Self-propelled robots inspect unpiggable gas pipelines for metal loss from corrosion

摘要

An inspection tool capable of inspecting unpiggable natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines has been developed through a collaboration of the natural gas industry and the U.S. government. Known as Explorer, the tool is an un-tethered, self-propelled, remotely controlled robot that detects metal loss due to corrosion by using a combination of cameras and sensors to conduct an in-line inspection (ILI) using visual and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technologies.