to detect faults.
– We need to be very careful in operating the robot and avoid collisions with the cabling installations. And when it comes to Computer Vision, I think we have already reached some impressive results, says George Nikolakopoulos.
– Additionally, from a robot’s perspective it is sometimes quite difficult to access the tunnels, and at times we might consider placing the robots permanently in the tunnel and become part of the overall infrastructure.
If the robotic inspection technology succeeds, it could make a huge difference. Human inspectors would not have to work in these sometimes harsh and difficult conditions. The inspection task could also most likely be performed faster and with increased frequencies, benefits that applies to all similar robotic inspections of ageing infrastructure, above ground, aerial or even underwater robots.
The project is funded from the Svenska kraftnät as part of their research and innovation program.