UK researchers are building tiny robots that can go into drainage pipes and identify blockages or leakage problems.
The UK has around 499,000 kilometers of underground water pipes, which can be checked using a number of methods, from sound scans to wires with cameras and trained dogs that detect chlorine in tap water. smell
But only a small part of the whole system can be tested in this way. Because of this, these problems only come to light when they are too advanced and are quite expensive to fix.
According to Professor Kirill Horoshenkov, a mechanical engineer at the University of Sheffield, and his colleagues, £7 billion is spent every year on repairing these pipelines in the UK. While the public is facing difficulties as a result of the repairs.
However, researchers have invented an alternative to these methods called pipebots. These robots, whose samples are small enough to be easily carried in the hand, are designed to move quickly through pipelines to spot problems in time.
The current version of the robot has a camera and other sensors mounted on the front and is powered by six propeller-like rotating legs.
However, in the concept video of the scientists, the design of the robot is very modern and looks like a combination of crab and shrimp.
According to the researchers, the final version of these testing robots will have multiple sensors that will analyze the pipe system.
