A NOVEL AUTONOMOUS LOCALIZATION TECHNIQUE OF SUBSEA IN-PIPE ROBOT

作者:Wang, Z. W.*; Cao, Q. X.; Luan, N.; Zhang, L.
来源:International Journal of Robotics and Automation, 2010, 25(2): 102-108.
DOI:10.2316/Journal.206.2010.2.206-3281

摘要

This paper proposes a novel in-pipe localization technique for industrial in-pipe robots to implement long-distance subsea pipeline maintenance. The proposed localization technique is that the in-pipe robot first performs rough in-pipe localization by an eddy current sensor detecting girth welds along pipelines, and then achieves precise in-pipe localization between adjacent girth welds by multi-odometer detecting movement distance. To eliminate the bad influence caused by the awful in-pipe working environment on the localization method, the production rules are presented to perform fault-tolerance for those undetected girth welds to ensure a reliable rough localization phase. Besides, to improve localization precision, an optimal multi-sensor data fusion algorithm is introduced to process the redundant movement distance data from the multi-odometer. The localization technique is performed on the developed in-pipe robot. Tests on experimental pipeline system and beach oil pipelines validate the applicability and effectiveness of the localization technique.