Problem Description

Natural gas pipelines were some of the first infrastructures installed around the world a century ago, which also makes them the oldest and most dangerous pipes under many cities. Conventionally, inspecting and repairing natural gas pipelines is extremely costly, estimated to cost about $5-10 per mile, and involves a hazardous ground excavation process. The traditional method of pipeline repair involves digging up the ground to find the pipeline and repairing it manually. For inspection, the traditional approach is to have workers remotely control a device in the pipe from a location near the site and manually inspect the inner wall of the pipe using a low-resolution camera. These methods are cumbersome, require a lot of equipment and labor costs, and expose workers on-site to very dangerous conditions. To reduce labor and improve safety conditions, the demand for the global in-pipe inspection robots market size and revenue is estimated to grow in the coming years and this is where RoboSpect comes into the picture.